10 – 28 October 2024
After three nights sleeping in bunks on a moving and at times bumpy train, it was nice to be sleeping in a comfortable hotel bedroom. Having visited Bondi last year, I was looking forward to going to a different beach at Manly and attempting to walk both around the reputedly spectacular north head and in the opposite direction along the scenic walkway. After the sedentary lifestyle on the train it was time to get moving.
10 October – we were out of the hotel before 9am but within seconds of leaving, my husband suddenly fell over as he misjudged a kerb. Suffice to say that by the time we had returned to the hotel, he had recovered from the shock, I had patched him up with plasters and washed his blood stained clothes a couple of hours had passed. We had a trial outing to a nearby camera shop for him to replace a lens filter that had broken when he fell. Eventually we were ready to leave again.
Overnight the cruise ship “The World” had sailed and been replaced with an even bigger cruise liner in the harbour. We crossed to Manly on one of the frequent ferries, enjoying amazing views of Sydney and then of Manly.
We dithered over finding somewhere for lunch but eventually left the main road between the cove and beach, finding a superb coffee shop Barefoot Coffee Traders, where we enjoyed fine coffee plus a ham and cheese toastie. The only other customers while we were eating were two local people who knew the owner.
My husband decided to hang out in the centre of Manly, leaving me free to walk. I decided to attempt the walk out to the North Head rather than the route to the west – there was only time left for one option. Unfortunately it wasn’t as well signed as the information suggested so I ended up walking in two different circles near Little Manly Cove.
Eventually I went the right way to end up at the North Head Sanctuary Park. I even had my first view of an Echidna – sadly I managed to change my camera settings so I was temporarily shooting in black and white. The volunteer ranger at the Visitor Centre informed me that Echidna are rarely seen there so I had been fortunate.
I also saw the Third Quarantine Cemetery, gun emplacements, a memorial walk and an observation post as well as some fine viewpoints.
I descended over cliffs to Shelley beach where I saw scrub turkeys and then followed a walkway to Manly Beach where I was reunited with my husband who had himself walked to Shelley beach and back.
We enjoyed a meal of fish and chips before returning to Circular Quay on the ferry.
We rounded the evening off with an “expedition” to the viewing platform on the eighth floor of our hotel.
11 October – we walked over Pyrmont Bridge to the Australian National Maritime Museum. To my surprise, looking round the museum occupied the entire day.
The first exhibition we visited was a clever synthesis of First Nation Tradition, ecology and science and tried to explain the interlinkage of the different viewpoints and the insights that can arise from this.
We went on to study information about the Australian Navy, visited an exhibition looking at the life of a woman who had devoted herself to conservation through the medium of filming sea life, looked at an exhibition on deep sea exploration including a film viewing descent in a capsule to the bottom of the Marianas Trench, saw the National Geographic Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition as well as seeing the fastest boat ever (over 300mph) and stepping on board the boat of the first lady to sail solo non-stop around the World. Outside exhibits where we were able to climb on board included a destroyer and an Oberon class submarine in addition to a reconstruction of Captain Cook’s Endeavour.
In the evening I decided to walk across Sydney Harbour Bridge and back. As I knew already, having completed the bridge climb last year, it is an enormous structure. A sunset walk or run over the bridge seemed to be a popular jaunt with more people than I had expected crossing the bridge on foot.
I followed this with a short trip up to the eighth floor of our hotel to look at the lights of Sydney from the rooftop.
12 October – My husband still had pain in his knee following his fall, so I got the window seat for the flight to Dubbo as he wanted to stretch his leg out next to the aisle. Unfortunately I only had a few views at take off and close to Dubbo as it was cloudy. We landed at the small and quiet airport so my husband sorted the final details for the car hire while I waited for the luggage to appear.
I had to drive in view of my husband’s knee but fortunately the roads were quiet. We did get stuck behind an extra wide load and a couple of road trains as I didn’t want to overtake except where there was an overtaking lane. However these huge vehicles do move quite quickly.
