A Yowie Hunt in Kenilworth

There has been a Yowie sighting just south of Kenilworth.Two birdwatchers searching for owls late one night on Fig Tree Walk at Little Yabba Creek spotted the man-like creature, covered in thick black fur, staring at them with glowing red eyes.“It was very much a tall upright shape, not stooped over at all like a gorilla,” one of the birdwatchers, who asked not to be named, said of the frightening encounter.“It was stocky, but not broad shouldered or muscle bound, just an average well-built hairy figure with a size proportionate head… and... the red glowing eyes.“I did consider taking a photo with my camera but I didn't as I was certain the flash would have terrified it and it would have attacked us.“My only priority was for my friend and I to get out of there safely.”Kenilworth is described as a Yowie sighting 'hot spot' so local resident Peta Hempsall, decided to visit the site with some friends for a “Yowie hunt” to search for the creature.The administrators of the Sunshine Coast Yowie Research Facebook page said the encounter was not an isolated one – there have been two confirmed and 36 unconfirmed sightings on the Sunshine Coast in the past 12 months.They describe Kenilworth as a Yowie sighting “hot spot”.“Little Yabbie Creek is a very active area for reports, and also Beerwah and Landsborough,” David Taylor, the Yowie Research site’s administrator, said.“We often get contacted by people there who have heard howls, tree knocks, and have smelled the weird smell – a cross between rotten meat and a sewage plant – that is their typical body odour.”He said sightings were only classed as “confirmed” if accompanied by such evidence or actual sightings by the researchers themselves.Meantime, one of the birdwatchers said she had no intention of ever returning to the site, adding that “just thinking about it” makes her nervous.But that didn’t stop local resident Peta Hempsall, who decided to gather some friends together to return to the site for a “Yowie hunt” to search for the creature.“It seems to be unusual that, out of all those stories, none of them are true –I’m sure that  a lot of them aren’t true – but you’d think that at least one or two of them are true,” Ms Hempsall said.The “Yowie hunt” became the talk of campers at Little Yabba Creek camp site as they gathered around their campfires and at the communal electric barbecue.The usual debate raged as to whether the Yowie – or Bunyip – actually existed in secluded or remote bushland.Despite walking through Fig Tree walk in the dead of night – twice - Ms Hempsall and her band saw only a handful of possums, kangaroos and several scurrying marsupials.The lack of a sighting hasn’t dampened their enthusiasm.“It’s always when you’re not looking that you find things, so we’ll keep searching, we’re keen for another look,” she said.The birdwatchers, however, had heard other recent stories of a sighting in April at the nearby Booloomba Creek campground.“Hopefully you can find some other people who have also seen such things who are willing also to speak up about their encounters,” she said.Anyone with Yowie stories can contact Richard on 0438 434 012 or email bruinsma1@bigpond.comTo see video of the Yowie hunt, visit the Sunshine Valley Gazette Facebook page.