We set up with friends at the Daruk site. We are having a good time, exploring the park, swimming at Jellybean pool. Then it starts raining. As the rain continues day by day, more and more campers from neighbouring campsites are leaving until we are one of the few ones left in the national park. We are quite happy inside the yurt, keeping the fire burning for warmth and comfort.
On the third
day of rain, a friendly ranger comes to our tent site and enquires about our
plans and whether we have intentions to stay or leave. We reply that we are quite
comfortable and have no intentions of leaving earlier than planned.
An hour later he returns and tells us that he might have to order us the leave as the water in the causeway at the park entrance is rising and the causeway might become impassable. He tells us that there is no rush but that we should get ready. Fifteen minutes later, the ranger returns with the message “You have leave right now!”. Obviously, there is no time to pack, let alone to take down the yurt, which is completely wet on the outside anyway. So we grab the crate with the food and the esky with the perishable food, load it into the car. Before leaving, I make sure that I close the yurt carefully and do one last check of all guy ropes. The ranger’s vehicle leads our small convoy of three or four cars of the last remaining campers towards the park entrance. At the causeway, a truck of the NPWS with a vehicle trailer awaits us. The rangers tell us that we have the choice of having our vehicles ferried across the causeway on the trailer or leave them inside the part. The indicators show that the water has risen to 0.6 metres – too much for a non-off-road vehicles to cross. I decide to leave my car parked inside the park and our friends drive their 4WD across. On the other side we all hop into their car and they drop us home.
