Yandilla Farmstay

The start of the school holidays provided another opportunity to hit the road again. We kept the kids home on the last day and took off to Yandilla Farmstay (near Kilcoy).

Yandilla Farmstay

From our place you head west through Fernvale, skim the edge of Lake Wivenhoe before snaking your way through the beauty of Lake Sommerset. It is gorgeous countryside and we really should spend more time camping around Sommerset during the warmer months.

Sommerset Dam

We hit the dirt road that leads to the property at around 11am. At about 11:05 I realised we'd overshot the driveway into Yandilla - signage is minimal so keep your eyes peeled. No big deal, there's plenty of room to turn around a couple hundred meters down the road.

A few gates to close throughout the property

The front gate was closed, so being a working farm, we made sure we left it as we found it. We came to a fork in the road that left us in no doubt which way we needed to go. A quick stop at the shed to meet Jo and sign the register, $30 for three bags of firewood and we were off again to find a camping spot.

Confirmation we were in the right place

As we drove in the kids were excited to see the baby lambs and walking Big Macs. We met David as we drove down to camp, so he kindly chaperoned us down to the gate and gave us the tip on the warmest camp spots to take.

Awwwww

Clarabell met us at the gate

There was no one else camped at site so we decided to setup around the established fireplace, which had a tin roof and was going to be about the only warm spot during the upcoming evenings.

Gated camp ground

Around 3:30 in the afternoon things started to really cool down so thoughts turned to lighting a fire. That's when we both realised that we'd left our axes and shovels at home!! What a bunch of seasoned experts hey? The previous night's temp had dropped below zero so we were going to chew through those 3 bags of firewood tonight!

Looking back to camp from the amenities block

Day 2: Camping for us is generally about relaxing around camp whilst we enjoy each other's company - usually over a beverage or two. That was our agenda this weekend and day 2 played out as planned. The day was overcast which kept thing cooler during daylight hours but also warmer in the evening. That said, we'd still need a couple more bags of firewood to keep things toasty.

Our Camp

Day 3: It rained last night which led to a bloody cold morning. We all stayed in bed until around 8:30 before coming out of our hibernation to warm up. We enjoyed a great day around camp which was highlighted by a friendly, but spirited, game of touch.

All to ourselves!!

We picked up a few more bags of wood for the night and was informed by David that we could of purchased a lot more wood for a lot less (a trailer load) - would of been good to have known that on day one.

There was also another issue that left a bad taste in our mouth. We'd pre-paid prior to arriving, but late on day 3 David came around and said he didn't realise we were staying for a third night and would need to cough up an extra $25 per family. He acknowledged the mistake was his, but we still needed to cough up the extra dough. We scraped together the cash, paid up then settled into another great night around the camp fire.

The road between campgrounds

Day 4: It was another brass monkey night and after yesterday's touch game, I woke up with my bones feeling twice their 42 years!

Outside distractions were minimal during our stay. There was one group who popped in for a 20 minute day-visit; there were a surprising number of planes fly overhead which served to remind us we weren't a remote as we felt. Our only other contact with the outside world was David who came down each day around 4:30pm to light the donkey for our hot water.

The shed that housed the donkey

With just our group on site, facilities were more than adequate. Showers and toilets were great - with hot showers being a god send in the chilly afternoons.

Amenities block with tank water on tap

There's a nice creek that runs through the property which would help keep things cool in the summer months. Amentities were spot on and if you're a little more energetically minded then there's plenty of things in or around the area to explore.

Creek - looking west

Creek - looking east

There's also another really large camping area for those that don't need immediate access to amenities and keep in mind there's no bins on the property, so be prepared to take your rubbish with you.

Entrance to camp ground without amenities

Overall we enjoyed our stay at Yandilla, which was all the more unique because we had the campground to ourselves. The amenities were spot on and despite the pricing confusion, Yandilla has the much preferred flat family rate.

Closing the last gate