Photo-bombed

Early this morning, in a patch of preserved sub-tropical rainforest in the Blackall Ranges in SE Queensland, I set up a photo with Rana posing in front of a magnificent old fig tree. Then a thin man with a long-lensed camera strolled into my picture, glancing tolerantly at me taking photos with an iPhone. I thought he added a certain something to the photo.

At about this time I got a notification of a severe thunderstorm warning, with a risk of giant hail. When we heard claps of thunder we decided to return to our B&B cottage. We subsequently had some hours of very noisy thunderstorm with 50mm or so of rain but, thankfully, no hail. Not far away, on the main highway north of Brisbane, a motorist stuck in a traffic jam in a thunderstorm died when his car was hit by lightning. So sad.

Update, 31 December: The lightning-strike story has become a little clearer. The motorist did not die, but was taken by ambulance to hospital. His condition was described as stable. I’m not sure if this story was just sensationalist reporting, or if there are more details to be revealed. From my reading, it seems that motor vehicles with hard metal roof and sides offer much protection against a lightning strike. Though one website points out that research on this is limited and somewhat anecdotal.