We were staying with my husband’s cousin and her husband for the next five nights. They live in a house they had built on a large piece of land a few minutes drive from the town of Coonabarabran where they both work as part of the administrative and managerial team in the local hospital. Their home has no mains services – the water supply is collected and stored rainwater while electricity is solar with a battery storage plus a back-up generator. Their house is contained within a fenced area but they also own a paddock (field) including three small dams (reservoirs) adjoining the smaller fenced area – currently the paddock is occupied by a neighbour’s herd of cattle. The three dogs greeted us enthusiastically and were quick to understand that we were welcome guests. During the evening some kangaroos passed through the field in the distance.
13 October – we had the benefit of local knowledge so we were driven in the ute (pick up truck with two rows of seats) to Pilliga Forest. The last 19km was on a rough gravel road. We enjoyed a stunning walk along the Sculptures in the Scrub walking track. Each sculpture is the result of an artist collaborating with local Aboriginal Elders and young people on a piece that tells a story of local Aboriginal history and culture.
14 October – this was the day we picked as having the best weather of our stay for the Breadknife and Grand High Tops walk in the dramatic volcanic Warrumbungle National Park. My husband decided that his knee hadn’t improved enough but his cousin was keen to join me on a walk that turned out to be more ambitious than her usual treks.
We ascended through the forest, spotting a rock wallaby and some colourful birds as we walked. We enjoyed impressive views late in our ascent including an optional diversion to Spirey View. The early mist had cleared.
There were a lot of steps but we climbed slowly and steadily.
There was a small amount of easy scrambling to reach the open ridge where fabulous views opened up.
We went along the ridge and started our descent at the far end. On my own I would have been tempted to extend the walk on to Bluff Mountain but this would have added considerable distance and ascent.
The walk off the ridge turned out to be much more scenic than the walk in the morning through the forest. We maintained most of the height for a good distance and enjoyed superb views back to Breadknife, Belougery Spire and the Grand High Tops Ridge as well as down over the eucalyptus forest. The terrain was also rougher and more challenging.
After a rest at Ogma Gap camping area, we continued on a path following the banks of West Spirey Creek. We spotted a single feral goat bleating loudly then a group of 3-4 goats and finally a whole herd including a very small kid.
I thought I had seen another goat but on closer inspection it was a grey kangaroo.
We were soon back at the car park to be reunited with my husband and to tell him all about our amazing walk.
15 October – we visited the interesting visitor centre in Coonabarabran where the highlight is a Diprotodon skull together with most of the skeleton. It’s been estimated to be at least 33,500 years old and was a marsupial about the size of a large rhinoceros, distantly related to koalas, wombats and kangaroos.
The museum is also an Aboriginal keeping place for a collection of art, tools and artefacts of the local Gamilaraay people.
While in Coonabarabran centre, we took the opportunity to photograph some of the historic shop fronts, the old post office and the memorial clock tower. Multiple road trains negotiated the roundabout. I was particularly interested to see the Tree of Knowledge near the Court House and next to it the story-telling seat; the local Aboriginal community have used the site as a gathering place for as long as anyone can remember. A local lady saw me looking at it and kindly explained all about it.
We were very fortunate as we discovered that the sandstone caves in Pilliga Nature Reserve had just reopened after a one year closure for repair of the trail following landslides. The short trail took us past numerous caves including some with Aboriginal rock engravings.
it is a stunning and special site, sacred to the Gamilaraay people who have lived here for thousands of years. We were privileged to be able to visit and learn about the cultural heritage of the area.
After a delicious lunch of German sausage and sauerkraut at Pilliga Pottery (its completely off grid and sustainable with their own water supply, solar system, septic system, rubbish removal and deliveries), we headed into Pilliga Forest again but in a different direction to look at the salt caves (a smaller cave system then the sandstone caves) and view the vast forest from the lookout tower.
The view from the tower stretches over forest in every direction. The corners of the forest are all between 40 and 65km away. The ridges of the Warrumbungle Mountains can be seen in the distance too. As we gazed at the view, we heard thunder in the distance, so it was time to leave.
At the end of another wonderful day, we returned to the house. As we looked across the field after dinner, we saw that there was a new calf – it had just been born!
16 October – unfortunately we woke to a rainy and cold day. However it was our final day in the area so despite the bad weather we headed out to Siding Spring Observatory. Warrumbungle National Park and the Observatory form Australia’s first internationally recognised Dark Sky Park. During our stay we had booked with a private observatory for a night sky show but unfortunately it was cancelled / moved to the next night as there was too much cloud each day. It looked like the weather that night would be even worse so sadly it was cancelled again.
