Our night camped in Tamworth was a little chilly but not as cold as some of the evenings we've had recently; it's noticeable that autumn has arrived here in Australia, and the chilliness of the evenings has been a bit of a rude awakening for both of us, having previously laboured under the illusion that it never really gets cold here.
Anyway Tamworth was a pleasant enough place to stop and do some shopping / chores; the smart workers drinking coffee at the pavement cafes were a welcome counter to the general hick-dom evident in some smaller towns further west. We made a stop at the local 'big thing' - the golden guitar, which hilariously was dwarfed by the McDonalds golden arches next door. We took some silly photos and drove on.
Up along the 'New England Highway' we went, running along parallel to the north coast of New South Wales but about 200km inland. The New England Plateau turned out to be a surprisingly pretty part of the country, and as its a bit colder up here due to the plateau's elevation, the autumn colours of the trees were stunning. Armidale was a nice place to stop for lunch of a gourmet pie, eaten while admiring the colonial architecture and ornate wrought iron verandas - it's great where features like this have been preserved; often civic 'development' has seen old buildings like these bulldozed to make way for bland single-storey 'hotel motels' or strip malls.
We got to Tenterfield about 5pm and it was freezing. Only 200km away from Byron Bay and the coast, where we hope it'll be warm enough to get back in the sea for a spot of boogie boarding - we'll let you know!
Robin
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