As volunteers across Coober Pedy busily prepared for the opening of this year's Opal Festival, one local family found themselves dealing with a very different kind of visitor.

While Dad was helping set up stages and sound equipment for the festival and Mum was organising market stalls, their young daughter was sent out to the washing line to collect some clothes from home.

What nobody knew at the time was that an injured kangaroo had quietly taken refuge in the family's laundry.

You can probably see where this story is heading.

Moments later, Mum heard what she described as the most terrifying scream she had ever heard. Racing outside, she feared the absolute worst.

"When I heard the scream, I thought someone had grabbed her," Mum recalled. "I've never heard anything like it."

When she reached her daughter, the young girl was so shocked she could barely speak. Through tears and gasps for breath, she managed to tell her mum that a kangaroo had attacked her.

At first, Dad was sceptical when he heard the story later that day.

"A kangaroo attack seemed pretty unlikely," he admitted.

However, there was one detail that suggested something unusual had indeed occurred — there was blood throughout the laundry area. Fortunately, none of it belonged to the child.

Curious to discover what had really happened, Dad reviewed footage from a security camera overlooking the laundry.

The video revealed a scene that was both frightening and, in hindsight, understandable.

The injured kangaroo had likely sought shelter in the laundry after being hurt, possibly during an encounter with local dogs. Startled by the unsuspecting youngster arriving to collect washing, the frightened animal did exactly what most wild animals do when cornered — it panicked and bolted for the nearest exit.

Unfortunately, the young girl happened to be standing directly in its path.

The collision sent her tumbling, and from her perspective it would have looked very much like an attack.

Despite receiving quite a knock from the fleeing marsupial, the youngster showed remarkable courage. Rather than freezing or remaining on the ground, she immediately got back to her feet and ran to find help.

It's a story that has already become one of many memorable tales surrounding this year's festival preparations — a reminder that in outback Australia, even the simplest household chore can sometimes come with an unexpected wildlife encounter.

Most importantly, both the child and the kangaroo appear to have come through the incident without serious injury.

Dad says he's incredibly proud of his brave little girl.

"She got knocked over pretty hard, but she got straight up and went for help. That's pretty courageous in my book."