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whereby I had phoned ahead to ensure the<br />
closed sign would be prominently displayed<br />
while our tour group was in town. If only I had the<br />
power…….!!<br />
tall timbers, small creeks and extensive views<br />
across rolling hills and iconic landmarks such<br />
as the Glasshouse Mountains. Following lunch<br />
at Mary Cairncross Park in Maleny, we took the<br />
opportunity to explore the area around Montville,<br />
Flaxton and Mapleton.<br />
Our accommodation for the night, the Morning<br />
Star Motel, has fantastic hinterland views<br />
across to the coastal environs of Caloundra<br />
and Mooloolaba and an outdoor area that takes<br />
advantage of these views. What a setting for our<br />
first happy hour of the tour.<br />
Day 2 to Tin Can Bay<br />
Day 2 and beautiful sunshine greeted us as<br />
some of the more energetic engaged in a<br />
morning walk. Unfortunately, due to a prior<br />
engagement back home, Ron and Judy Gillis left<br />
the group this morning to return to Toowoomba.<br />
And then there were three!!<br />
With only 150km to travel to Tin Can Bay, a<br />
very relaxed breakfast was followed by window<br />
shopping in Maleny village before moving on to<br />
Kenilworth where the men in the group visited<br />
the locally renowned Cheese Factory for tasting<br />
and coffee while the ladies targeted the shops….<br />
Or more correctly a particular dress shop.<br />
Imagine the consternation when the ladies<br />
arrived at the ‘particular’ dress shop only to<br />
find the doors securely locked for the regular<br />
Tuesday closure. Yours truly copped quite a<br />
lambasting for this oversight in tour planning…..<br />
even some mention of clandestine actions<br />
48<br />
The <strong>Octagon</strong> - November 2015<br />
Dress shops were soon forgotten as we<br />
continued our tour north to Kandangah for lunch<br />
at the local pub. The Kandangah Hotel is an icon<br />
and a community social point in the Mary Valley,<br />
having been established in 1914. (As I was<br />
compiling this report, the news came through<br />
that the Kandangah hotel had burnt to the<br />
ground on the morning of 12 December 2015.<br />
What a tragedy for our history and the local<br />
community.)<br />
En route to Kandangah, we visited Imbil, where<br />
the lookout to the west of the town provided a<br />
stunning vista across Yabba Creek and the fertile<br />
flats of the adjacent Mary Valley.<br />
Following the Mary Valley Road, Gympie was<br />
soon on the horizon and then disappeared<br />
quickly in our rear view mirrors as we picked up<br />
the road to the Tin Can Bay Motel, our home for<br />
the next 3 nights.<br />
Day 3 in Tin Can Bay<br />
Day 3 and another early morning walk…. if this<br />
keeps up we will be much fitter by the end of the<br />
week… or more likely it will provide a balance for<br />
the happy hours and food consumption that are<br />
synonymous with these tours.<br />
A slow loss of coolant from Rob Fraser’s MG<br />
occupied the combined mechanical knowledge<br />
of the group for a period of time… diagnosis,<br />
a leaking top radiator hose… good, but where<br />
to you get one of those in Tin Can Bay. Well it<br />
just so happened I had a spare that was quickly<br />
fitted. Did we solve the problem? As you will see<br />
later there is much more to this story!!<br />
With a yen to explore the area and do a spot of
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