Day 40 – Saturday 28 August 2021 –27 Km

This morning we were at Yungaburra Market Day by 8am and had a very nice wander around the mass of stalls. There were lots of locals wandering around plus lots of fellow KKOG campers. We smade a few generous purchases, I had to walk back to the car to get some carry bags. We also bought some local bananas, tomatoes, honey & jams. My wallet considerably lighter we departed around 10.30am.

Next stop was Lake Eacham, a volcanic crater lake formed around 10,000 years ago, it is about 3km around & 65 metres deep. It is beautiful and we decide to take the path around the lake. The path is surrounded by rainforest & it is beautiful. I am looking up & around at all the different trees, vines, ferns & orchids & nearly step on a big black snake around a kilometre into our walk. Thankfully it let me pass before continuing across the path. The pulse was a little elevated for a while.

Around 2 kilometres into our walk we see a large freshwater crocodile basking on a log in the sunshine. There are lots of small birds flitting around the rainforest plus the usual brush turkeys scratching around the forest, their scratch marks are everywhere. The hour walk takes us a lot longer as we always stop & look at different things, there is one huge fig tree that gets our attention, it is very big. 

Back at camp & we have a late lunch then have a few more chats with our fellow KKOG people before it is happy hour & time for drinks & more chatting, they are very friendly people. The Bonadios bring us a sample of cooked crocodile & kangaroo to try, I think it is very tasty. After happy 2 hours the farewell dinner commences in the dining shed, it is a BBQ provided by the Bonadio family, our hosts at the campsite. The food is a selection of chicken, beef & sausages plus salads and is delicious. We are entertained by a couple of inquisitive possums looking for a feed. We are given a film presentation by an Afghanistan war veteran then we all compete for different goods & services that have been donated by local businesses & some KKOG people. The proceeds are to support the Afghanistan Avenue of Honour in Yungaburra & our group contributes more than $5,000 to the cause. Next is the cake celebrating 10 years of KKOG plus a 60^th birthday for one of the group members.  Dessert is cake plus local ice cream & strawberries, very tasty. Time went so quickly it was 11.30 pm before we knew it, we had such a good time chatting with all our new friends and sharing memories. Another great day.