But at the Ross Caravan Park, they were in for a surprise. 

For about 12 hours on the evening of Saturday, February 16, a shocking amount of dung beetles emerged out of the ground, overtaking the lawns and the Ross Bridge walk, before disappearing without a trace on Sunday.

“We were gobsmacked,” Mr Constable said.

“They were just welling up through the ground like a big black mass.

“Where they were the ground sounded like it was hollow underneath, and then in the morning it was hard again.

“They just appeared out of nowhere, there were some campers down the night before and they said there were none then.

“There was just a sea of beetles – they were hitting us in the face.”

It is understood the beetles do not cause any harm, can appear around the time of dramatic changes in weather, and are good for the soil.