adventure – Reflecting on life!

Tenterfield was Mr C’s choice, he loves the song by Peter Allen “The Tenterfield Saddler” so we googled where to find the Saddler’s House. After driving up and down the main street we couldn’t find it (only later to find we had driven past it several times, it was tucked away between two new buildings) we ended up at the Railway Station and discovered they had a market happening – great, we ambled around the market, asked a few locals where the house was, we were given directions. I discovered a Christmas Cake home baked stall and for the first time bought a Christmas Cake, at least it was home made. There were several Churches around the town – one I think was for sale, not sure how that works.

Tenterfield is a bustling little town, who all claim Peter Allen as their success story. What was great for Mr C was to experience the place of the song, Peter Allen did a great job. There were some beautiful old and new houses and the local people where all very friendly and helpful. It really is worth a visit. The only problem was museums were closed on the weekends.

Old man Barry, dressed and groomed impeccably with a light blue shirt, navy jumper shirt collar out, grey pants, grey socks and slip on brown leather shoes was sitting outside the shop to greet visitors. As he spoke to you, he used his wooden walking stick to extenuate important information. I guessed Barry was well into his eighties, he spoke with a quiet English accent, although he was Australian. He knew George Woolnough and was happy to share the family stories to anyone who would listen, he was a lovely man full of local knowledge. As I spoke to him, he told me, “I’ve come home to die, no better place than home”. I wasn’t sure how to respond to his comment, so I just smiled. Mr C bought a leather belt from the saddlery which is still functional. We had brunch at one of the many places to eat and then headed for Armidale.

Armidale

Mr C drove to Armidale, the journey was very picturesque, farming country. We encountered only two small episodes of the car struggling up hills, but the gears changed, and Betsy kept on going. We stopped at Glen Innes which has the standing stones and honouring Celtic people past and present. We did not stay long as we wanted to get to Armidale and get our car sorted out. I was surprised to see the names of the places, this is The New England area, there is Glen Innes, Stonehenge, Glencoe, Ben Lomond, I thought I was in the United Kingdom for a while there. Even street names were common English or from the deep South of America.

I was looking forward to arriving, I was meeting my dear midwifery friend, sadly she informed us that she has COVID. Arriving on Saturday meant that we had to wait until Monday before sorting our car.

Arrived at Highlander Van Park, we set up the caravan, doesn’t take us long now – we are real professionals now. Kettle on, cuppa and some home baked scones from the Tenterfield markets. Mr C noticed he had a sore neck – “honey, just check my neck” when I looked, I could see a body and some legs kicking about. “Oh, my goodness, you have a tick“, major surgery time.

Driving without having to pull the caravan was a real treat. Our first outing was to Wollomombi Falls and walk. The falls is a single fall into the Wollomombi River, it was good, but not as spectacular as the Wallaman Falls which we saw a few months ago. I enjoyed the walk whilst Mr C sat in the car – I was surprised to see the dog fence again, but then remembered in Qld they said it did go as far as NSW and parts of SA.

Gara Gorge was another beautiful spot of fresh water, it is also known as the Blue Hole. There was a great walk that I did, but as usual I am always worried about getting lost, as I have no sense of direction. The waters of the Gara feed into the Macleay system. There used to be a hydroelectric scheme at the Gara Gorge back in 1894 – you can see some of the remnants around the place. I did dip my feet into the water, but it was cold.

The tourist information centre conducts a free city bus tour, that we participated in with another couple. It was 2.5hours long and took us all around the city of Armidale – this included the New England University. Armidale does not have the population for a city but is named so because it has two cathedrals – St Peters Anglican and St Mary and Joseph Cathedrals. The city has so many churches, it is known as the city of churches and for the centre of education, teaching.

We also went for a short drive to Uralla and Gostwyck – our first stop was Gostwyck, it has the most beautiful private chapel. The chapel All Saints Anglican is on private land and therefore not used by the public, it is picture perfect. The beautiful trees are Elm trees, the seeds were brought out from England and planted at the same time the chapel was built in the early 1900s.

Uralla is a charming town, lots of old buildings, some nice coffee shops and boutique shops a couple of pubs and of course a couple of churches – seems the same in most of these towns. Uralla is also home to an infamous Captain Thunderbolt the last of the bushrangers. Uralla also hosts homes to fairies, they built fairy doors during COVID for the children of the town. We also missed the Uralla Fairy Festival, it would’ve been nice to see. It looks like a novel idea for the town.

Car – Ford Everest

The car went in for a service, it was an in-between (last service was Cairns) service to see what the problem was. It turns out that the thermostat needed to be replaced. Mr C asked about the transmission – however, this could only be checked once the new thermostat was in place. We waited a day for the part to arrive and then a day to fit. We had two quiet days, washing, cleaning etc just chilling days. We caught a taxi in for the Carols at St Peters one evening and the rest has been chilling and me catching up with my blogs and reading. Mr C picked the car up today with a new thermostat and no further information was forthcoming as to what the problem was. Mr C is not very happy with the level of service he received from the Ford dealership. We do not feel confident moving forward with the car, fingers crossed.

It was funny to see both Tenterfield and Armidale laying claim to Peter Allen, they both argued he was connected more to one town or the other. The bottom line is he was born in Tenterfield and raised in Armidale – however his roots were in Tenterfield. Six of one, half a dozen of the other.

