Man finds giant goanna chilling on side of his NSW home

A NSW man got a lot more than he bargained for when he emerged from his shed to find a huge goanna chilling out in his backyard.

Eric Holland managed to keep his cool when he came across the Lace Monitor, which was estimated to be around 1.5 metres long, on his Thurgoona property in Albury.

“I was just doing a repair job in my shed when I opened the door and I saw this huge thing run across the ground and out of sight,” Mr Holland told The Border-Mail.

Not long after, Mr Holland started to hear a banging noise coming from the side of his house and went out to investigate.

“When I went outside I saw him on the side of the house with his tail hitting the drain pipe,” Mr Holland told the local newspaper.

While some big city folk would have completely lost their mind at the sheer size of the scaly creature, Mr Holland pulled out his phone to take a photo of the unexpected houseguest.

“It was a big surprise really,” said Mr Holland who has lived in the area for 18 years.

“I sometimes get blue tongues and lizards in the backyard but never anything quite like this.”

While many have been shocked by the image which has gone viral, others were quick to share their own encounters with large goannas to Facebook.

The Lace Monitor of Lace Goanna can weigh up to 20 kilograms and grow to around two metres long.

The NSW Office of Environment and Heritage said it would not be unusual for a Lace Monitor to be found in the area around Albury.

A competition is now being run in the regional city to name the reptile.

This is far from the first time an unwanted visitor has gone viral.