However we were able to go around the fascinating exploratory area to learn more about astronomy and the telescopes at Siding Spring. We also went to the visitors’ gallery to look at the largest optical telescope (mirror 3.9m diameter) in Australia. Amazingly our visit was exactly fifty years after King Charles (then of course Prince Charles) had officially opened the new telescope, which appropriately sported a “Happy Birthday” banner. An interesting touch is the virtual sun and planets – a model at 1:38 million scale with the planets and the distances between them being at scale; the models of the planets are placed at the roadside and we had seen several as we had driven round during our stay.
We drove from the observatory to an emu farm where we had booked to learn about and meet the emus. We even met a chick. The eggs are incubated for fifty six days or, in the wild, by the male emu and then they hatch. The female not only doesn’t take any part after laying the egg but if she had contact would harm and kill her chicks so they are cared for by the male until they are two years old.
We continued on our drive to reach Tooraweenah, a small village with many traditional twentieth century buildings including the Mountain View Hotel where we enjoyed lunch.
It continued to rain. As we turned on to the road towards Coonabarabran, we had to pull in while an enormous lorry with a very oversized load drove towards us.
Despite the rain, Hickeys falls weren’t as scenic as we had hoped.
17 October – it was time to say good bye and continue our exploration elsewhere in New South Wales. We were heading to stay in Bellingen. Our route took us along the Waterfall Way which passes close to many picturesque and magnificent waterfalls. The Wollomombi Gorge houses the Wollomombi Falls, one of Australia’s highest at 260m, and the Chandler Falls. Unfortunately one of the walkways was closed along the rim of the gorge but we were able to walk in the other direction to two lookout points.
We continued our drive to arrive at the Guy Fawkes National Park and visited viewing platforms allowing stunning views of both the upper and lower tiers of the Ebor falls.
We re-joined the driving route. Suddenly as the road climbed we were in the cloud with very poor visibility. We were well above the height of Ben Nevis as we crossed the Great Dividing Range. This was where we discovered that our hire car didn’t have a fog light.
We continued without stopping at the Dangar falls and the Dorrigo Rainforest Centre as we planned to take more time to visit those during our stay in Bellingen. Fortunately we descended below the cloud line and were in clear conditions again. The road was very steep and twisty as it continued downhill for 11km. We passed the Newell Falls and Sherrard Falls, both falling directly next to the road.
Eventually we reached Bellingen and discovered our booked accommodation – a luxury lodge complete with its own barbecue and hammock on the veranda in the middle of a rain forest.
18 October – we wandered round the town looking at the traditional buildings from the late nineteenth / early twentieth century and the war memorial as well as the “flying fox” (bat) viewpoint.
Having had a good look round, we drove back up the steep twisty road to the Dorrigo rainforest centre in the midst of the National Park. We had a birds-eye view of the forest canopy on the 50m Skywalk.
We walked on a circuit round the rain forest. We saw many huge trees with buttress like trunks. Fibrous fronds passed between the trees – you could imagine Tarzan swinging on them through the forest.
We also saw numerous birds including parrots, scrub turkey, yellow faced honey eater and yellow robins.
We arrived at the Crystal Shower Falls and I walked behind the waterfall.
We reached the impressive Tristania Falls.
We completed the walk and drove on to the Dangar Falls, walking down to near the base of the falls.
On returning to the car park, we saw some interesting birds .
We returned to our lodge and enjoyed steak cooked on the barbecue before walking to the viewing platform on a failed attempt to see the flying foxes leave Bellingen Island on their way to find food.
It seemed thundery as we returned to our lodge and overnight I was woken by a protracted electric storm with tremendous flashes of lightning. Fortunately it had all settled down by the morning.
19 October – it was a very warm and sunny day. We headed for the lookout point at Sawtell to look at the large sandy spit before driving round the coast to Coffs Harbour.
We walked out to Muttonbird Island, which is actually no longer an island but a peninsula accessible on foot. The area is an important Aboriginal place, harbouring many traditional stories. It is also a significant nesting place for the migratory wedge-tailed shearwater and we saw their burrows. The birds spend the day at sea fishing for food but return to their burrows at dusk. We looked out unsuccessfully for migrating whales but did see a dolphin in the distance.
