August 26th Kenilworth Qld

As planned we went down to Sound In Motion in Nambour last week to get the van's Oyster Satellite system checked over and the Pioneer stereo deck working properly. Everything went to plan and the guys at SIM did an excellent job, they found a problem with the LNB on the Sat System was faulty and rectified that, also they did some fancy electronic work on the deck and wired in a rear auxiliary connection into the rear of the deck to enable all the controls to work correctly, we were very happy with the result, they even found the problem with our wineguard digital TV antenna unfortunately they did not have a replacement part so that means us traveling back tomorrow, we are also calling in at Southeast Stainless and getting a large checker plate alloy box fitted to the drawbar of the van, handy for the generator and chainsaw.

So in between then and now we have just been chill'n out at Kenilworth, we have taken drives to Maleny, Montville and Mapleton, also out to Gympie, Imbil and Kandanga, along with visits to the Eumundi markets on Saturdays. Mostly it's been relax one day, go off and explore the next.

Views along the Gympie Kenilworth Road

The couples that we befriended have left, Steve & Mary off to get their diesel heater and other things fitted to their van, and Mick and Jenny went to visit friends. We left Kenilworth for the day to have the jobs done on the Van and came back in the afternoon but went out and stayed at Little Yabba Creek which is approximately 10klms west of Kenilworth. A lovely overnight camp beside the river, it has enough room for half a dozen campers, courtesy gas BBQ and clean Eco style toilets. We were treated to a family of Kookaburra's dropping in along with the blue faced honey eaters.

Camp at Little Yabba Creek

Most tree's have Stag and Elk Horn ferns growing on them

Friendly Kookaburra's

Vickie and i went on a lovely but short walk along the Fig Tree trail, this well maintained track meanders through the rain forest giving walkers the opportunity to see some great specimen tree's, be warned though there are also some stinging tree's which i think may have done the deed on my skin as i ended up with an itchy rash for a few days.

Stinging Tree - Dont touch

We stayed two nights at Little Yabba Creek and upon leaving noticed a sign stating it was an overnight stop, Ooops Sorry about that, but we hadn't stopped anyone else staying in fact we only saw two other campers in the time we were there.

Large Moreton Bay Fig Tree

Map of the area

Back into Kenilworth showgrounds again early morning, the place had quietened down a bit and we had space to set up along the fence line overlooking the rolling hills and small creek. I disconnected the van but when i went to start the ute it just went click click, Mmmm battery i thought so out came my jump leads to connect to the auxiliary battery but that didn't help, being in the RAC i thought it would be wise to use the service and call them up, fairly soon the local mechanic drove in and did some tests and gave me the diagnosis that the starter motor was the problem. Bugger as the starter motors are deep inside the valley of the newer V8's and not an easy fix, not much i could do than take his knowledge as truth and a quick tow start had me mobile and off to Nambour Toyota to book it in. Dropping the ute off i then organized a hire car for a couple of days through 1/2 price Car Rentals in Maroochydore, i was very pleased with the service as Jo the manager came to Nambour to pick me up and take me back to the office to do the paper work, no extra costs all part of the service.

So having wheels again i headed back to Kenilworth, arriving back around lunch time i received a call from Toyota telling me that the Ute was fine and the battery was the problem, apparently it had dropped some cells and though it was showing good volts it's cranking amps were way down. I find it hard to comprehend that a mechanic operating the local RAC wasn't able to correctly diagnose a faulty battery and saving us all the hassle. Of course i then had to return the hire car, the company reimbursed us a day's rental which was appreciated.

Poppy Flowers at the Cheese Factory

Local Water Bird

Kenilworth Main Street

Fence Post

Another Flood and this tree will fall

 Back at Kenilworth we were surprised to see three Bushtrackers had arrived and set up camp, it was just as surprising to know that we had met two of the van's owners previously at KingFisher camp three years ago when they were Kimberley Karavan Owners and wanna-be BT owners. They had checked out our van then and liked what they saw, so here they were with new Bushtrackers. Sadly one of the group Debbie lost her husband to cancer before taking delivery of her 1st van two years ago, she also had the misfortune to have an accident which damaged the van beyond repair and here she was at Kenilworth after taking delivery of her 2nd new van along with her friends Mark and Christine, Trevor and Jan all with very recently purchased Bushtrackers giving her the support that only friends can do.

So a MINI MUSTER was happening that night and we had a great fire going and the conversations came easily as it often does with like minded people. Their one night stay turned into three and involved another visit to Eumundi Markets Saturday morning.

Trev and Jan

Mark and Chris

Debbie

All three rigs looked very similar and must look a site when traveling in convoy.

We have been waiting for our mail to turn up and that happened today [Monday] which means tomorrow the trip back to SIM and then to get the alloy box fitted. Where we end up tomorrow night we are not sure.