Who says it's the Wet

As a break from leak repairs on the Coaster in Cairns, we drove up to the Tablelands for 2 fabulous days of sunshine at Kauri campground on the shores of Lake Tinaroo.

We set up with a glorious view, sharing the spot with willy wagtail, kookaburra, brush turkey, and two ducks who all wanted a snack. No wood collecting allowed in this national park. The firewood bought from the servo was too big and thick, but we managed a fire nonetheless.

In the morning we went for a walk in the forest , then took up our friendly neighbour's offer to take his kayaks for a spin on the mirror calm lake where I spotted a turtle carefully periscoping for any danger.

Midmorning peace was shattered by the rangers turning up with a noisy, motorised drill to plant seedlings around our site. Next, a convoy of Indigenous rangers arrived, a group of director, managers, sub managers to induct a couple of trainees how to interact with visitors, i.e. us. Quite bizarre how it needed over six people, admittedly friendly, but just one to show how to quiz us. When asked if I had a pet (not allowed in the park ) onboard, I raised a laugh by pointing at Gen. How many lightbulbs does it take to train a ranger?

Everyone left and we settled down to delicious home-made pizza. Willy wagtail came to see me afterwards to be fed with the heap of nasty, biting marchflies I'd swatted.

Lake Tinaroo is a massive dam which was full to bursting. We visited the rarely occurring spectacle of the spillway pouring thousands of litres in a crystal curtain into the river below.

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Lake Tinaroo, Kauri Campsite, Far North Queensland, FNQ, Camping; Dam