We walked back to Coffs Harbour along a jetty walkway, spotting many interesting looking fish in the water – interpretative boards explained that at least fifty different species have been seen.
We drove south down the coast to Urunga. We walked along a board walk with a tidal lagoon on one side and the sea on the other and then along an almost deserted beach, with views of spouting whales in the sea. The return walk along a footpath next to the road past mangrove swamps, paper bark and swamp mahogany forest, I also saw the large Warraaday – a statue of a wood duck, the totem of the Aboriginal Uncle Thomas Kelly.
We had another home barbecue before trying our luck to see the flying foxes again – this time we waited on the bridge. It was amazing – about twenty minutes after sunset we spotted the first bat flying over and within minutes there were thousands of large bats flying in a constant stream from the island passing above us and then making their way north along the course of the river.
20 October – we drove south down the Pacific Highway then past the town of South West Rocks to Arakoon National Park. The nineteenth century Trial Bay Gaol, initially built by and for convicts and then used for people of German Ancestry imprisoned during World War 1, was closed for renovation. However it was possible to see what an imposing structure it presents.
There were also some impressive views of dolphins and whales from the viewpoint near the prison.
My husband agreed that he would meet me at Smoky Cape lighthouse so I set off on the coastal walk. It was uphill with a short diversion to see a powder magazine before more uphill to the German memorial to those who had died in the gaol during their war-time incarceration. There were excellent views over the bay and down on to the gaol which looked even more impressive seen from above. The original German memorial was destroyed in 1919, with the blessing of the politicians of the time, by Australians distressed by war losses but the structure was rebuilt in 1960.
After reaching Little Bay where I saw kangaroos at the picnic area I had to climb up hill again on a rough path through the rain forest (looking out for snakes). I missed a turning and ended up walking to an impressive viewpoint where I could see Green Island as well as the Smoky Cape Lighthouse – tantalizingly near, but with no path. I had to retrace my steps for a hard twenty five minutes uphill back to the turning I had missed. From here the path was reasonably level along the sides of a creek valley to the picnic area near the lighthouse.
Amazingly, despite my unscheduled diversion, I was early. I found the car in the car park before finding my husband at the near end of the track to the lighthouse. He was just returning from the lighthouse. I continued on to the lighthouse passing a kangaroo that seemed keen to pose for photographs.
After eating our picnic lunch we drove on to Hat Head at the far south of Seven Mile Beach reaching very flat land with a very wide river and many cattle grazing in the fields. The large bay at Hat Head is backed by one of the largest dune systems in New South Wales.
We had another home barbecue before heading off to look once more for the flying foxes – this time armed with cameras. We were in luck again. The bats seemed to be lower in the sky and I could even make out very membranous looking wings. Unfortunately the photography was less successful and my camera refused to take anything as it became darker and the number flying over increased.
21 October – this was the day we were moving on to Lismore. However we had time to drive to the Yuraygir National Park to walk around Wilsons Headland. The huge sandy stretch of Wooli Beach is backed by dunes. We saw huge waves, impressive cliff formations and areas of flat rock. We spotted a lizard and occasional parrots.
We continued to drive through some state forests then stopped again at the town of Casino. We walked by the river, but it wasn’t the right time of day to see duck billed platypus that reportedly live there. However we did see a large number of bats relatively close-up roosting in trees on the river bank.
We hunted for some Aboriginal carvings on rocks near the river, but couldn’t find them. We did see some trees in the park with a plaque stating that they had been planted by Queen Elizabeth II on her Commonwealth tour shortly after her coronation.
A hotel that we saw as we walked through the town is reputedly the oldest business in New South Wales.
We arrived at Lismore where we found our bed and breakfast accommodation boasting its own outdoor swimming pool in a grand house high up the hill.
22 October – we had hoped to see koalas in Lismore. However a phone call to the Koala Care Centre was disappointing- they no longer run tours. We’d seen it advertised in the Lonely Planet Guide and even the owner of the B+B hadn’t realised that they had stopped running tours. They are having to put all their energy into koala care.
