One of the tags given to Canberra which isn't actually uncomplimentary is the 'Bush Capital'. And it's true. The house where I grew up was less than a kilometre from the edge of the city, and the house I live in now is barely more than 100 metres from the edge of the city.
It gets even better. Our house is adjacent to a corridor of parkland which itself stretches up to bush. In the other direction it leads down to the local primary school which our oldest son attends.
And the kangaroos...
It used to be a standing joke that Dumb Americans assumed we had kangaroos bouncing down the main roads of Canberra.
Only, these days, it's true: when the rain stops and fodder becomes scarce, kangaroos (specifically Eastern Greys) head into urban areas where it's comparatively lush. And it's happening again.
A few years ago when our oldest was still in a pram, I remember one walk I took him on which went past the school. As we passed the school oval I saw a small mob of roos - about a dozen or so. I approached as close as I dared, keeping in mind they're still wild animals, and made sure my son saw them. "Meow!" was his response (okay, he was only about 18 months old). But it was still a bit new and exciting for me too to see the animals this close.
In the years since then I've had a large male kangaroo sunning himself in the front yard, had two collisions with kangaroos, startled a couple of roos out of the driveway coming home late at night, and come within a couple of metres of one at night while putting the garbage out (I didn't actually see it, but I clearly heard it chewing and shifting through the grass). The school oval is covered with roo droppings, and there's often a mob hanging around the oval.
Now it's official: the school's weekly newsletter includes a message advising parents to warn their children against approaching the kangaroos...
Yep, we have kangaroos.