We are ready packed up to leave in the morning heading to Tamworth. Here’s hoping there is nothing further wrong with the car. Mr C’s tick is gone and cleared up. We’ve enjoyed Armidale, sad I missed my friend due to COVID. Ready for the next part of our journey – Tamworth, Orange and Parkes.

See you at the next blog.

Crossing the border to New South Wales (NSW) at Tweed Heads, was sheer delight. I have a real soft spot for NSW. It was home for me as a teenager, I started my nursing in Sydney and my eldest son was born at Wollongong Hospital.

Our route was along the Pacific Hwy and Dunoon Road, through Mullumbimby, Dunoon to Lismore. We choose Lismore because it was central to the places we wanted to go. The caravan park was The Roadrunner about 10 minutes from the city centre. Our spot was great, close to the amenities – however, I was not keen on the amenities block. We had a key to open the gate which led to the bathrooms, no one uses keys for amenities blocks these days – the building was old and dark. The park was cheap only $39 per night – guess sometimes this is a red flag however, for us it was great, quiet and clean. There were some local residents who have lived there since the last floods.

Ballina – Bundjalung Nation – Nyangbul people

I was last in Ballina 7 years ago and it had not changed much, although I did not see the Big Prawn, this was new for me – it seemed a little quiet and it was sad to see some empty shops. The Richmond River is the main river which enters the Pacific Ocean- we had lunch near the beach and the coffee was great – I watched as the honey eaters were playing up in the gum tree. I also went for a short walk on the beach; however, it was a bit windy – there were no shells.

Byron Bay – Bundjalung Country

Leaving Lismore along the Bangalow Road, past Bexhill, our next small town was Clunes. This town had a host of small churches (couldn’t get Me C to stop) and some charming crafty shops. We did stop at the General Store to buy some flowers and some delish banana bread. Our drive to Byron Bay was an amazing drive, winding roads, through some spectacular luscious green almost rainforest. I noticed showcase letterboxes such as brightly coloured dogs, cats, cows, microwaves, old fridges. People were very creative when it came to their letterboxes – it did make for an interesting drive. The driving time along this scenic route was about 50 mins, that accounts for getting lost. The journey back was much quicker along the main drag – maybe 40 mins.

The beaches at Bryon Bay were stunning and beautiful to swim in. Byron Bay seems an upmarket kind of place with lots of new age shops, alternative lifestyles, holistic wellness retreats (that did seem very expensive), many clothing stores and an array of eateries. We had dinner down a lane way that turned into an outdoor food market – I had fish and chips and Mr C had octopus salad, needless to say we shared.

Kingscliff is another beautiful part of the world – my friend Helen graciously showed us around her neck of the woods. What a wonderful place she lives in. The beach is pristine and where the river exits makes for a great place for the kids to swim. There is an array of eateries across from the beach. Together with boutique shops to appease any shopper, I steered clear as I didn’t want to be tempted to buy anything.

Both of us being midwives, she showed me the new Tweed Valley Hospital soon to be opened, it looked impressive from the outside. Here’s hoping it is everything they hope it would be.

There are so many beautiful beaches and quaint towns in this area: Cabarita Beach, Chinderah, Pottsville, Cudgen, Murwillumbah and Fingal. I can’t remember all the places we went only it was all very pretty. We saw some of the most expensive houses on millionaire’s row…. a little too big for my liking. We had a fabulous day.

The Tweed River is a mighty river, it’s so beautiful however, the danger of flooding is ever present – it’s amazing to see houses still being built near the river knowing that a flood is possible – I don’t think I would risk it and if I did, I would build on stilts. Lunch was at the Historic Tumbulgum Tavern, it was a perfect day. I think it’s always good to see a town by a local person, they know the place and its history – thanks Helen, very grateful.

Lismore – Bundjalung Nation

I didn’t know what to expect from Lismore, I just remember they had bad floods last year, most of the CBD was flooded. The Lismore visitors centre was closed still under repair from the floods, so this put us on a back foot. There was still evidence of a city recovering from the flood. Most of the time we were in Lismore it rained.

We kept seeing signs everywhere for Koala’s -“lookout Koala’s are here, drive safely” Koala’s cross here” – certainly not when we were around – did not see one Koala in the wild, despite all these signs. We went to the Friends of the Koala’s that is in the grounds of the University – this is where I purchased a friend for Fat Cat, Kez the Koala, it was a donation to the Koala hospital which looks after the sick Koala’s of the area.

We went to the local shopping centre for our usual supplies, Lismore had all the shops any large city has plus a Cathedral. There were many old beautiful buildings around the city.

One day on our return from Byron Bay, the havens opened up and the rain just came down – it was pouring, so heavy. At one stage I said to Mr C, “I can’t see the road in front of me, I am going to pull over” and so I did, we waited about half an hour and then I continued back to the caravan. It was scary. When we returned to the caravan, people at the site had put our chairs under the caravan and put our awning away for us – what a kind gesture.

It’s been an interesting time in Lismore, we had the most rain ever. camping /caravaning when it rains is horrible, not only are you confined to inside, but you have to close the vents – I felt claustrophobic. it was awful. I was disappointed not to see a koala, given all the signs around Lismore. We loved Byron Bay and Kingscliff. We are travelling well, no major arguments – all is well in our world. If it rains too much more, I’m coming home sooner.

Next stop is Nambucca Heads – see you at the next blog.

Reflecting on life!

Travels, holidays, general life musing

Tag Archives: adventure

Tenterfield – Armidale – Caravaning around Australia.

Lismore: Ballina, Bryon Bay & Kingscliff