Simon’s Adventure

Thought I would share a news item I read today.

On Saturday, 7-year-old Simon Kruger was having lunch with his family at Deep Creek Conservation park, on South Australia’s Fleurier Peninsula, when he wandered off, following a wallaby into the bush but did not return.

A huge search party was formed who volunteered to help find him.

Almost 24 hours after he disappeared — and after an extensive search by police that involved parachute flares — Simon was spotted by a rescue helicopter and winched to safety. He spent that night in the wilderness, surviving near-freezing temperatures.

Simon’s father, Etienne Kruger said, “He left a quiet picnic and came back to a large crowd.”

Simon then recalled his incredible story of survival.

“Dad, I’m okay — I slept under a tree and there were kangaroos,” he said as they were reunited.

Simon told his parents that he was picking flowers for his mother when a kangaroo approached him.

Simon’s mother, Linda, added, “A kangaroo came closer to him and ate the flowers from him, and the kangaroo fell asleep next to him, I think God sent a kangaroo to keep him warm. Iit was a miracle. When I smell his jacket, it’s bush and kangaroo.”

While the relieved parents are vowing to keep a closer watch on their “resourceful” son, they hope the ordeal won’t squash his adventurous spirit.

Etienne thanked the huge search party who volunteered to help.

“Hopefully he’ll refer to it as an adventure, so we’ll keep it at that, a bit of a jungle book story.”

“He’s definitely doing well…he just got up this morning as if nothing had happened yesterday. He’s had a nice shower last night and a good sleep. It’s such a relief to have him back home and be back to normal.”

He added that Simon is excited to share his story with his classmates.