I recall reading this in a paper several years back. It's probably not true, hence the title, but what the hell, I'm in a storytelling mood.
I proably made it up, who knows?
Some years back, a Welsh couple were travelling through a remote part of the outback when a kangaroo leaps in front of their hired car.
The driver desperately wrenches the wheel to try and avoid hitting the roo which simply stops in the road and observes its impending destruction by the four wheel drive car.
The car leaves the road and is turned over.
The kangaroo skips away unharmed.
They are alone, in the outback, unsure whether or even if, they will be rescued.
The temperature climbs to over forty as they shelter in the shade beneath the overturned car.
They have some water, but not enough, nobody, despite the warnings, ever takes enough water with them into the outback.
As the temperature reaches 50c, the sand flies become a plague, trying to get the moisture from their sweat, from their lips, ears and eyes.
In the drilling heat, the man gets up, shades his eyes and scans the rippling horizon. Nothing, no sign of another vehicle, he begins to fear the worst but tells his wife that everything is okay. He looks down at the water bottle, an realises that it is not okay.
Desperately he scans the horizon in the other direction, but it's difficult to see anything clearly with the heat haze muddying the horizon.
He swallows. But then, at first he isn't sure, he waits, looking hard, a mirage?, but no, distilling as if by magic out of the shimmering air he makes out the undulating figure of an aborigine walking towards him.
They were saved!
He gathers his wife up, joy on his face, and they stagger towards the approaching figure in the baking, merciless sun.
'Hey! Help!' he cries, as the figure materialise further into the figure of a man with a spear in one hand. They could follow him, he's show them how to eat witchity grubs and find water from desert plants until they managed to reach civilisation. He was a native, probably on his walkabout, they'd have to go 'native' but they would be okay, oh thank God.
The aboriginal approaches them and they clamour around him.
'There was a kangaroo...we swerved to avoid him...can you help us....'
The aboriginal looks at the car, seeing that it was beyond repair. Slowly, he looks at the couple, melting like white butter in the noon sun.
'You're in a bit of bother there matey.'
Calmly, he reaches into his hessian bag, pulls out a mobile phone and say's
'G'day Bruce, need a tow-truck about twenty klicks down the bogger high-way.'
yechydda,