Day 36 Tuesday 13/6/2023 Toogoolawah to Kenilworth, foggy warm 11 – 23

We head north again and pick up the D’Aguilar Highway to Kilcoy. The mist clears to bright sunshine and State Route 6 takes us up to Beerwah skirting the Maleny Range. We lose Elle and VeeWee in traffic somewhere in Beerwah. Marvelling at how the area has grown since my parents lived here, we turn off at Yandina for fuel, then it’s up the hill to Kenilworth. What seems like a roundabout way is a whole lot better than the near-vertical road via Maleny that almost stumped the Jeep last year. It’s a sinking feeling when the van is on the back and the car comes to a dead stop halfway up a steep ascent.

That was a drive that had a bit of everything, cattle farms, small hobby farms, a grand horse stud and the Kiss My Hass avocado orchard, Mary Smokes Creek, the Glasshouse Mountains and the hinterland towns and finally the Mary Valley.

After setting up at the Kenilworth Showgrounds, we spend the afternoon cleaning, washing at Frocks n Jocks laundromat across the road, walking and snoozing. With a population of a shade over 500, Kenilworth is a pretty hilltop village above the Mary River. The Showgrounds are well maintained making this a popular spot with caravanners.

At happy hour, Elle explains how she hangs her underwear over appliances that glow in the dark.

Dinner is a meatloaf cooked in the air fryer. The verdict: not a patch on cooking it in the oven.

Accom: $25.00

Fuel: $88.53 (1.819c/L)

Towing Kms: 166kms

Odd Spots: Now I know I’ve mentioned this one before, but Mary Smokes Creek must be one of the best names. Every time we pass this way, I picture an old girl in her apron and dragging on a fag down by the creek. Just grabbing a few minutes peace after putting the roast in the oven or having hung out the washing on a Monday.