Suzanne Harrington: Contending with real and prank terrors at wilderness camping

A nibbling noise, all around me. Like the sound that sheep make when they’re eating grass. Is something chewing through the canvas? Am I about to be eaten alive, feet first?

Suzanne Harrington: 'In the morning I wonder if I have dreamed it, but there are pellets of kangaroo poo in my shoes.'

Going camping in Australia is quite different from going camping in Europe, in that it’s potentially life threatening. 

Top of the list are drop bears, fearsome creatures who drop from trees to attack from above — the fanged, venomous, flesh-eating cousins of koalas. Watch out for the drop bears, warns a straight-faced Australian neighbour, as we load the car for our trip.