AROUND-OZ MOTORHOMES

Accolades of praise to Kilcoy Shire Council for this fantastic initiative. It is wonderful to come across a council with the vision to realise that encouraging tourists to stop and in this case stay, boosts the town's economy. So where are we? Kilcoy is under one and a half hours and just 94kms north west of Brisbane on excellent roads and 50 kms west of Caboolture. You will instantly fall in love with this delightful little town, as it really is a step back in time and the locals are just so darned friendly you will find yourself whiling away the day yarning.

The low cost camping/rest area with a difference is right on the edge of town, but within sight of the shops. It is on a lovely creek with cute wooden footbridges. Dogs are allowed and there is loads of space for running around, as it is adjacent to a huge sports area. There is also a day use area just across the road. We unashamedly love this town! The bakery, for instance, has its own little newsletter and would you believe they are even on the internet! The newsletter covers such important subjects as to whether the pasties will be just vegetable or have a bit of meat. Occasionally, they advise of one particular taste delight which has been re-introduced due to popular demand. Very cute and it only happens in country towns.

There are plenty of things to do and see around the shire, including Mt Mee State Forest, Mt Archer Adventures, and the recently established Winery, Our favourite of course is up at Peach Trees in the Connondale Ranges - what a place! The largest business in the town is obviously the Kilcoy Abattoir on the southern outskirts. Other businesses act as a catalyst to service the mainly pastoral activities in the region and the population is a bit over 1400.

The main claim to fame though is no doubt the famous Yowie and there is a very photogenic wooden statue. Anyway, you will find him in Yowie Park beside the D'Aguilar Highway just outside Kilcoy itself. He regularly gets emasculated - go have a peek! Yowie Park is the local beauty spot and extremely popular on weekends as the photographs show. The lake is delightful and it is lovely to see dogs romping around with their owners. Excellent picnic facilities and a lovely craft store right next door. Kilcoy was named after the landholding owned by Evan McKenzie the original settler way back in 1814. Evan was of course Scottish! The property is now listed with the National Trust and is 6 kms northeast of town.

On the way to Kilcoy from Brisbane, you go through Caboolture which is a booming suburb on the outskirts of the Brisbane Metropolitan Area. Woodford houses a large correctional centre on your right if you take the scenic route in. Not far after that is the hamlet of Wamuran - make sure you watch out for a fantastic fruit stall on the right hand side of the road - excellent local produce, especially pineapples.

If you are heading towards Kilcoy in the late afternoon, take care - there are several bends where the setting sun will hit straight into your eyes. Council are widening the bitumen road to make this safer, but it will be sometime until all sections are remedied.

Stops in the camping area are limited to 72 hours, and they ask you to put a $6.00 per site donation in the box provided. ($1.00 increase since this photo was taken) There is a clean toilet block with hot and cold tiled showers - even a dump point for porta potties - surely this is an Australian first? Is this a forward looking council or what? In all our travels in Queensland this represents the best value for money. There are six power points available at no extra charge - we tip that this will have to be increased shortly as if you look at the photos you will notice lots of "doubling" up! The wash up sink is located behind the toilets. The area is very leafy and green with lots of established shade trees. Their is no shortage of BBQ's or tables in the shade. This spot is really popular with motorhome owners and despite this the area is very clean. We absolutely recommended Kilcoy!