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)