We walked down to the town where we discovered the ongoing impact of the catastrophic floods in February and March 2022. Many shops are still being renovated and many more are vacant. Signs on fencing round buildings mentioned that asbestos needs to be safely managed. Even the town hall building remains an empty shell. We saw many homes which had been flooded and carried signs saying they are now in council ownership; there was little sign of active renovation of these so maybe they are at too much risk of further flooding for any work to be carried out or there are insurance issues…..
There seemed to be multiple support agencies trying to manage financial, mental health and social problems. A lot of people appeared to be sitting around outside bereft of occupation and hope.
However there are other signs of hope and resilience in the community. The open air swimming pool which doubles as a war memorial has a freshly painted façade and the pool appeared to be newly built. The volunteer run museum had an amazing display covering the history of cricket in Lismore. The volunteers were all incredibly enthusiastic and welcomed anyone who looked as though they might enter the door. The regional gallery although closed as it was Tuesday is housed in a large new building with a landscaped area around it. Bright and well painted pop art pictures on several small town centre streets form a vibrant display and some of these make social statements.
After a delicious and filling lunch (I had a large portion of pesto pasta with chicken) at a very welcoming and friendly café we climbed the steep hill to Robinson’s Lookout to look for koalas. We peered up unto the eucalyptus trees but to no avail. My husband said the insects were biting him so we walked back to our B+B.
I went out again and returned to the lookout area nearer to dusk. I also walked on a path near the golf course. A local man walking a dog told me that although he visited daily it was a month since he had seen a koala there. I thought I was in luck when I saw something in a tree – but it turned out to be three frog mouthed tawnies (an adult and two young) and not a koala. I also saw a kookaburra.
23 October – we travelled by car to Cape Byron, which was very busy – the car parks were full with people going surfing. Eventually we found a parking space near the lighthouse and the helpful National Park ranger allowed us to stay there for more than an hour so that I could walk round the Walgun Cape Byron walking track. This included visiting the most easterly point in Australia.
From Cape Byron, we headed south to Broken Head. Sadly the path to the headland was closed for improvement work.
We headed further south to the freshwater Lake Ainsworth where there is an abundance of wildlife as well as being a popular spot to paddleboard, kayak and swim in the lake.
We just had a quick visit before moving on to Lennox Head. This is a stunning and scenic place.
A cliff head walk was advertised to Ballina Head and my husband agreed I could walk and he would meet me at the other end. It was a superb walk beginning with excellent views of the cliffs and then following a cycle path with many interpretive boards explaining the cultural significance of the area to the Aboriginal population.
24 October – we headed towards Nimbin in the car, stopping at the scenic Nimbin Rocks viewpoint. The rocks constitute an Aboriginal sacred site and there is no access to them. A local man had stopped and explained that one of the rocks has a clear nose and eyes and that the appearance changes as the sunlight levels vary.
We drove through Nimbin, which is Australia’s original alternative lifestyle capital, packed with remnants of the peace-and-love generation and hemp. My husband planned to spend his day exploring the town and pretending to be “cool” but I had my sights on exploring part of the Nightcap National Park. Unfortunately the usual road to the area for the scenic walk to Minyon Falls was closed (my first choice venue), the route to the Protestors Falls was deemed not possible in our hire car as the length of gravel road was too long (my second choice venue) so I had to settle for my third choice of walk from Mount Nardi picnic area. I was dropped off at the top of a road up a very long steep hill and began by walking to Pholis gap.
The path meandered through lush rainforest then descended westwards along drier ridges, where I briefly spotted a snake which fortunately slithered rapidly into the undergrowth. I saw many lizards too. I reached a gap in the trees to look across surrounding valleys that were once a part of a volcanic crater. The World’s best preserved eroded shield volcano (Wollumbin) is a sacred place of great spiritual significance to the Aboriginal people. However the path appeared to continue and I thought I hadn’t gone as far as I had so I continued. The path became increasingly overgrown and eventually I realised that I wasn’t going to see any better view than at the gap which was now over a kilometre behind me. The point where I had continued past the gaps in the trees I realised had taken me on to the non waymarked Goorgana walking track. I retraced my steps.
