2015 - 3 day kenilworth explore trip

Well, managed to arrange a 3day exploring trip with my
Cousin - Jeff. He had 2wks leave and so did I, so Monday morning came as we
headed off to our starting point - Kilcoy. Turned off just b4 the Meatworks and
made our way up towards Mt Kilcoy. This road was half washed away 1/2 way up
the mountain last time I was on it, but fortunately it had been repaired and we
continued our way up to the top on the mountain and into Bellthorpe SF. Stopped
for smoko and we were still in the clouds at this point in time with a light
drizzle of rain as well..... not the place to be if it started to really rain.
Quick bit to eat and we headed off again along Bellthorpe Rd, turning off onto
Middle Rd across a wooden bridge, then Waterfall Trk & then Sports oval Trk
b4 reaching Sunday Ck Rd. From here we decided to explore the northern side of
Sunday Ck Rd so we turned right then took the 1st track on the Left
("H" Traverse Trk). This eventually bought us out onto Yielo Rd. We
followed this road all the way around bringing us out at Peach trees
Campgrounds.

Stopped for Lunch at Peach trees and decided to explore some
of the surrounding Forest Tracks before making our way back the same way we
came, looking for other interesting tracks. On the way back we past one of the
local station owners who stopped for a chat. We quizzed him about some of the
local roads and he advised us not to go down Summer Mtn Rd as there was a deep bog
hole that had caught a few cars in the past.

The decision was made to head back out to Sunday Ck road and
head towards Charlie Moreland and look for some more tracks to explore on the
LHS. About half way along we turned left onto the other end of Summer Mtn Rd,
then onto McAuleys Trk. The tracks were getting a bit steep in parts and it
seemed to be heading  in the direction I
had wanted to get to for a few years – an old abandon Stockman’s Hut. As time
was getting on we starting keeping an eye out for a camping spot just in case we
didn’t come out where I was hoping… After 
a few more steep descents we did eventually come out at the old Hut. By
this time it was getting late, so we found a suitable spot to make camp for the
night…. After setting up camp and getting the fire up and running for cooking,
we sat down for a cold beer and enjoy the peace & solitude…..We thought we
were in the middle of nowhere, far from anyone…. but bugger me, in the distance
we could hear a vehicle coming and the saw the headlights…. couldn’t believe it!!!
 The vehicle stopped a little way down
the track and we had hoped they hadn’t seen us. They eventually turned around
and headed back where they came from. 15mins later they came back, this time 2
cars. They took the turn off up the hill that we had come down earlier and
headed off the top, but within another 30mins or so they came back down the
hill and then disappeared into the night where they had originally came from. Not
long after we ended up climbing into our swags while listening to the on and
off again rain falling…

Woke up around 7am and packed up and we headed off down
where we saw the vehicles went to find out how they got out the closed track.
Once we reached the creek, we saw how they got around the road closed  section – they made a new track around the closed
gate. We headed back up past the Hut and followed the track to see where it would
lead us…. We crossed the creek a couple of times before coming to our first
obstacle – a washed out causeway. Some major track building was required and as
we weren’t sure what laid ahead, we reverse and went back the way we came and
used the new bypass track that the fellas made the night before as this bought
us out closer to Charlie Morelands than having to back track as few hours more.
As we got closer to Charlie Morelands the tracks were getting wetter and
muddier as well. We past the turnoff to Black Hut Rd and continued onwards
checking out a few side tracks along the way – one track containing a big mud
hole.

Stopped for Lunch at Charlie Morelands and couldn’t believe
the changes that had taken place there – a complete overhaul of the place. A
sign of how popular the place must be…. After lunch we headed out towards Kenilworth
and km up the road we turned left onto Campbell’s Rd Trk. This track started
ok, but soon became more a motorbike track, with me having to stop a few times
to get out and trim back the lantana. We eventually reached the top and turning
right onto Woodrow Rd, but it soon became evident  that we had no chance of getting to where we
had wanted to with the track becoming VERY wet & slippery Clay track, with
my attempts to get up this hill resulting in me almost sliding off the track.
It was about this point that a couple of young fellas in a Nissan ute pull up
behind us. We chatted for a bit and we both decided to retrace our steps back
where we had come from as it was the safest way. Reaching the bottom, we headed
into Kenilworth to refuel and have some Lunch.