There are simply not many better ways to spend a weekend then going on a camping adventure. I find the best way to feel refreshed and ready for another work week, is by having some quality time away from the hustle and bustle of life. Camping has the added benefit of being both incredibly relaxing whilst at the same time having the ability to be action packed full of adventure. My latest camping voyage was to Kenilworth, just a short trip but it truly was a great one. So, if you’re keen to check out Kenilworth campgrounds for yourself, want a rough guide to weekend camping or if you just want to hear more about my adventure, then I hope you read along and enjoy this article.

I sent off on this Camping Adventure with my partner Mary and our two friends Annie and Mick. To help set the scene we’ve been trying to organise this camp trip for quite some time. But between some of us getting covid, lock downs and our day to day busy lives it was quite hard to find a weekend were all four of us we’re free. None the less we were determined to make it happen, especially as this is basically our last chance before our good friends Annie and Mick leave for their year off.

Annie and Mick in three weeks’ time are leaving for a year long holiday. They’ve both been planning and saving for this for about four years now. They are planning on doing a Lap around our great country Australia so its pretty safe to say they too are big fans of camping. Over the years of planning, they have tossed and turned over what setup to run for their adventure. Annie was pretty set on the luxuries of a caravan wear as Mick was keen on the capabilities of an offroad camper trailer. Eventually mostly due to budget they decided to keep things simplistic and ended up choosing to fully kit out there Four Wheel Drive with a roof top tent, awning and etc. One of their major reasons for choosing this was fuel economy and due to the current fuel climate, they’re pretty glad they did. Another added cost towing can bring, is toll on your vehicle, this can either be an expense of setting up your vehicle to handle the load or an unexpected expense of things breaking down the road. Although they would have loved the off road capabilities and luxuries of an offroad camper trailer, keeping things basic and camping out of their Four Wheel Drive ultimately met their budget needs.

So, as you can see, myself and my partner were pretty keen to have one last adventure with them before they drive off for a year. So last weekend was the time to go, unfortunately Annie and Mick had work commitments come up late Friday so they wouldn’t be able to make it to camp Friday night, but they were planning on being their first thing Saturday morning. Annie and Mick had a good laugh because myself and Mary are not morning people, nor are we very organised, but we hustled to get everything ready before Friday so we could camp Friday night and not wake up early.

Honestly though the extra effort of preparing during the week to make it to camp on Friday night was well and truly worth it. Usually, I start work at eight and finish at five but to try and beat the traffic I started an hour early to knock off at four. My two cents worth is for a weekend camping trip to pack the car Thursday night, that way as soon as you finish work, you’re ready to hit the road. Once Mary and I had setup camp and were chilling by the fire the worries of the week were well and truly drifting away.

Kenilworth is about a two hour drive from Brisbane we’re we live, so for us it was the perfect mix of being far enough to have beautiful scenery and boast the remote camping feeling whilst still being close enough to be very achievable for a weekend camping trip. We stayed at a place called  Kenilworth Camping which is a huge family owned and ran dairy farm. Plus the Mary river runs through the property giving a row of epic campsites. We managed to score one of the last ones on the river bank and at night whilst we slept we could hear the cows moo. Like we predicted Saturday morning we slept in and woke up to the arrival of our friends Annie and Mick. They setup camp right next to us, showing off their newly purchased roof top tent and 270-degree awning. After cooking bacon and eggs on the portable BBQ we went for a refreshing dip in the Mary river. Mick and I even went for a cheeky rope swing into the water, by using a snatch strap around a tall tree branch. By then we’d worked up an appetite and we’re ready for some lunch, so we packed up the awning and headed to the famous Kenilworth Bakery. This bakery was renowned for its massive one kilogram donut challenge, this thing was truly a dense beast. Decorating the entire inside of the store and outdoor eating area were plates, signed by champions, strong enough to finish the challenge. The plates not only featured names and time it took to complete but we spent a good while laughing at the comments to. One of the most common themes was “never again!” but I also saw a few terminator style “I’ll be back” comments. After picking up some local Maleny dairy cheese we headed back to camp for a cheese plater and some drinks around the fire.

All in all it was a cracking good weekend, to not only catch up with some dear friends before they leave but to also just get away from it all and destress for a few days. I’ve always thought you have to wait for a long weekend to go camping otherwise it’s not worth it, but I can’t stress enough how I was wrong. It truly is worth it and it feels way longer than you think. So please just give it a go, pack your things during the week, get the car ready Thursday night and hit the road first thing after knock off on a Friday and then have yourself a great camping weekend.