I was soon back on waymarked paths and diverted off on to the Mount Matheson loop so I could enjoy some cliff edge views from a different part of the forest. The lush rainforest became a eucalyptus forest. A bush turkey scurried across the path and a small red wallaby bounded in a flash over the path ahead of me. I was early despite my unplanned extension of the Pholis Gap walk so I extended the Mount Matheson loop by continuing along part of the Historic Nightcap walk.
Eventually I realised it was time to turn round and go back to my start point at the Mount Nardi picnic area. I hadn’t seen anybody since I had set out but there was a car and two people at the picnic area. I waved but the end of my walk was further on as I had agreed with my husband to walk down the hill on the road through the rain forest. I continued to notice various flowers, some reddish brown birds that I didn’t recognise, lizards and a snake rapidly seeking cover and most notably a huge lizard climbing a tree; this turns out to be a lace monitor lizard. they’re not that rare but nonetheless I was delighted to spot one camouflaged against a tree trunk.
I was earlier than the time we had agreed but my husband was waiting, feeling groovy and cool after his visit to Nimbin, although it turned out all he had bought was a meat pie from the delicatessen to supplement his lunch and a few greetings cards with Aboriginal designs from one of the local shops (no hemp products!).
25 October – we set out early for our journey to Tamworth as we wanted to have time to stop at Inverell and visit the volunteer run Pioneer Museum. The volunteers were incredibly enthusiastic and delighted to see us.
The museum is run with no government funding and consists of a mix of traditional Australian buildings which have been painstakingly transported from their original sites and rebuilt. These include a school building, chapel, cottages, pub, shops, village hall, a farrier, a barber and even a vault. The buildings are crammed with artefacts.
There’s also a museum building holding photographic displays, locks and keys, sewing machines, historic artefacts from a closed hospital, lawnmowers and more.
There is a separate museum building housing military memorabilia and another housing, rather incongruously, a huge Coca-Cola themed collection.
Outside there are multiple examples of historic farm machinery.
There is of course information and artefacts related to fossicking (amateur prospecting and mining), for which this part of Australia is famous.
It appeared that no donations of items relating to Australian history were refused!
We also took time to walk along the High Street at Barraba where we saw buildings dating from the nineteenth and early twentieth century as well as many shop window displays of military memorabilia gathered in readiness for the upcoming centenary celebrations for the town’s war memorial. The town like many of those we had driven through grew up because of mining including copper and asbestos as well as fossicking for semi precious stones – pyrites, jasper, garnets, zeolite, and red, yellow, and brown quartz can still be found in the area.
26 October – we walked from our motel in Tamworth to the visitor centre to look at the twelve metre high Big Golden Guitar, made of fibreglass over a steel frame and opened by Slim Dusty in 1988.
Tamworth is proud to be Australia’s country-music capital. Slim Dusty was one of the iconic stars of the country music scene and my husband was particularly keen to learn more having received a gift of a Slim Dusty Album from his aunt in the 1960s.
We visited the adjacent waxworks museum, also opened by Slim Dusty, to see images of some of Australia’s best recognised and most influential country music personalities in realistic settings.
The National Guitar museum is also part of the complex. With a special focus on rock and country, the collection is made up of famous guitars, replicas of famous guitars, signed guitars and profiles on the Australian and international stars who played them all including The Beatles, Brian May, Dolly Parton and Don MacLean. Even a non musician like me had to be impressed!
