CAMEL bolognese was just one of the things on the menu for a group of intrepid graduate nurses who did a stint working down under.

The nurses from the University of Worcester spent six weeks experiencing life on Australian wards as part of an international placement.

Adult branch nurse Kathryn Darby, from Pershore, worked in a variety of settings, including accident and emergency, surgery, rehabilitation wards and district nursing.

Now working at Worcestershire Royal Hospital's medical assessment unit, she said working abroad was a fantastic experience.

"The Aussies were very welcoming and we even found time to travel to Ayers Rock and Alice Springs, where I experienced my first camel bolognese!"

Kathryn was joined in Adelaide by 34-year-old Karl Jones. The former care worker from Worcester wanted to change career and got an adult nurse placement at the University of Worcester.

He has now got work in Cairns, Queensland and hopes to be in his post by Christmas.

His fellow students, former nursery nurse Rachel Peake, aged 29, from Redditch, and Natalie Thomas, 26, from Hereford, flew out to Australia together on New Year's Day. The child branch graduates worked at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Perth, Western Australia, where they experienced life on the paediatric ward.

Ms Peake, who is now working as a health care assistant in Bromsgrove, said: "We both celebrated New Year with our families, and then jumped on a plane, so it was a great start to 2006.

"To have a chance to train as a nurse and to experience life on a paediatric ward in a different country has been an all-round fantastic experience."

Natalie, who is working as a nurse in Aberystwyth, Powys, added: "The course at Worcester has been great, and the lecturers and staff were really excellent. I've thoroughly enjoyed it."