4 Stray Katz: Lillies on Lake Nuga Nuga

Lake Nuga Nuga National Park, QLD

Wednesday 1st July- Saturday 4th July

Lake Nuga Nuga was an unexpected delight that we'd decided to go to based on a small paragraph in a brochure on the local area, otherwise we had heard nothing about it. We thought it might be a nice detour and stop off on our journey further north, but we ended up staying a blissful 3 nights as it was just so beautiful- best of all we were one of only 3 other campers, who were camped so far away we couldn't even see them from our campsite.

Lake Nuga Nuga is the largest natural body of water in Central Queensland, and it is particularly full at the moment, resulting in an incredible display of water lillies that we had the privilege of camping right in front of. The dead trees that abound in the lake reminded us of Lake Mulwala, so we all had the feeling of being 'at home'. The lake is also home to a heap of different water bird species, as well as plenty of kangaroos.

We spent our time at Lake Nuga Nuga kayaking, enjoying the sunrises and sunsets, going for walks through the bush and enjoying some down time in the sunshine. Jackson put his nets in the afternoon we arrived, and he spent loads of time kayaking back and forth to check out the little fish he caught. Each afternoon we kayaked into the middle of the lake and enjoyed a swim. We did this two at a time and the time I went with Jackson he attempted to be a counterweight on one side of the kayak whilst I slipped into the water. I was very uncoordinated getting in and the impact from me finally sliding off the kayak propelled him up and into the water, a funny sight made even funnier as he was nude!! Getting back in the kayak was also interesting!

On the first day Daniel and the kids went on a mission to climb the mountain opposite our camp. There is no track so they had to clamber up however they could. When they reached 3/4 of the way up they were faced with a sheer cliff wall. Not one to give up, Daniel went around the mountain certain he would find a way to get up. He found one, but by that time they'd been gone awhile and he needed to get back to make the bread on the campfire (priorities!). That afternoon Jackson and Daniel managed to get to the top (Emilia decided she didn't have it in her to walk up there again), and they let everyone know they'd made it with their whooping! **FYI- Daniel baked 2 loaves of bread in between these walks and apparently the bread tasted amazing.

The next day we all went to the base of the mountain and were going to attempt a walk around the lake's edge, however it got muddier and muddier until Jackson convinced us that we should all try to get up to the top of the mountain. Emilia and I found it quite a difficult climb (we were clambering between rocks and along the edge of sheer cliffs so it was nerve wracking) but we made it and were rewarded with incredible views. Emilia and I had certainly been pushed out of our comfort zones, but it was great to see how supportive Jackson was of his sister (and me). We couldn't have done it without Daniel who needed to catch me a few times (and push me up a few big rocks by my butt, which is super embarrassing!).

We were so grateful to have discovered this hidden gem, and we all thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent here.

The beautiful big water lillies on Lake Nuga Nuga