Day 35 / 2017 - Armidale, Tamworth & Bathurst

This week we decided to take an overnight drive out to Bathurst. Being so close to Sydney, this would save us taking a detour towing the caravan, on our way back down from North Queensland later this year.

We have decided to extend the trip to include Tamworth and Armidale. Our plan is to drive to Armidale spend one night there, next morning drive to Tamworth then onto Bathurst most likely spend one night there. The final leg will be back to Sydney via Lithgow.

Leaving Dural we turned onto the Pennant Hills road and headed towards the Pacific Motorway (M1). Joining the M1 at Wahroonga, we could see the roadworks for the Northconex tunnel, which will link the M1 to the M2. They say this will enable you to drive from Newcastle to Melbourne without going through any traffic lights. While driving we heard on the radio that a massive truck accident had blocked the motorway just before Berowra and there was a 15 km traffic jam awaiting us. There was no real alternative way around, once we joind the queue of vehicles, it took us about 3 hours to do the 15 km. The detour had us travel along the old Pacific Hwy from Berowra, finally returning to the M1 at Brooklyn.  It was frustrating and felt like a waste of time, but each time we started to blame the roads, we kept reminding ourselves, it was drivers like us that caused the accident not the roads. Getting back to normal speed it didn't take long for us to reach Newcastle where we stopped for lunch at Big Mac's.

After lunch we headed furthur along the Pacific Hwy untill we reach 12 Mile Creek. Here we turned west to follow Thunderbolts Way, which is named after the Bushranger Frederick Ward, also known as Captain Thunderbolt. This road takes you from Port Stephens on the coast to Goondawindi in the west. The road is winding and hilly but scenic as it takes you over the great dividing range. We stopped at Carsons Lookout to take photos of the landscape below.

Joining the New England Hwy at Uralla we headed north until we reached Armidale our first stop for the night. Armidale is a pretty town with a number of well maintained churches and is known as a Catherdral city. It is also known as a university town and is home to the New Enland University. We booked into the All Seasons motel which had the most friendliest receptionist we had ever met. The room was basic but clean and tidy, unfortunately town centre was not walking distance. There is 3 caravan parks to choose from and would be a nice place to spend some time with the caravan. The surrounding countryside contains a number of natural attrations, such as the national parks and scenic gorges. Coffs Harbour and the coast is only about 2 hours drive, along the Waterfall Way. There are some steep roads to get to Armidale as it is located at the top of the Northern Tablelands, but they're in good condition.

Next morning we packed up then drove to the university for a quick look at the grounds before heading south to Tamworth along the New England Hwy. The road between Uralla and Tamworth is winding and quite steep in sections as it passes over the Moonbi ranges, but by the time we reached Tamworth it had flatened out.

Tamworth is a great place to base yourself if you are travelling with a Caravan, you could proberbly spend a week here. There is plenty to see and do within a few hours drive. Tamworth is easly assesable especially from the west as the roads are mostly flat. Tamworth, self proclaims itself as the Australian home of country music. Each year in January, the week long Toyota Country Music Festival is held. We visted the recently expanded, Australian Country Music Hall of Fame, which is an archive for all Australian country music. There are memorabilia exhibits, of many famous Australian country singers from as early as the 1800's. We also visited the Giant Golden Guitar, standing outside at the tourist information centre. The centre also houses the country entertainers wax museum, as well as the Don Bradman museum.

Leaving Tamworth we headed south to Mudgee via the Black Stump way. This takes you through outback farming country, which we noticed was a little drier that the lush green fields we had been travelling through previously. The countryside is mainly flat, with the roads in varying conditions, but was at least it is tar sealed all the way. Ariving in Mudgee about 5pm, we decided to stop here for the night as Bathurst was still another 130 km away. We found a motel virtually in the middle of town. It was a bit old and dated, or at least ou room was, but it was okay. Mudgee is fast becoming popular with the weekend traveler, as it is only 260km north west of Sydney. The area was originally settled for grazing, but as with other towns, gold was discovered and the town exploded from 200 to 20,000. When the gold petered out, it became a livestock and wine region because of its mediterranean climate.   We had dinner across the road from our motel at the Oriental Hotel. We order the schnitzel special for only $15 each, and sat up on the second floor open deck overlooking the town and hills behind it. We watched a thunderstorm with a spectacular lightning display, roll in while while eating our meal. The weather was very sultry, with almost a tropical feel. 

Next morning after a sleep in, we packed up again and headed to Bathurst via the Castlereagh Hwy and Sofala Road. The road was in good condition, but winding and hilly in places as you once again pass through parts of the Great Dividing Range. Ariving in Bathurst, we made our way to the Mount Panarama track, as this was our main reason for coming here, to drive the world famous circuit. We Arrived at the track to find it was closed to traffic due to racing that weekend, just our timing. I supposed we should have checked the event calendar. Bathurst is the oldest inland settlement in Australia and has a population of 36,000. Alot of the old buidings are still standing and are well maintained, there is a great mix of old and new. 

After a look around town and a stop for coffee at Muffin Break, we headed east towards Lithgow along the Western Hwy. Anne in her early years, had stayed with a freind in a town called Tarana, which was just off the Hwy. She managed to track down the old farm where she had spent a week. Leaving there we headed east, then back onto the Western Hwy just before Lithgow. Anne also wanted to look at a block her parents had purchased many years ago,  in the small town of Wallerawang. She managed to track down the block, purely from memory. It now has a house standing on it.

Leaving Wallerawang we headed into Lithgow. Following Chifley Rd brought back memories for Anne when she was a teenager, driving her first car back from Perth Western Australia. She recounted how she had driven all the way from Perth, crossing the Nullabour only to refuse to drive her car up the steep hill just east of Lithgow. Her Opa had to come from Richmond to drive the car up for her. Chifley Rd goes over the Blue mountains, taking us back to Dural via Richmond and Windsor.