A picnic at Kenilworth

On the weekend we decided to head out for a picnic which we haven't done in ages.  One child was happy but the other whinged and moaned quite a bit about it all.  As they grow I'm starting to think that happy family outings maybe a thing of memory so I'll soak up and enjoy these days while they last.

Hubby is a bit notorious for taking us on picnics and some 7 or 8 hours and 500 kilometres later, we get home.  (Perhaps it's the memory of those days which prompts the whinging).

Anyway, we decided to just go to one of our usual and favourite spots.  You know, the place you go to when you have no other place in mind and where everyone will enjoy it.

For us that is the town of Kenilworth which is about an hours drive away up over the range through the town of Maleny and down the other side in to the valley dotted with dairy farms.

I did attempt a bit of hooking in the car on the way over but the winding roads of the ranges soon put a stop to that when I started to feel a bit queasy.

The photo below is one of the views of the valley we're about to head down to.  It's taken from the top of the range community of Witta which is near Maleny.

Our first stop was the picnic ground at Little Yabba Creek as there's a short walk through the a small section of sub-tropical rainforest there.  Even meandering along taking photos it took only 20 minutes although I'm pretty sure Miss R did it in 10.  She just marched through not taking in much at all.

From the car park you cross the bridge over Little Yabba Creek then onto the walk.  It's a very easy one with no steep inclines and has either boardwalks or bitumen to walk on.

The creek doesn't have much water in it right now as we really haven't had a lot of rain but I remember having plenty of picnics here growing up and in summer it was a perfect place to cool off in on a hot day after a game of cricket.

The walk itself is one of meandering paths...

...odd looking fungus...

….and more spectacular fig trees.

I have many photos of my kids standing next to the tree below at various stages in their lives but we now seem to have reached the stage where they don't want to be photographed.  Ah well...

It was then back to the bridge with the troops already across and waiting for me before I'd even finished the walk.  I do like to dawdle and look at my surroundings though and not rush.

In this instance they were happy to wait as there was something waiting in the picnic area near the car which caught their attention.

Can you see it in the photo below?  My Australian readers will probably know what it is.

It was a goanna that was wandering about the grounds.

After that it was just another 10 minute drive and we were in the town of Kenilworth itself where we had lunch and a play in the playground.

The Kenliworth Cheese Factory is opposite the playground and has some beautiful cheeses to try.  We didn't go over there or buy any on this particular day, mainly because we didn't take an esky with us and also because our local grocery shop stocks a good range of the cheeses if we have a bit of a craving.

We then drove home the same way we got there which was back over the range to Maleny again.  There are a few different roads you can take to get there and we often take a different one just to break up the view but today we were happy going back the same way.  Why not though, it is a beautiful drive.

I hope you are all having a wonderful week wherever in the world you are.

xx Susan

Father's Day

Sunday was Father's Day and by some miracle hubby was actually home to celebrate on the day this year.  Usually we pick a day that he's home a week or so after the official day to celebrate as he's often working.

After pancakes for a late breakfast we got organised to go on a picnic.  The whole thought of going up the coast and dealing with the traffic and crowds that are a part of Father's Day there didn't appeal so we headed west.

Not too far, just a short half hour drive away to our favourite spot Stoney Creek. (You can see some of our previous visits here and here.)

(If the links don't work then just click on the picnics label on the side bar and scroll down to the story's on Stoney Creek).

The water at the swimming hole looked beautiful as usual with it's gorgeous blue/green colour.  It was freezing though and the kids were upset that we wouldn't let them go for a swim. 

We've promised them we'll come back on some of the hot days in summer that are looming on the horizon so they can swim to their hearts content.

So instead of swimming they had to make do with throwing rocks, exploring and racing stick boats down the small creek that trickles into the larger one.

We certainly bypassed the crowds out here as there were only 2 other family's at the small picnic ground when we arrived.

It really was lovely and quiet and I wished I had a book with me so I could laze around reading while the kids explored with Daddy.

Considering there was hardly anyone there, we decided to picnic on the grassy area near the swimming hole rather than at the designated picnic area.  We had the whole place to ourselves which was beyond wonderful. 

It was a really lovely family day which just happen to be some of our favourite kind of days.

xx Susan

Weekend antics

During the week hubby and I went for a drive while the kids were at school.  There was no destination in mind, just a bit of exploring that took us through nearby national park and through areas we haven't been to in awhile.  We LOVED it and not only because we took the time to spend time doing something we like together.

We also realised that it's been awhile since we've been on a family picnic so we decided that Saturday was the day for an outing.  My brother and his boys were along for the day too so it ended up being a lovely outing (and noisy).

When we first left home there was a shower of rain before we even got to the Peachester range but the weather didn't look threatening.  As much as I love rain, I'm not fond of it when we're going up and down dirt tracks on mountain ranges.

