New England (New South Wales)

Warrumbungles

We drove through the ancient volcanic landscape of the Warrumbungles and enjoyed the scenery but it was too hot to do a proper hike and see it up close.  We'll have to come here again with more time to do it justice.  

Local wildlife

This lizard gave us a big fright!

Galah

Friendly Emus

We met these very friendly and curious Emus in a field near the Warrumbungles.

Gunnedah

Gunnedah is marketed as the Koala capital of Australia, supposedly abounding in these cute little furry critters.  But despite searching high and low, including a very hot morning hike in the local nature reserve, we didn't see any. What a pity!

Gunnedah is also famous for being the inspiration for Dorothy Mackellar's iconic Australian poem "My Country."  She spent time on her family's farm in the Gunnedah district and wrote the poem in England when she was 19 and feeling homesick for Australia.  I have included the poem at the bottom of this post.  Dani had to memorise the whole poem at school and she read it out to me in the car as we drove.  What a beaut is is.

Statue of Dorothy Mackellar, author of "My Country"

View of the town from the local hill.

It's all a conspiracy!

My Country  (by Dorothy Mackellar)

The love of field and coppice,

Of green and shaded lanes.

Of ordered woods and gardens

Is running in your veins,

Strong love of grey-blue distance

Brown streams and soft dim skies

I know but cannot share it,

My love is otherwise.

I love a sunburnt country, 

A land of sweeping plains, 

Of ragged mountain ranges, 

Of droughts and flooding rains. 

I love her far horizons, 

I love her jewel-sea, 

Her beauty and her terror 

The wide brown land for me! 

The stark white ring-barked forests, 

All tragic to the moon, 

The sapphire-misted mountains, 

The hot gold hush of noon, 

Green tangle of the brushes 

Where lithe lianas coil, 

And orchids deck the tree-tops, 

And ferns the warm dark soil. 

Core of my heart, my country! 

Her pitiless blue sky, 

When, sick at heart, around us 

We see the cattle die 

But then the grey clouds gather, 

And we can bless again 

The drumming of an army, 

The steady soaking rain. 

Core of my heart, my country! 

Land of the rainbow gold, 

For flood and fire and famine 

She pays us back threefold. 

Over the thirsty paddocks, 

Watch, after many days, 

The filmy veil of greenness 

That thickens as we gaze ... 

An opal-hearted country, 

A wilful, lavish land 

All you who have not loved her, 

You will not understand 

though Earth holds many splendours, 

Wherever I may die, 

I know to what brown country 

My homing thoughts will fly. 

Next stop
Dubbo Zoo


.

Hiking at Cathedral Rock

Rock-hopping isn’t just for the wallaroos at Cathedral Rock National Park. We hiked to the park’s enormous boulder pile of Cathedral Rock, after camping the night in the park, and scrambled to its summit, using chains in steep parts to help us on our way. From the summit, we enjoyed the superb views across the wilderness landscape of dry eucalyptus forest and granite outcrops. Absolutely gorgeous, soul enriching stuff.

Scrambling up the rocks

The views from the top

What would hiking be without a leap?

Isn't Dani becoming an expert?   She's taking the art to a whole new level.

Kangaroo mum and daughter

This beautiful pair were chilling out in the grass as we started our hike.  Aren't they too beautiful for words?

Hardcore camping in Cathedral Rock

Camping with Dani was great fun.  The camp site was very basic with a smelly long drop toilet and no shower, so it was pretty hardcore for our first time camping together.  Hopefully, it hasn't scared Dani off camping with me for life!

Enjoying the tranquillity of the bush

Next stop on our trip

Warren Bungles and Dunnedah

New Year's Eve at the Dubbo RSL Club

The RSL might not be the most exciting venue in the world but it can always be relied on in a strange place.  We had a nice meal and then barely made it to midnight after our exhausting day of cycling about in the heat.

Waterfall Way

As the rivers journey from the high tablelands of New England through the rainforests and down to the Coffs Coast, they create some spectacular waterfalls along the way.  As we drove inland and upwards, through the towns of Bellingen,  Urunga, Dorrigo, Uralla and Armidale, we stopped to admire the waterfalls and hike in some of the beautiful national parks.


