New England and surrounds

Having arrived in Armidale, set up in the show grounds and we can't just sit around. Into the town centre and then a 2 hr self guided drive around the historic sites. We are very impressed with Armidale, it is well laid out with all services required and it has a really nice feel about it.

After not so good info from the local information centre, the next day we find everything we wanted to see was closed. You would think they would know. With time to spare, a visit to the regional art gallery was actually a really good surprise with great art, especially the Lindsay's on display, followed by a cafe stop of course and hook up and drive the 100k to Tamworth. Flat country side with not much that we wanted to see along the way, except for Julia to have a look at the "famous" wool shop at Uralla, with its $550 jumper - bet they sell a lot of those!

Arrived in Tamworth and we are ready to sing country - a visit to the Information Centre and then loaded up with good info this time, we are ready to plan our time, with a full day tomorrow. We wandered around Peel street which is the main CBD of Tamworth, what a bloody mess of traffic. There are pedestrian crossings every 20 metres it seems and so traffic is at a stand still, blocking intersections and causing chaos. After waiting for nearly 10 minutes to get across, first gear and just crawled in. They gave way eventually. A quick climb up Mt. Oxley to the lookout gave a panoramic view of the town - you don't realise it is so big.

 

Intrepid cyclists

Wednesday started with a long bike ride along the Peel river in the sunshine which meant we were ready for the Golden Guitar and the Country Hall of Fame, just south of the town. A nice place for lunch and a wander through the exhibits, very interesting to look at the progression of country music in Australia and its origins put down to Tex Morton (who was a kiwi) and the display was excellent. We then went, once again, on the self guided tour of the historic sites of the town. The information sheet gives spot on directions with a description of each site and we have found that it is a really good way to see the important bits, without having to go on the organised tours. We then finished off at the display - Walk a Country Mile museum - back at the info centre, an interactive and static display with video and artifacts showing the history of country music in Australia, all very interesting and well worth the $4.50 admission.

John Williamson

Thursday and it hard to believe this trip is nearly over. Today begins the two day hop to arrive in Bowral on Friday to catch up with the relatives. We wanted to bypass Bathurst due to the car races on the weekend and so began our circuitous route through the horse country of Scone, the back roads to Merriwa through to Mudgee and then to a free camp spot at a locality at Ilford. The country side was rolling hills of grassland, probably a little slower than the major highways, but much nicer. We also missed all the traffic heading to Bathurst. There are so many places where communities are trying to attract passing travelers. One is Wallabadah, just 50k south of Tamworth, where there is a memorial garden to the first fleet and a wide open free camp area just a short walk to the pub.

First Fleet Memorial Park

The next day the trusty GPS took us the shortest route to Goulburn, but we think maybe the longest,through the little hamlets of Tarana, Portland, Meadow flat and Oberon, real mountain territory, steep grazing land, rolling valleys and then miles and miles of tree plantations.
There were large numbers of old buildings to admire that appeared to be exactly as they would have been when built 100 years ago. Makes you wonder if the boxes we build today will have the same appeal to future generations as these old ones do to us.

Gods Own Country

Oberon would have to have the largest factory we have seen where they manufacture MDF board ( ex CarterHolt, Gill). Some very steep hills to climb and even steeper ones to crawl down, especially when there is a couple of ton of van pushing you. 2nd gear and 40kph were the norm a couple of times. We were glad to have taken this route as it was well worth it for the views alone and much better than the straight boring highway.
Early afternoon after the last 50k stretch along the Hume Hwy, arrival in Mittagong to drop the van, the only caravan park close to Bowral. There is even a lack of free camps around this area which is surprising seeing its popularity.
Monday will see us on the home stretch to Gembrook and then end of a wonderful 8 weeks on the road. Sad to see it come to an end, over 11000 kilometers, nothing major to go wrong with car, van and personnel and we can't ask for more than that. We have seen some wonderful sites, met some great and interesting people from all walks of life, seen some incredible mobile rigs and lifestyles and have been impressed, in the majority, with the openness and welcoming of most people on the road.
It is also a tribute to the inhabitants of small rural villages who are adapting to having travelers come to their towns and are making changes to attract and encourage them to stay.

The end

 (until the next adventure)

Into New South Wales

Fancy being kicked out of Ipswich because a circus is coming - thought we were it...........we didn't plan to do much distance today and so headed south to Warwick past the Amberley Air force base (not open today of course), the road being hilly to start with, becoming mountainous through Cunningham's Gap which just seemed to go on and on and on..........and up and up...........

We avoided Stanthorpe and then took the fruit drive (another tourist drive, go figure) where all we saw was dying localities, closed stalls,possibly due to the bypass of the Cunningham Hwy - we should have stuck to the highway. At the border of QLD and NSW is the town of Wallangara which is where the rail line gauge changed, meaning all passengers and freight had to change to a new train. The station has been fully restored and contains a cafe and history displays. A town that is making the most of their past to ensure their future.

Into Tenterfield and of course, we started singing the damn song. It is one of the homes of Federation and in fact one of only three designated Federation towns in Australia (no we don't know where the others are). There is history here other than Peter Allan, even if his maracas are in the information centre. A run up to Mount McKenzie lookout, the Cork tree that was planted in 1861 (seedling brought from England in a jam tin) and is the largest cork tree in Australia, the Tenterfield saddlers house (he was real) and then that was enough for the day.

