Committed Travellers

We said farewell to our friends and left Tamworth headed for Tenterfield. There wasn't a lot of traffic and hardly any trucks being a Sunday. Our coffee stop was at the Alternate Root in the old Trickett's General Store building. The original pressed metal ceiling follows the roof line. Our take away coffee was good and the cafe had a good vibe. We made a comfort stop at the Guyra Rotary Park where this 32 year old statue represents the two main industries for the region - lamb and potatoes. We have not been able to stop here before as there has not been anywhere to park, because the Guyra Lamb and Potato Festival coincides with the Tamworth Country Music Festival. Lunch was beside a park in Glen Innes. There were lots of prickles in the grass so I had to keep Blue on the road. Prickles don't stick to Tilly's fine fur. Anita chose the Tenterfield Showground as our campsite because it is close to town. Next time I will choose a caravan park with proper facilities! We unh

Anita and I went to Hopscotch for breakfast but it wasn't as good as it has been. I picked up a folding light weight playpen from Kmart for Blue and Tilly. I had planned to drive to the Moonbi Lookout and Manilla. Anita didn't want to come but Chris, Janeene and Hugo were keen. The lookout is built around and on top of a large granite boulder. It overlooks the highway, the town of Moonbi, and the Moonbi Range. It is not suitable for caravans or large motorhomes. We set the GPS to take us to Manilla nort east of Tamworth. It was an interesting drive through farmland with rocky outcrops in the background. At Manilla we discovered the main street is a couple of blocks away from the B95 highway known as Fossickers Way. We made lunch selections from the bakery before it closed then explored the town's historic buildings. The 1899 building contains a cafe and gift shop called Manilla Folder. In town we saw a sign urging the Manilla viaduct be saved. This structure carries the rai

I took Bluey for a drive to Nundle. At the Chaffey Dam I met two people from our caravan park with their 6 month old Cavoodle. The dogs would have loved to play but maybe some time in the early morning before it gets too hot. The dam was built on the Peel River and is the main water supply for Tamworth. It is at 33% capacity but earlier this year Tamworth was on Level 5 water restrictions. There is a basic camping ground at the dam. At Nundle Blue was frightened by a group of school kids running past him. They had come on a bus to use the Nundle Pool. I sat at the Park Cafe with a coffee giving him time to watch the kids playing in the park. The historic Nundle Woollen Mill sells knitting wool, socks and clothing, including denim jeans that have some merino wool in the material. There is a viewing area where visitors can see the very old machines still in use. The mill attracted 30,000 visitors to Nundle annually (pre Covid). There are historic buildings in the town that operate as sho

We had a day enjoying the shade of the trees near our vans. A breeze kept the temperature down and Tilly and Blue spent most of the day outside. I pulled the awning out to clean and inspect for wear. A plastic fitting fell off in three pieces so that may explain the difficulty we have been experiencing closing the awning. I cleaned and lubricated the runners and put it away. My next job was trimming Blue's paws. At this time of year vets see lots of dogs with grass seeds in ears, noses and paws. I also contacted a groomer to get him professionally groomed, and my preferred dog trainer but she is still very busy. The darling little critters had made a hole in the mesh of their crate in the car. When we arrived yesterday and opened the back door, Tilly had her head poking out the new port hole. We only carry a small travel sewing kit and even if I managed to stitch the material together, they could easily rip open hand stitching. I was going to buy some pet mesh from Bunnings, but th

The derelict house in my last blog was once owned by my friend's uncle. Chris lived in Quirindi near the swing bridge when she was young. If it had been cooler I would have walked all around this interesting town. This morning it was warm so we drove to town to have breakfast, but ended up getting takeaway egg and bacon rolls to eat in our air conditioned caravan. We packed up and headed for our caravan park north of Tamworth. I was driven around the park in a golf cart to decide which site we might prefer. We found a shady tree and had almost finished unhooking when the park manager came by and said we could use two sites. He had forgotten to mention this! We decided to move back onto the site. This will allow us to hook up the night before we leave. Friends in their respective motorhomes set up either side of us. I set up the outdoor crate in the shade and Tilly gratefully had outside time. A four year old mini poodle came to visit, but it barked at Tilly and frightened Blue. He

I walked Blue to the only open coffee shop for takeaway. He managed to get sticky burrs and grass seeds caught in his fur when he ducked into some long grass. This town is historic with several old buildings. The first photo is of a building that used to be the premises of a tinsmith, but is now a private residence. There is a car yard next door and several cars are parked in the street. The JJ Reilly building still sells men's clothing, but also antique furniture. There is a sign pointing to a swing bridge so I took Blue for an afternoon walk. It was restored by the community organised by a former Girl Guide leader. On the way I passed this derelict house. The eastern side of Quirindi is flood prone. The 1955 flood caused more than a metre of water to flow through all of the homes this side of town, which explains why I saw residential land for sale very cheaply. Six of us travelled here to go to the Bill Chambers concert. We all went to the Imperial Hotel for dinner, but we left