DAY 24: June 25th (6 mths till ??)

June 27, 2017 by

We passed a sign last night coming into town stating ‘Armidale – the highest city in Australia’. We weren’t sure if they meant highest because of elevation or by some other means (elevation is 980m and as for the other it was definitely in the air).

Our inland route was changed to one with less twists and turns than yesterday because my ears and sinuses couldn’t take them. We decided to head straight to Sydney instead of stopping for the night in Newcastle area. On the way out of town we drove past a two green bowls club where even in the pouring rain there were bowlers on the green, nice to see they are as avid as Canadian bowlers.

We travelled mainly along the A15, New England Highway, through more quaint towns or maybe some are called hamlets. Moonbi has a population of 500 and Kootingal has 1,400 residents with a bowls club as do quite a few other small places.

Just outside Moonbi is a lookout at 754m above sea level in the Moonbi mountain range with views of the Cockburn Valley and beyond. The lookout was built in 1938 and has quite rustic lavatories.

We went into Tamworth to have lunch at our staple restaurant Macca’s before travelling on past acres of sugar cane, sugar cane factories, Bayswater Power Station, herds of Black Angus cattle, sheep, llamas and the occasional magpie sitting along the side of the road without a fear of vehicles. No kangaroos today.

The last 90 mins of today’s journey wasn’t as picturesque because we were travelling along the M1 into Sydney where we were staying at an airbnb apartment in the Redfern area close to the airport. Supper once again was at the local pub the Tudor Hotel where we enjoyed roast pork and beef, Yorkshire pudding, carrots, yams, green beans, roasted spuds, gravy and applesauce. More to go to the hips!