Here are some of the highlights:

• A delicious Mocha coffee in great surroundings in Bellingen, followed by a perusal of the local shops including the impressive Emporium Bellingen.
• The waterfalls of course.  Ebor Falls was my favourite.
• A gorgeous (though longer than expected!) hike through the rainforests of Dorrigo National Park. The rain had just stopped and the forest had that amazing fresh smell.  We were in awe at the huge vines which in places, seemed to have completely devoured the trees they clung too.  The undergrowth abounded with all sorts of different fungi and the hike ended in the climactic spotting of a large Carpet Python.  A very exciting moment!
• Listening to the blood soaked audio book of World War Z in the car all about a zombie apocolypse. It's been adapted into a movie starring Brad Pitt to be released later this year - it will be very interesting to see how it's been done.
• A delicious steak sandwich in Ebor.  As they say, hunger is the best sauce.
• Camping and hiking in The Cathedral Rock National park (somewhat basic in it's amenities) and doing an amazing hike up to the top of Cathedral Rock for spectacular views.
• Getting to drive Dani's car - what trust!  Especially when she let me take it off road for the drive into Cathedral Rock.  It's going to be hard going back to my little Toyota! 

Waterfalls of Waterfall Way

Dangar Falls

Ebor Falls (Upper)

Ebor Falls (lower)

Wollomombi Falls

Dorrigo National Park

The highlight of our hike: a Carpet Python

A viewpoint on the way

Great letter box

Next stop on our trip

• Cathedral Rock

.

Xmas at North Head

I spent a wonderful Xmas with Dani and her family on her folk's Macadamia nut farm near North Head.

Here are some of the highlights:

• How welcome the family made me feel.
• The beauty of the farm with its gorgeous garden flowers and Macadamia nut trees and gorgeous views from the porch.
• A delicious Xmas eve dinner of smoked salmon and pork.
• Cooking the Xmas dinner main course with Dani - slow cooked lamb shoulder salad (with oranges and capers and olives).  It was totally delicious and surprisingly easy to make, a great recipe to add to my repertoire.
• The divine French dessert.
• Playing hide and seek with Dani's nephew in the garden.
• Lazing on a romantic swing chair on the porch.
• Exploring the farm, including the beautiful dam and surrounding rain forest.
• A cocktail party at friends on a nearby property with amazing food.
• Kaspar, the family dog, who abounded with Xmas spirits and loved having us all around.
• Eating lots and lots of Macadamia nuts - my favourite nut in the world!
• Getting some lovely presents - a slow cooker from Dani, a recipe book, and a book of national geographic photos.
• Two new bird species - Regents Bowerbird (to my delight) and Pacific Baza.
• The beautiful King Parrots that visited the farm.
• The peace of sitting on the farm balcony in the early morning.
• Seeing cute little swamp wallabies on the farm.
• Dani's dad's enthusiasm for birds and wildlife - a passion shared.
• Dani's dad giving us a tour of the farm shed and all the farm equipment.
• The extraordinarily loud chirping of the cicadas - a sound that always makes me feel peaceful.
• Talking to my wonderful family on Skype on Xmas evening.
• A lovely barbecue with Dani's sister and family at Scotts Head.
• Teaching Dani some camera tricks and doing a photo safari of the farm together.  Great fun.
• Learning that Macadamia nuts are indigenous to Australia - the trees are a natural rainforest species.  Is there no end to Australia's natural treasures?
• Two lovely walks along Valla Beach.
• A swim at Valla Beach and Shelley Beach.  The temperature of the water couldn't have been more perfect.
• Some exhilarating body surfing on big waves in Scotts Head.
• Reading the colourful graffiti on the rocks at North Heads headland.

Xmas dinner

Dani's lovely family

Dani's dad points out Regent Bowerbird in a nearby tree, to my great delight

Delicious French dessert that we brought from Sydney

Eating out on the balcony with beautiful views of the farm

Kaspar, the family dog - full of energy and Xmas spirit

The farmhouse

  

View from the balcony

The farm shed

Macadamia nut trees

Beautiful farm garden 

Rainforest surrounding the farm

Cicada husks

Farm dam

A beautiful mosaic in the nearby town of North Heads

Lagoon at North Heads

Shelley Beach

Graffiti at North Heads headland

Dani's nephew having a surf at Scotts Head

Next stop on our trip
Waterfall Way

.