Last weekend the boys and I headed off on a day adventure, planing a brown sign hunt around Kenilworth. We waited for Mum and Dad to take off on their next adventure, then left for ours.
We headed straight to Kenilworth, and called in to Kenilworth Homestead for a cuppa and drop off our solar panel to some mates. I was hoping the homestead would have a brown sign for it, but alas it doesn’t.
We headed into town to find where the Fig Tree Walk is, having discovered brown signs for it on Google Street View. We found out the Fig Tree Walk is a few kilometres out of town, but also found another brown sign we were not expecting for the Kenilworth Historical Museum.
We went to the museum, and learnt about the area. The person operating the museum is the niece of person who set it up, and was able to tell us about the history of the area from her own recollections, and stories told to her by her uncle. I’ve been to quite a few museums over the last 6 months, this was the first to have a personal tour through the museum by someone with direct connections to the majority of displays.
After the museum the day was getting on, so instead of having lunch after the Fig Tree Walk, we dropped into the Kenilworth Bakery to grab a quick pie. Good plan, not so easy to be quick during peak lunch period on a long weekend in Kenilworth.
The bakery was once the general store, the first store to be built in Kenilworth (museum trivia, check). We spoke about this and other things we learnt while waiting in line. Jack pondered the value of tackling the 1kg donut challenge, but we didn’t have time to stay so we got a pie each and headed off.
We arrived at the parking area for the Fig Tree Walk, and Danny decided he needed the toilet urgently, 15 minutes after saying he didn’t need to go. Daniel checked out the long drop toilets while Jack and I tried to keep out of the fume’s range.
The walk was a quick one compared to what we are used to, being a bit over a kilometre. The boys learnt about the stinging tree, which made them keep a careful eye for the leaves above, and leaves on the forest floor. It may have contributed to the walk being quicker still as they weren’t fussed on stinging trees above them.
We then headed to Charlie Moreland, a camping ground we have been a few times before, though we haven’t been for a while. The boys were young, Daniel still a baby when we were there last. The best raining camping weekend was had here, summer rain meant we didn’t feel cold even though we were drenched to the bone. Or maybe it was because it was a cocktail night and we didn’t notice. I can’t recall, but we had good memories.
Charlie Moreland has changed a fair bit with updated toilets (flushing, far less fumes), but the cold shower is no longer there. The swimming hole is unchanged, and just as popular on a warm day.
The grounds displayed a list of walks, but the scale didn’t make much sense. It was saying one walking track was 30 minutes return, and another 2 hours. It didn’t tell you that is after you have driven to the parking area first. The 30 minute walk was 11kms away.
We drove though, not trusting the sign. The track was a great walk with a very scenic waterfall. We saw a sign on the way in that the road to the next walk is closed. We spoke to a couple and they were sure it is open again, so we continued to the next walk. The bridge was very closed, with a rather permanent looking concrete filled steel barrier build across the track. We would have to drive back out and around to the other side.
Turning around (and clearing off a leech I found enjoying my blood without paying for it), I noted Jimna was just as far as Kenilworth was. We probably wouldn’t make it out and back in to the other side of the bridge before dark, but we would make it to Peach Trees.
Peach Trees is a brown sign I was familiar with. The sign, not the place itself. It is on the way to Land Cruiser Mountain Park we have been to many times. This time, we followed the brown sign to see where it lead us to.
Peach Trees is really nice spot for camping, we could tell by how many people were camping there. The toilets looked decent (flushing) and have had the same updates as when Charlie Moreland campgrounds did.
There are some walks there too, we did the shortest one with the afternoon light starting to leave us. The walk went across the creek and along the bank on the other side from the camping area. We spotted a sandstone viewing section along the banks (on the camping side), so we checked that out as our last activity.
The creek is home to a platypus or few. We sat and waited quietly with some other boys doing the same, hoping to spot the signs of the platypus swimming. I’m not sure why we did. It was pretty much dark by then, and all we would have seen is ripples in the water. We didn’t even see this, and I wondered yet again why we are trying to look for famously shy platypus on a long weekend with a hundred or so kids running around close by.
We headed home and discussed whether we should make plans to head here again with the camper in tow, and bikes on the rack. I can almost feel the warmth of the campfire now.
