TAWOMG - Born again in Australia

Dear Friends:

Last Friday Fernando, Patrícia and Marta flew back to South America. I am travelling alone again. I am still in Sydney, but on Monday I will fly to Hong Kong. Now that my cousins have arrived safely at home and our family has seen that they are OK, I can report the awful car accident that we had in South Australia ten days ago.

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We were driving from Princetown to Adelaide on the coast road. Fernando and Patrícia planned to stay in Adelaide, visiting friends. Marta and I were due to Barossa Valley. 300 Kms before Adelaide we stopped in Kingston to tank. Another car also tanked at the same gas station and took the same road as us. I was driving and overtook them a few kms after the tank station. Then for roughly one hour and about 100 Kms that car followed us, keeping all the time 200 to 300 meters distance. All was well: the road was good, it was still day light, there was almost no traffic and Patrícia and Marta were sleeping on the back seats. Then, all of a sudden, a wild, big, adult Kangaroo jumped in front of the car, coming out of the blue. It was completely unexpected!

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When I saw the kangaroo, he was already in front of the car. My instinctive reaction was to avoid hitting him. In doing so, our car went off the road. I tried to come back to our lane, but then the car crossed both lanes and went again off the road, on the right side. There was a moment that the car lost contact with ground and therefore I completely lost control of it. We landed again in just two wheels, in diagonal to the road, and it was a miracle that the car didn't roll over. I strongly believe that our guard angels were well awaken and took care of us. When the four wheels were back to ground I could somehow control the car and succeeded to stop it. When I left the car, there was a cloud of dust behind us. I first thought there had been a fire, but soon realized it was the dust provoked by our zigzagging.

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From the cloud of dust emerged a couple of Swedes, those that were driving behind us. The first thing that the man told me was "You were born again. You know it, don't you?" His wife said: "When we saw the kangaroo jumping in front of the car and all that followed, we were convinced you would all die. It was awful to see it all happen and we could do nothing about it."

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Afterwards we were told that we were lucky not to hit the kangaroo. Bueno, it was also great news for him. Nevertheless, the driver side of the car was pretty damaged and we had one flat tire. It seemed we could continue our journey to Adelaide after changing the tire. The Swedes stayed there with us until we fixed everything, put all bags back and left. They also agreed to continue driving behind us, just in case we needed help. Their presence and solidarity was the biggest help that they could give us and from here I would like to thank them again for all that they have done! In Adelaide Paula and Sergio welcomed all of us at their home and we are also extremely thankful to all that they did for us!

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"You were born again. You know it, don't you?" These words and the kangaroo jumping in front of the car came often back to my mind in the days following the accident. If the Swede is right, then my first life finished 200 Kms south of Adelaide and the second one started a few seconds and 400 meters later. The next day, Marta and I moved to a hotel in Glenelg, a beach in Adelaide. With Fernando and Patrícia, we spent the afternoon there, relaxing from the terrible experience of the previous day. On the photos you can see the survivors eating lunch in Glenelg: pilot with a glass of Barossa Valley in his hand, co-pilot on his side and passengers. You also see the sunset in Glenelg, the end of the first day of my second life!


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We live in a world where most of us try very hard to do the safest possible things most of the time. We are no longer used to the idea that unfortunately accidents do happen, some are unpredictable and cannot be avoided and tragedy can just be around the corner and may occur within seconds - or even less. One wild Kangaroo just reminded us that things can go wrong with no previous warning and the worst may happen when we least expect it.

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At the same time, I also wish to share with you what we have learned from this experience: first of all, do always wear the safety belt when in a car. If we were not wearing them, the outcome of the accident could have been a tragedy; do pay heed to the road signs, even if it looks very unlikely that an animal like a kangaroo may cross the road - there is a good reason for the signs to be there; do respect the speed limits - if we were driving faster, it would have been either more difficult or even impossible to stop the car without rolling over; keep a safe distance from the car in front of you; and do help others - sometimes just your physical presence near those in need can be of great help.

Wish you a happy Easter and a good week! It is so good to be alive!

Maurício

PS - The accident involved great tension and intense stress. As a result, I got some grey hair. So, next time we meet, if you think that I grew older, you already know - blame the car accident and the kangaroo!