- Erin Cole, 38, from Kempton, Tas, was on a family camping trip when the unthinkable happened
- Making her way back to the campsite, Erin was knocked clean off her feet by a wombat
- The unlikely assailant left Erin with a broken foot
Here Erin tells her story in her own words.
Reclining in my camp chair with a coffee in hand, I watched as the sunrise glittered over the ocean.
‘Another day in paradise,’ I smiled to my hubby, Cameron, then 36.
It was January 2024, and we’d spent the last two days camping at Policemans Point, Tas, with our children, Jacob, then 11, and Maddison, nine.
Cam’s mum, Karen, then 77, and her partner, Phil, 71, had also joined us.
Seasoned campers, we’d been returning to the same spot for eight years and felt so at home.
‘Another day in paradise.’
We kayaked, fished and explored the nature trails.
After a tasty dinner of damper, freshly caught fish with chips, and a game of cards, we turned in for the night.
Around 1am I woke, busting for the loo.
We had a toilet in our campervan but, not wanting to wake the kids, I decided to use the amenities block.
Peering out of our window, I could see the moonlight illuminating the path, so I headed out without a torch.
Trudging along the 500-metre gravel track, my footsteps echoed in the dead of night.
After using the bathroom, I headed back towards the campervan.
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With no-one else around, I could hear the waves crashing on the shore, and felt the cool sea breeze flowing through my hair.
It was a perfect summer’s night.
Suddenly, a searing pain tore through my legs as I was swept off my feet.
What the… I thought.
Barrelled over like a bowling pin, I crashed into the gravel, landing on my right side.
That can’t be good, I thought hearing the loud crunch of my foot as it collided with the ground.
‘There’s no way that just happened.’
Feeling like I’d been hit by a bus, I propped myself up on my elbow just in time to see a huge wombat run off into the distance.
There’s no way that just happened, I thought, tears welling at the growing pain.
In all my years at the campground I’d never even seen a wombat, let alone had one of the marsupials charge at me!
Just then, a baby wombat, the size of a tissue box, came running out of a burrow next to where I’d landed.
Dashing after his mother at speed, he bounded over my throbbing foot, then paused for a moment, looking me dead in the eyes, before zooming off.
‘He must be getting a kick out of my misery,’ I laughed to myself.
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As the startled pair disappeared into the bush, I tried to get back on my feet, but it was no use.
Certain my foot had been broken in the ambush, I looked around for something to help me up.
Spotting a large rock in the distance, I scooted towards it on my bum.
Then I used the rock to pull myself up and slowly headed back to the van.
Tears rolled down my cheeks with every agonising step. It took 30 minutes to hobble 400 metres.
Back inside I woke Cam, who was shocked when I told him what’d happened.
‘We’re 98 per cent sure its broken.’
By now my foot was swelling and covered in purple and blue bruises.
I’d also smashed up my right arm, hand, leg and face when I fell onto the gravel.
‘Best to go to hospital,’ we decided.
Waking the kids, we piled into the car and made the one hour trip to St Helens hospital.
‘You’re always doing this, Mum,’ Maddison laughed, trying to comfort me.
She wasn’t wrong. Over the years, our camping trips have often ended in visits to the emergency room.
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On one trip, I was removing a bungee cord off the gazebo, when it sprung back and scratched me in the eye.
Another time we were on a bushwalk with the kids when my appendix burst.
Now, arriving at the hospital, there was little the nurses could do until doctors got there in the morning.
So, after wrapping my foot in a compression bandage, they sent me on my way with crutches.
The next morning, my foot had swollen three shoe sizes, so Cam raced me back to the hospital.
I had an X-ray but my leg was so swollen they couldn’t be certain of the results.
‘We’re 98 per cent sure it’s broken, but you’re going to need another X-ray once the swelling goes down to be sure,’ the doctor said.
Having broken the same foot a year earlier at work, I knew the healing process and had a moon boot waiting for me at home.
Not wanting to cut our trip short, we headed back to camp.
Cam, the kids and my in-laws waited on me, carrying my camp chair down to the shore and bringing me snacks.
Back home two weeks later, a follow-up X-ray showed I’d broken my foot in three places.
Thankfully, as I’d been wearing the moon boot, the bones were healing well.
I was able to return to work as a marketing manager, but it was a long and uncomfortable 12 weeks before I was back on my feet.
I was so thankful for Cam and the kids, who helped with cooking and cleaning.
We’re planning a trip back to the campsite for later this year.
A wombat may have knocked me off my feet, but it hasn’t knocked my confidence!
