Kilcoy 7th - 17th June 2010

The Race Track at the Kilcoy Show Grounds

Well I really have to apologise for not blogging sooner,I suppose you think I was having too much fun, but in my defence I have not been well . Some dreaded wog and I can’t stop coughing. We have been to Kilcoy and we are now in Caboolture and have been here since Thursday 17th June. We arrived in Kilcoy from Warwick on Monday 7th June and booked into the Showgrounds in readiness for the HF Radio Get together and their AGM. The camping here is $15 per night including power and water. The maximum stay is one week. There is also camping right in town at Anzac Camping Grounds for the same price but the stay is limited to 3 nights.

 Vehicles arrived steadily for the week and by Friday nearly everyone had arrived. I think there were over 60 vehicles in total for the weekend. Campervans, Motor Homes and caravans of all shapes and sizes were parked everywhere on the grounds.

 Everyone gathered together to renew existing friendships and to forge new ones. The camaraderie and laughter at the various “Happy Hours” was abundant, a meal of corned silverside and vegies topped up with sticky date pudding was enjoyed on the Saturday night. Breakfast followed on Sunday was the usual baked beans, spaghetti, bacon and eggs and toast was enjoyed in front of the grandstand making the most of the beautiful weather. Kilcoy meaning “Nook of the Wood” in Gaelic, was named in 1841 by its first settlers. Although the township was originally called Kilcoy, it was known as Hopetoun around 1897 but reverted to Kilcoy by 1913. Kilcoy is quite a nice town with two local hotels, The Exchange and The Stanley. Noel, Elaine, Bill & Leanne joined us for a meal on Monday night at The Exchange. Supa IGA is where the locals shop and there are two bakeries as well as several speciality shops. Shops stock everything from race day hats to handcrafted timber; you can find country crafts, gorgeous gifts and rustic rarities. The historical township is noted for its wide streets and attractive shady parks. It is situated in an idyllic rural landscape on the D’Aguilar Highway featuring a diverse and picturesque landscape – ranging from rolling farmlands, rugged mountain ranges and stunning forests. Saturday morning the markets were held at Yowie Park in town and many members were found wandering about enjoying the wares at the many stalls. A few brought scarves, gloves and beanies to help ward off the cold. Some days were cool but mostly the weather was fine. Nearly everyone left on the Tuesday and Lillian and Allan were the only couple besides us staying until the Thursday.

 Wednesday we travelled with Lillian and Allan to Jimna, nestled in the hoop pine forests of the Jimna Range, a lovely drive through rainforest and pastoral settings. We enjoyed morning tea at the info centre and then drove out to the old Firetower.

The Jimna Fire Tower

 At 47 metres tall it is the tallest tower of its type in the Southern Hemisphere. They are trying desperately to prevent the firetower from being pulled down. Jimna and the surrounding state forests are popular for four wheel driving and camping.

Some of the local residents at Peach Trees Camp Spot

 We checked out future camping spots at Peach Trees and The Overflow.

Somerset Dam

 We also drove out to Lake Somerset , The Spit and Somerset Dam.

Somerset Lake from Camping Ground

 Many water skiing enthusiasts enjoy Lake Somerset for weekend getaways. Impressive camping areas are available, while the Spit offers great picnic and BBQ facilities for day visitors.

Somerset Spit Day Area

As I said earlier we arrived in Caboolture on Thursday and are camped in the Caboolture Showgrounds for $100 per week or $20 per week. I will talk some more on that later.

Talk again soon