Tenterfield Rail Museum

The railway museum was close enough to walk around the corner too, even if it was closed. Lovely old building in the setting sun and also a market place on Saturday (which Julia will visit no doubt).
Leaving Tenterfield, after having two large nails removed and the van tyre repaired, we headed south wards again via Lismore and Casino over the ranges with lovely views and in towards Ballina, a coastal village where we had previously spent time on holidays. Due to the holiday crowds we were staying about 11k to the north at Alstonville, which is apparently to historic hub or the service centre or something of the area for some reason. Not enough time to figure out why. The Ballina fair was on with music e, buskers and food stalls which we managed to catch the tail end of in the late afternoon sunshine. A walk along the harbour wall and then back to the van for a late dinner.

Ballina surfers
 

Sunday was the long drive from Ballina to Beringen, the start of the water fall way. Our route took us through seaside towns of Yamba, McLean (a Scottish town with tartan on lamp posts), Uranga, all as we drove past massive rivers. Interesting at the time was the speeding boats with skiers on the bridge to bridge (Grafton to Harwood bridge and back, 108k at 120mph -ouch). This area is known as the Northern Rivers.
Parked the van at the Bellingen show grounds and then a 60k visit south the Scott's Head to meet up with relatives holidaying from Sydney. Beach walk and dinner and ready to fall into bed much later than we normally do.

Bellingen coffee

With not far to go on Monday we spent some time walking the streets of Bellingen which is, apparently, an old hippie town. We managed to find an upstairs cafe which had the best coffee for the whole trip - gave the heart a real kick start. Managed to find a couple of bargains in the recycle shops so all in all a pleasant morning.
A slow trip north along the picturesque, steep, narrow and 14k climb along the Waterfall Way. Not many running falls unfortunately as it has been so dry. We made a stop at Doriggo and a visit to a local woodwork display, amazing what people can make with wood - very envious. Out of Doriggo is the Dangar Falls which was well recommended and slightly impressive. Lunch stop at the much more spectacular Wollomombi Gorge and falls, no water but very deep and impressive.

Dangar Falls

Wollomombi Gorge

Finally into Armidale into a very strong wind and a possibility of RAIN - not sure what that feels like as we haven't seen any for 7 weeks.

Maleny, Toowoomba and surrounds

Leaving Hervey Bay we wanted to miss some of the Bruce Hwy so stayed on the Hervey Bay Road to Maryborough, a much quieter route with virtually no traffic. Unfortunately we needed to hit the highway again but a morning tea stop was required so we turned off to the little town of Bauple to visit the Saturday Market - oops, a little disappointing is the understatement. Driving in we were abused by a local driving past, there were 6 stalls selling not much and Pensioners inc. playing rock and roll music out loud. A classic car rally of 8 old Holden's, fords and ramblers finished off the market. We did manage to buy some nice passion fruit biscuits and then on our way.

A pleasant drive through mountains led us to the town of Maleny where we planned to stay at the local show grounds. They had been developed with a new amenities block to attract travelers. We had our first rain in 6 weeks though it was still warm during the day. There was a lovely river walk into a bustling town, full of cafes, restaurants, interesting shops and galleries and just a little bit hippy and old worldly. The sun had come out, along with many people strolling along the Main Street. The place has a really nice feel about it.

The next day was towards Toowoomba through the mountains, overlooking the Glass House range - large monoliths rising straight up, very impressive indeed. A scenic route taken was via Sommerset Dam and the little town of Esk. Great views around the hinterland and not much traffic which is surprising seeing

Sommerset Dam

it is the weekend.The road, though windy was very comfortable to drive until the end where there is a long (2.5k) steep windy climb into Toowoomba which was quite interesting with a heavy van behind. There were a number of vehicles struggling, even stopped - hard to get going again on that slope.

Toowoomba is a garden town and the main festival for the year, the Carnival of flowers, had just finished today. There are over 150 public parks and gardens here, all in full bloom with magnificent flower gardens full of colour. Not bad seeing the town is on stage 5 water restrictions. Picnic Point park is the main viewing platform for the Lockyer Valley back towards Brisbane. A stroll around the Ju Raku En Japanese gardens attached to the local university. A very relaxing place indeed.

Day 2 in Toowoomba started slow with a sleep in (nice) then back into the main town for a tour of the sites - the Art Deco Empire theatre, heritage rail way station, Cobb and Co museum, Queens Park, Laurel Bank - amazing how quickly the day just went. We have decided to put in a 3rd day here as our plans changed and we will now head to Brisbane (we were going to bypass) to see a friend in hospital there. We were originally going to catch up with them in Balina but not happening now.
Day 3 and a visit to the local art gallery to see the Australian masters - Roberts, McGubben, Lindsay etc only to find one Lindsay on show and all the rest in storage - very disappointing. A drive north to the Crows Nest area which is renowned for being an art and craft community. Stopped off at the shop on the way boasting over 1000 cuckoo clocks of all shapes, sizes and designs, as well as wall, grandfather and carriage clocks. All out of our price range for sure. Nice cafe as well for a spot of lunch, then what is called the Dam drive past the two water storage for Townsville and in to Crows Nest proper - didn't really live up to its reputation.

Wednesday and down the hill to Ipswich, only about 90k where we dumped the van and into Brisbane proper to catchup with friends, one who was having multiple by-pass surgery while we were on our way. Spent time with Liz until Neil was out of theatre - all good. The last time we had seen them was in Alice Springs so it was great to catch up, even under these circumstances.

Thursday and with the car once again in the service centre getting an unexplained noise checked out, we walked into the main centre of Ipswich, checking out the Art Gallery, historic precinct, the mall and the River Link shopping centre. The car is fixed and once we collected same, via the courtesy bus sent to pick us up, a visit to the rail museum, huge, interactive displays, a simulator where you drove a diesel loco (with sound effects as well) and the history of the area where rail used to employ over 8000 people - huge.

Friday we begin our run further south and into NSW.