Getting intimate with a kangaroo

On our second day in Brisbane we had a meeting at the Anglo Coal HQ in Brisbane with a cross-cultural trainer and psychologist! She was actually really good and spent the whole morning with us telling us about Australia (after rather embarrassingly neither of us could recall the capital city or prime minister - I blame the jet lag) and its quirks and features, also about sports, newspapers, wildlife (at which Andy went visibly pale) and the language. We got bags (literally) of brochures, maps, leaflets, etc. etc. and met up with some of the Anglo people there who all seemed nice. Interestingly they had an alcoholiser breath tester in the kitchen...

Our flight up to Mackay was on the next (Friday) morning at 6.30 so we got picked up by the limo at 5am (luckily our jetlag meant this was quite acceptable!).

Eventually, we got to what is to be our home city - Mackay, and picked up our hire car for the next few weeks, a Toyoto Avenger (or something like that). We drove into the city and stopped at McDonalds - striving for familiarity!! It amazes me how muli-national companies manage to have everything standard throughout the entire world, the McSausage and Egg sarnie didn't disappoint.

It was then time for the 2 hour drive to Moranbah where our house was waiting for us. Andy drove and I map-read - I think I may have got the best job seeing as it's one very straight road for almost the entire journey.

I have already told some people that we were very distressed that our first kangaroo sighting was roadkill at the side of the road :-( After thinking we had witnessed something remarkable, it quickly became apparant that kangaroos don't take their green-cross-code at school and were as common roadkill as rabbits are in England.

It is quite important to have roo bars fitted to your car/4x4 here as a kangaroo through the window can be serious - for the kangaroo as well!

After endless miles of road and bush and dead things, we came upon Moranbah and located our house at last at about Friday dinner!!