After a brief overnight stay, and a very cold one at that, we set off towards Toowoomba, our next stop for a few days. Taking advantage of the nearby Caltex we fuelled up ready for whatever lay ahead but, with hindsight, we should have stayed where we were. But being surrounded by places such as Stonehenge, Dundee, Diehard and Bald Nob it was time to go.

It was a varied mix of driving today along the A15 starting with kilometres of parched farmland before arriving at the big climb of the day through the twisting hills of Bolivia. It was a little challenging along the narrow road and made even narrower due to roadworks but the dramatic scenery to our left as we crossed Bolivia Hill was rewarding enough. The landscape opened out a little after the hills and followed the low point in the valley with many long, straight sections along the New England Highway before arriving in the town of Tenterfield and time for lunch.

As is becoming the norm on our trip we have another recommendation on the food front and this time it’s The Corner Cafe with its delicious cakes and hot meals. Not just a cafe though but also a clothing, footwear and gift shop – well worth an explore.

Hello Queensland!

Back on the road and some of the longest straight stretches of tarmac so far. This was the Darling Downs and we had just crossed the border into Queensland. Coincidentally it appeared the border also required properties be built on stilts. It started as a bit of a joke but more and more the houses, barns and sheds were raised off the ground. The Queensland border also marked a change of landscape and we were now being surrounded by countless orchards among rolling hills – the region producing the majority of Queensland’s apple crop from over 1-million trees. And then trouble struck yet again.

Once more and for no apparent reason our car decided to choose the start of a moderate hill climb to go into ‘Restricted Performance Mode’ and just after we had overtaken a crawling truck. Again no prior warning. We managed to limp to the top of the hill and continue to a safe point to pull over. Our old issue was back and it looked like the transmission temperature again. After restarting the engine, though, we managed to drive into Warwick and parked up to let the transmission cool down. It was also a good opportunity for a wander around the CBD and take a coffee break though, this time, nothing to recommend.

We had been stopped for over an hour but that was clearly not enough for the car to do what it was designed to do and just 24-KM later we were stopped again with the same Restricted Performance Mode. This time, however, a local mechanic kindly stopped to assist and made a point of the transmission radiator being much hotter than it should. By comparison the engine coolant radiator was cool to the touch. We were concerned with the failing daylight and really needed to get to Toowoomba before dark, if it was possible, to avoid the wildlife straying onto the road. Fortunately a 30-minute stop to cool appeared to be enough and we made it to our caravan site 54-KM later and just before the sun set.

Needless to say we have now lost any remaining confidence in this car, a vehicle designed to tow up to 3.5-tonnes that cannot cope towing our 2.8-tonne caravan. At this point in time we could never recommend anyone buy a Land Rover Discovery 5. It simply is not worth the anxiety and stress knowing your very expensive car could let you down at anytime without warning. Back to Jaguar Land Rover… yet again.  

At least this time, after 4-weeks on the road, we got to do a 90-degree park… and nailed it first time!

We’re on the move again after four lovely days with friends in Kootingal and heading for an overnight stop at Glen Innes, the self proclaimed Celtic capital of Australia.

After refuelling our first challenge was to scale the Moonbi’s – a high range of hills and a dual-stage steep climb out of the Tamworth valley. We we’re a little apprehensive after one of the guides at the Dubbo Information Centre said it was quite a tough climb, especially with a caravan in tow, but fortunately it was nowhere near as bad as we had been led to believe and we were soon over the top and descending down into a comparatively lush valley.

An interesting drive compared to those of late with a winding road following up and down hills before levelling out at the town of Urulla, which was a good place to stop for lunch. You will have got the idea by now that we enjoy looking out for good coffee shops and, of course, today was no different with the Pie Mechanic being our choice of the day. And we weren’t disappointed – excellent coffee, toasties, roasted carrot and feta roll and a cherry custard tart. Give it a try, you won’t find better in town.

Our final leg took us through more farmland lined with poplar trees glowing yellow in the afternoon sun. Good roads, small hills, great views and little traffic and we were soon pulling into our overnight stop.

Glen Innes

Depending on how you look at it we were fortunate to have just missed the Glen Innes Celtic Festival, which took place over the weekend. It’s a big event drawing large crowds to see everything Scottish and centred around the Celtic Standing Stones. Having come from a country with genuine, ancient stone circles I have to view this one with a little smile, may be even feeling a little smug. It’s perhaps best that you make your own decision on this one but leaving the bore holes from the drill used to extract the rock still visible is a little questionable.

The town itself has a long, wide main street with many old buildings lining the road but spoilt a little by the bright colours of Mitre 10 and the relatively modern Woolworths supermarket.