There was a couple of ranges with very windy roads on our way to our destination, the Peachester range and the Bellthorpe range.  Thank goodness for motion sickness wrist bands which we now have a few of for Little Miss R.  My petal only got queasy a couple of times on the trip and really enjoyed herself.  This girl gets car sick on a straight, flat road so the wrist bands are definately the way to go.

After the Deer farm which excited the kidlettes no end, it was into the National forest and onto the dirt tracks.  They began as fantastically smooth, well graded roads.

We stopped for morning tea at the Old Brandon Mill site which we thought would be great for the kids.

We explained some of the old machinery to them and the workings of a saw mill.

The were impressed briefly with it all and the fact that they have great-grandparents on both sides of the family who had bullock teams for hauling timber.

As with most kids though, climbing on things proved more popular than the educational side of things.

It didn't matter whether it was the dog crate on the back of the ute...

...or the crane pivot which proved the perfect place to pose.

After our snack stop it was time to head further into the forest.  The roads became much more narrow and bumpy.  I have plenty of photos where the trees are right next to the car and you're driving through a very narrow corridor along steep hillsides but they're a bit too blurry.  It got slightly bumpy!

The kids loved driving through the creeks of course.

We ended up at Charlie Moorlands near Kenilworth for lunch.  It's much drier there now than when the kidlettes and I camped there last year but at least the walking tracks are open again after the flooding from last year.

After lunch hubby and my brother took the kids for a walk while I cleared the picnic things up.  I then followed on for a little while before realising I wasn't going to catch them up so I backtracked along the path and found a quiet spot to sit and wait.  It was lovely.

We were all pretty knackered when we got home but it was such a lovely day.  Hubby's home for a full weekend next weekend so we'll look at going somewhere different then.  

xx Susan

Fun family times

We have been going out for a few more picnics recently.  We've certainly needed to have the family time and it's also been great to have a break from an extremely stressful extended family situation right now.

 

One Sunday I packed up a picnic and off we went up to Amamoor State Forest near Gympie to check out the campsites there.  Maintenance was happening at one campsite so we couldn't get in too check it out which was a pity as I think it would have been the nicer spot of the two sites.

 

The other camp site is where the Gympie Music Muster is held every year and I will admit that the area didn't hold much appeal to me at all so I don't think we'll be camping there any time soon.

 

We did do plenty of driving through the forestry area and I've finally realised just what my hubby loves on these kind of days.  Driving around dirt roads and basically...just exploring by driving. 

 

Instead of the lovely picnic spot with a creek or something to explore like I had envisioned, we ended up at the top of a hill near a phone tower for our picnic.

 

It was still enjoyable.

After a couple of hours of driving around and exploring the area, we finally got back to the day use area at Amamoor and explored the main creek a little bit.  Then before hubby could get back in the car, the kids and I made a bee-line for one of the walking tracks and hubby had no choice but to follow us.

 

 It was beautiful walking along and crossing the creek.  I love these pockets of rainforest that we have close to home.

 

There was plenty of interesting funghi...

 

....and moss to look at.

 

We made our way up to the waterfall before turning around and heading back to the car.

 

I loved the roots on this tree near the waterfall.  Not only the fact that they looked great but the red in them was wonderful.

 

When hubby's been back at work on weekends we've either had outings with just the kids and myself or my Uncle has taken us on picnics too.  He loves picnics and exploring as well as spending time with us all so we've all been finding these days wonderful.

 

Hopefully there'll be plenty more in the near future too.

 

xx Susan

Another day out

Last Sunday was Father's Day here but Daddy was away at work so the kidlettes and I had a wonderful day without him.

 

As he's heading back to work about lunch time this Sunday we decided to have our own family Father's Day today (Saturday).

 

The kidlettes wanted to go back to Stoney Creek because Daddy's never been there and also just because they loved it so much.

 

 

It was another gorgeous day, although a little windy and cooler than last week.  The creek was just as beautiful though.

 

There was lots of exploring over and around the rocks......

 

 

....also plenty of throwing rocks into the creek.  They decided that they didn't fill it up with rocks last week so they wanted another go!

 

 

Little Miss  R and Daddy decided to explore the other bank of the creek.

 

 

She was in such good hands with her Daddy looking after her.

 

My boy and I were happy to leave the exploring to them this time.

 

 

On the way home we called into my sister's place as she had mentioned that her mulberry tree was starting to fruit.

 

 

One of us certainly had a feast!

 

(I won't mention the colour of her shirt or hands either!)

 

It was just another lovely, beautiful family day and I'm really looking forward to heading off and exploring with my family on more picnics. 

 

I have so many amazing memories of going on picnics with my family when I was a kid and I want my kids to have similar wonderful memories.

 

It's also a great way to get them out and learning about our local area too!

 

Hope you're having a great weekend.

 

xx Susan