What do they look like?
Big. Huntsmans are big spiders, growing up to 6 inches (15 cm) across if you include the legs. Most would agree that's too many inches for any kind of spider. The big ones can also be very hairy and even someone comfortable with spiders can get a bit of a surprise when they encounter one. They are usually brown or grey. Some are banded.

Some people call them tarantulas, but these spiders are not tarantulas. I don't think they're too worried about political correctness either, so you don't have to call them huntspersons.

This large huntsman was photographed in Southern Queensland. They sure grow them big there. This one's missing a leg but still managed to look impressive

Are they dangerous?
Huntsmans are not considered dangerous. In fact, most are timid creatures that go out of their way to avoid bumping into us. However you just have to look at the size of their fangs to realise why some of them have been known to give a painful bite. Some types of huntsman have been known to give a bite resulting in sweating, nausea and even vomiting.

My advice is to treat any spider with caution, even huntsmans, because even a harmless bite can be unpleasant.

This close-up photo of the discarded skin of a huntsman spider shows the fangs clearly, and so you'll be getting an idea why I suggest treating even harmless spiders with caution. Those big fangs are capable of a painful bite. I will stress again however that huntsmans are not considered dangerous and also, they tend to run away instead of biting you. Despite the fact that I feel okay around these spiders I'll point out that I'm much more brave photographing the discarded skins than the ones still being used by the spider

The strange thing is, the way these spiders are most dangerous to people is in how we react to them. Because they have a flattened shape they can slip under the sun visor of cars - it’s probably similar for them to hiding under some bark - and then suddenly they get discovered when you flip down the visor while you’re driving. I’ve experienced that myself. People have been known to jump out of moving cars to get away from the spider in those circumstances. Now that is known to be dangerous.

Many huntsman spiders have legs which twist in a way that lets them bend forwards instead of down. This, combined with a flattened body, lets them crawl into especially narrow crevices

What do they eat?
Insects and other small invertebrates.

Where do you find them?
The flattened shape of huntsmans allows them to get under sheets of loose bark and other cracks and crevices around rocks and logs. If they just stayed hidden away like that all the time they probably wouldn’t have such a bad reputation, but these critters get hungry and go wandering around looking for food, and that can lead to them accidentally finding themselves indoors, where they could be on the wall or ceiling or often enough, on the curtains. In cars they sometimes crawl under the sun visor.