- The hunted

I opened my Givi case on the back of my bike the other day, went to grab my helmet, but then noticed an oversized furry shape make a furtive move right where I was about to stick my hand. Nearly as big as my hand, this fella had got into my case through some manner that eludes me entirely. I can imagine that possibly he was hitching a lift on my helmet, but that vision is mostly too horrible to contemplate. Unless he was helmet surfing up on the top during my ride, I dread to think where he was secreted away during the journey. So today I would like to raise a tribute to all of Australia's magnificent and often dangerous creatures - and to acknowledge the passing of Steve Irwin, that flamboyant showman and strident conservationist of such wild creatures, taken as he was by one of the creatures he fought so successfully to preserve. R.I.P. Steve.