It looks as though we’re in for a cold night again with the temperature expected to fall to 4C. At least we now have the gas heater working and we can look forward to warmer nights as we head towards Queensland tomorrow.

This weekend we are visiting friends in Kootingal just to the northeast of Tamworth – The Country Music Capital of Australia.

We made a brief visit to the Tamworth Country Music Hall of Fame, which displays the long history of Australian country music but there was surprisingly little for more recent artists such as the hugely popular Keith Urban. It was also looking quite dated and for such a major music capital it deserves better.

Just a short stroll away is the main street of Tamworth and the usual shops, cafes and supermarkets common to most of the country towns that we have visited so far. It was a good opportunity for me to get a flu jab while for Catherine an absentee vote was in order for the federal elections coming up soon.

Kootingal is a farming community and, like much of New England, is still suffering the effects of drought. Hopefully the overnight rain on Friday will help and signal the arrival of more rain to follow.

An early morning walk by the river was a good reason to rise on Saturday and fortunately the rain had cleared. We followed the path of the well attended Tamworth Park Run held each week. And of course our treat was breakfast and coffee at the Hopscotch cafe by the river.

Another early start on Sunday saw us at the Tamworth Marsupial Park, not just an excellent place to take the children with its own playground but also educational for all ages. It’s a lovely spot in a narrow valley surrounded by trees with the only noise coming from the many native birds on display, especially the Sulphur Crested Cockatoos and their many spoken phrases. And not just a ‘Hello’ but ‘Who are you?” and “What are you doing?”. Even a Galah got in on the act.

Of course it wouldn’t be a good weekend without a good pub lunch with friends. It also happened to coincide with a very well attended village market at Currabubula, many of who also had the same idea as us to drop into the local pub for a beer and a bite to eat.

We’re heading out to the Warrumbungle National Park today. Located 36km west of Coonabarabran and 550km northwest of Sydney, it is unique in being the only Dark Sky Park in Australia and the reason Siding Springs Observatory was located right here in the park.

The Warrumbungle mountain range shares a volcanic history with a string of extinct volcanoes from Queensland down and through New South Wales. Caused by a hot spot beneath the earth’s crust and pushing through weaker rock, the volcanoes formed in a north to south chain as Australia slowly moves northwards. The hot spot currently sits below the Bass Strait and someday may re-appear breaking back through to the surface in Tasmania.

A massive fire in 2013 caused major damage covering 90% of the national park and has left very clear evidence with blackened tree trunks everywhere but equally impressive new growth as the forest re-establishes itself. Its affect on the local fauna and flora is still being measured and visitors are encouraged to send photographs from key locations to enable scientists to measure changes over the ensuing years.

It’s a very enjoyable drive leading into and through the national park but visitors are advised to be aware of rockfalls and fallen trees still affected by the fire. It feels almost as if you are entering a recent disaster zone with fallen trees, branches and rocks right beside the road and sometimes on it. One positive side to the fire is the views that have been created where trees have been stripped of their leaves and in places whole trees have burnt or fallen.

Our aim today was to do a couple of walks, get some fresh mountain air and enjoy the scenery. The first stop was the at the Whitegum Lookout. Just a short walk, the path leads to a platform overlooking the volcanic skyline that was active between 13 and 17-million years ago. Much of the softer volcanic rock has weathered away over the eons to leave volcanic plugs and dykes protruding from the surrounding landscape. It was a shame the clouds were preventing the sun breaking through and showing the rock formations at their best.

A little further into the park is the new and very impressive visitor centre just recently opened. It’s a modern architect designed building with a fantastic stone wall frontage. The design and display inside is just as impressive and educational. The new centre replaces the original destroyed in the 2013 fire. Of all the visitor centres we’ve visited over the years, both in Australia and overseas, this easily rates as one of the best.

Our second walk took us on a looping path around the surrounding land of the visitor centre and down along a dry creek before returning back to the centre. We saw our first kangaroos in the park, way after they had already spotted us and sat upright, ears pointed keeping an eye on us. I used the DJI gimbal camera for the first time following Catherine along the path and then filming four kangaroos that were startled as we turned a corner past a rocky outcrop. It was great to see wildlife at such close quarters.

Heading further into the park we followed another circular walk – the Wambelong Nature Track, again watched by mobs of kangaroos, along a dry riverbed and over a steep path up a rocky slope leading to an overview of the valley and the surrounding mountains. Just as we started to descend we heard a noise in the bush but could see nothing. And then I spotted an Echidna trying its best to hide under a fallen branch much smaller than its spiny body. It would have been great to photograph but best to leave alone and let it carry on hunting for food.

We had only walked for a few hours at most but it was very enjoyable, the scenery very diverse, plenty of wildlife and a great drive through a very special national park. Probably the best day of our trip so far.