Digital Nomads

Our journey over the past week and a half has been filled with exciting adventures and discoveries. This post combines highlights from weeks 2 and 3 of our travels, with a fresh start to a weekly diary beginning each Monday and concluding every Sunday.

Armidale

Our two-night stay in Armidale fell on working days, limiting our time for exploration. However, we did manage to enjoy an exceptional dinner at Manny’s on Marsh. This charming restaurant serves authentic and delicious Italian cuisine, accompanied by impeccable service. Manny’s is a definite recommendation for anyone visiting the area.

Wollomombi

Not to be confused with Wolombi. A short distance east of Armidale lies Wollomombi, where we opted for a free camp at the Wollomombi General Store. The store’s burgers and chips are a must-try. During our stay, we embarked on a couple of hikes through Oxley Wild Rivers National Park, offering breathtaking views of the surroundings. Below is a video of weeks 2 and a bit of 3 which includes Armidale and Wollomombi.

Uralla

New England Brewing

Uralla surprised us with its charm. We stayed at the showgrounds, which provided easy access to the town. The first stop had to be the local Brewery of course. The New England Brewing had a funky vibe and had 9 beers on tap at the time. It is an actual working brewery with a Brewery door. They don’t run tours because you can see what is happening from your table. We had a tasting paddle of 6 beers and even I liked quite a few of them, which is unusual for me as I am not a big craft beer fan. They had a brewer’s pantry with plenty of snacks (cheese, crackers, nuts, chips, dips etc) that you can buy and take to the table. They also had fridges to peruse some takeaway beers.

We had dinner at the Top Pub, which for a small town, had some really fancy dishes. The chicken and lamb dishes we got were fantastic!

McCrossin’s Mill Museum

We also visited McCrossin’s Mill Museum, which was a highlight of our time in Uralla. It has a $7 entry fee which is well worth it. We spent about 2 hours exploring the exhibitions with many different areas, artifacts, information, paintings and history. Each area concentrates on something different including the life and legend of Thunderbolt, the Chinese history in Rocky River, and more.

Tamworth

We headed to Tamworth and stayed at the Showgrounds. I grew up in Tamworth, so seeing how the place has changed was interesting. We visited iconic attractions such as the Golden Guitar, the Wax Museum, and the Guitar Museum. Despite my nostalgia, I was disappointed to find that “The Longyard” had been transformed into a pub, depriving me of the bright green bubble gum ice cream of my childhood. We also checked out some of the old places that I remember. My primary school, the little shop up the top of our road, our neighbour’s house and we tried to get a view of the old farm but it sits behind a street of houses so couldn’t see much.

For sunset, we drove up to Oxley Scenic Lookout and got some great photos. We sat and watched the sun set over the town which was really pretty.

Lake Keepit

Our stay at Lake Keepit was a peaceful retreat. The Reflections Caravan Park, where we stayed, was quiet, with few guests midweek. We walked along the shore of the lake, went for drives around the area and Brett attempted to do some fishing. He didn’t catch anything but he did assure me that he got a few bites. It was a really nice relaxing few days without too much to do.

Siding Springs Observatory

Have you heard about the recent discovery of the fastest-growing black hole ever recorded? It was first detected using the 2.3 metre telescope at the ANU Siding Spring Observatory. We popped up for a visit and the man there was very knowledgeable and explained that it is the largest optical observatory in Australia and they have 11 telescopes. There are tours available but we went in the afternoon and didn’t catch one, but you can just walk through the Exploratory and Cafe at your leisure and walk up to the Anglo-Australian Telescope and see it through the viewing deck.

Warrumbungles

Our stay at Warrumbungles National Park was nothing short of amazing. We drove to the Whitegum lookout on the first afternoon which gave spectacular views of the mountains. The next morning, we got up early before it got too hot and hiked up Belougery Split Rock Circuit. This was a 4.6km round trip with some extremely steep parts and a bit of rock scrambling to get to the summit, which is quite scary when you are on the side of a mountain with the wind whirling around you. But, wow. Just wow. It was amazing to reach the summit and feel like you were standing on top of the world. The campground had an abundance of wildlife, including apostle birds (which we fell in love with at Lake Keepit), kookaburras, kangaroos and wild goats. The park’s designation as an Australian Dark Sky Park made for spectacular stargazing, although clouds hindered our view a bit and it was hard to get good photos. Before leaving, we took a leisurely walk along the Burbie Canyon trail, capping off our time at Warrumbungles National Park before heading to Gilgandra. You can check out our video of the Warrumbungles here.