After a rejuvenating cup of coffee, we walked back towards the town and arrived at the Australian Country Music Hall of Fame located in a guitar-shaped building. This housed more collections exploring the story of Australian Country Music and the Walk a Country Mile Displays showcasing recordings, music and memorabilia in chronological displays. We sat and watched a video as we listened to Slim Dusty singing Indian-Pacific which was particularly relevant to us following our recent train journey:
“From coast to coast by night and day, hear the clickin’ of the wheels
The hummin’ of the diesel on her ribbons of steel
Carryin’ the memories of a nation built by hand
See the Indian Pacific span the land
She’s the pride of all the railway men ‘cross country where she flies
From the blue Pacific waters to where the mountains rise
By lakes and wide brown rivers, through desert country dry
See the Indian Pacific passin’ by
Oh the Indian Pacific she goes rollin’ down the track
Five thousand miles to travel before she’s there and back
Beside the line, a drover waves his battered old grey hat
And kids are catchin’ yabbies down by the river flat
And a woman hangs her washing in a backyard near the line
As the Indian Pacific’s rollin’ by
Hear the whistle blowin’ lonely ‘neath the Nullabor star light
Saluting those who walk across the track she romps tonight
Callin’ to the railway camp and the fettlers on the line
I’m the Indian Pacific, right on time
From the silver of the Broken Hill to old Kalgoorlie gold
She mirrors all the colours of the land so hard and old
Then the western clouds are blooming and the air is just like wine
And the Indian Pacific’s makin’ time
Oh the Indian Pacific she goes rollin’ down the track
Five thousand miles to travel before she’s there and back
From the waters of the western sea to the eastern ocean sand
The Indian Pacific spans the land
Oh the Indian Pacific spans the land”
This wasn’t all! We strolled down Peel Street passing statues of Smoky Dawson and of Slim Dusty with his wife and singing partner Joy McKean. Bronze plaques with the names of the winners of the Country Music Awards of Australia were inlaid into the footpath.
As we turned towards Bicentennial Park to walk over the footbridge and back to our motel, a row of bronze busts commemorate more of the legends of Australian Country Music.
My husband decided that he’d walked far enough for one day and he’d been stung by a hornet. However I was keen to explore some of the nearby surrounding countryside. It was further than I had expected and a very steep climb up a road from the town to the Oxley Scenic Lookout. There were magnificent views of Tamworth and the Peel River Valley.
Unfortunately I didn’t have time to visit the marsupial park as well as walk to Mount Flagstaff Lookout, particularly as I hadn’t realised that the path would be quite so stony and uneven such that initially I thought I had gone the wrong way and returned to the Oxley lookout. However in the end I did reach Long Gully lookout where there were views to the north and then Mount Flagstaff Lookout where I met a kangaroo posing in front of the signpost. As I returned towards Oxley lookout, some walkers approaching told me they had heard but not seen a lyre bird. I walked very quickly down the steep road to the town but was still thirty minutes later than agreed at the motel.
However we still managed to get a table for dinner at an excellent restaurant in the town centre – my husband told me it would be full but we were fortunate that when I asked there was a table available for two!
27 October – I had ordered steak for breakfast at the motel and it turned out to be an excellent choice. We had a long journey ahead of us to Dubbo and wanted to go the scenic way.
We were soon on a minor road passing over the enormous flat swathes of land known as the Liverpool Plains. There were views of mountain ranges and a national park which is only accessible by a four wheel drive vehicle in dry conditions. We stopped at a picnic area and cricket ground next to an isolated community in the middle of nowhere. There were large eucalyptus trees and the possibility of koalas but despite looking we couldn’t see any.
We passed the end of my husband’s cousin’s driveway as we decided at the last minute to alter our route so we could revisit the Warrumbungle National Park. We enjoyed the impressive views as it was a clear day but of course there wasn’t time to do a long walk. However we did stop at the old woolshed car park (all that remains of the woolshed is the generator as the rest was burnt down in the 2013 fire). We walked to an Aboriginal cave with prominent knife marks on some of the stones. There were more excellent views of the main Warrumbungle ridge. There were certainly more flowers in bloom here than two weeks previously.
Our onward route passed the emu farm we had visited previously and the village of Tooraweenah. We stopped at a viewpoint as the views were so much better than the last time we drove this way. From there the route was along the main Oxley Highway to Dubbo.
28 October – the motel offered early breakfast and I chose the steak option once more! Unbelievably we reached Dubbo Airport so early that the check-in wasn’t even open for an hour. Thanks to my husband who had tugged the strap on my rucksack transit cover as we walked with the luggage on a trolley from the hire car drop off point to the departures area, I spent the hour sewing a temporary repair. However I had the last laugh at check-in when his hand luggage was deemed too large and would have to go in the hold.
I was fortunate to be next to the window again for a wonderfully cloud free flight all the way to Sydney. The fields and then the mountains seen from the air looked amazing but even better were the iconic views of Sydney Harbour Bridge, the towering buildings in the CBD and the Sydney Opera House.
A wonderful time in New South Wales and now it’s time to move on to Tasmania.
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