Gloucester to Armidale

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Today we left Gloucester and drove to Armidale.
We travelled up the mountain via the Thunderbold Way. About 1/2 an hour into the trip we started up a very very steep climb. It was drizzling rain and thick fog and then the heat indicator lamp in the car began to flash. There was nowhere to pull off the road so we had to just keep going.
Eventually we came to a wider area where we could stop for a while and let the car cool down.
The road levelled out and the scenery was beautiful.
We called into a place called Bretti Camping Ground. It is a lovely spot with unpowered sites along the rivers edge.
We had a lunch stop at a little town called Walcha.
Walcha (pronounced 'Wolka') is located in a beautiful area 1067 metres above sea level, on the eastern slopes of the Great Dividing Range at the south eastern edge of the Northern Tablelands. It is essentially a service centre to the surrounding area which has traditionally been associated with sheep, wool and cattle; although timber and timber-processing have been of increasing importance to the local economy since World War II.
We arrived at Armidale in the late afternoon and set up the van at the Pembroke Caravan Park. We found a lovely spot overlooking a paddock with horses grazing.
Later in the afternoon we drove down to a place called Blue Hole at Gara Gorge. Site of Australia's first Hydro-Electric scheme. Great area for picnics and for children/families. We would have gone for a long walk to explore but it was very cold and raining. We could not believe the drop in temperature from 34deg yesterday and down to 11deg today.
Tracksuits and Hot Soup required!

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Comments

[Gypsy]

Thunderbolt's Way
This is a wonderful, historic Australian route. Like your story and see you dicovered teh beautiful Bretti Reserve. Pretty nice, ey!