Kangaroos and wombats and possums present a much greater hazard in Australia... in my experience.

Sheep and cattle are reasonably predictable, but the native wildlife less so, and horses running wild alongside the road are worse.

On bulls, I've seen close-up two bulls battle it out in an hour-long head-butt on the farm where I worked. There is a huge amount of power in those animals and you don't argue with them. The caution is now even greater when a farmer in a neighbouring town last year was charged by a bull, then tossed down the paddock with head-butts; the man died in the paddock. The bull had been hand-raised, too, and considered to be almost a pet.

Kangaroos are dangerous because the big greys (some stand over six foot tall), can attack with the claws on their hind feet; the claws are designed to rip open their victims.

It's also not unusual for us to ride past some of the most lethal creatures on earth -- yellow-bellied tiger snakes and brown snakes. A couple of months ago, one charged Machka's bike after I, riding ahead, had startled it. Then a nice looking brown, about four foot long, made a dash up a bank along a rail-trail a couple of weeks ago.

It's fun living in the Australian bush.