Haha... Australia isn't all like that... I mean, a little bit of care with spider and snakes, but they are rare (the snakes at least...) in a suburban area. The only thing is that Canberra is really bush adjacent (part of the appeal!). Most of the time, they are more scared of people and as long as they aren't cornered, they will just try and escape.

We did have a kangaroo go down our road the other day... but no punching, just passing by! And an owl dropped in the other night as well... and there is that little baby cockatoo that keeps crying until it is fed in the morning! They are pretty damn loud...

Thanks for the water advice! I will run some of those ideas past the plumber. I think we are planning a ag-pipe (subsoil drainage) to divert water from the slope around the house... and well, the under house water problem is mostly due to the blocked stormwater pipes that should be directing the flow into the city stormwater. Luckily the sewers are unaffected for the moment!

Your house sounds really cool! It is amazing what lies underneath everything...