On the way to Tenterfield I went through Texas where there was a water tank with artwork. Not the greatest but still worth stopping. I was lucky as a worker opened a gate to drive into the depot so I was able to sneak in and get photos without the fence being in the foreground.
The drive from Coolah to Tenterfield was through undulating country and a really pleasant drive, the roads were a bit average but otherwise I enjoyed the trip, especially stopping at Girraween National Park for a BBQ lunch. The picnic area is wonderful with many picnic tables and a half dozen gas BBQs. The picnic area has a view to Pyramid Rock that can be glimpsed in the background.
From the picnic area there is a short easy walk of a couple of Ks through a bush scattered with granite boulders, it is so scenic, you cross a small creek and then head on a loop through the bush.
The granite arch is spectacular and a feature of this walk.
I really enjoyed the walk, in places it was like a landscaped native plant garden. It was also amazing to see trees apparently growing out of the rock, it’s hard to imagine how they survive.
So off to Tenterfield and set up camp, I have decided to stay here for 4 nights. So on Friday I set off for Undercliffe Falls, sadly there is no viewing platform as the falls would be very spectacular if you could see the whole drop. As it was you had the very carefully climb your way down on wet sloping ground to get to a vantage point. The falls descend 150m over a 30m wide rock face into a deep pool that is used for swimming in summer. They looked great in reality but not so good in photos.
From Undercliffe Falls I headed for Bald Rock National Park where the picnic area was wonderful. I really enjoyed the solitude and quiet and spent a bit of time in quiet reverie, lost in my thoughts. I BBQ’d a couple of sausages and had a battle with a Kookaburra which made 5 or 6 dives trying to grab one. One time he nearly got one when I had a sip of wine and he dived in, I had to slam the wine down and wave my hand to shoo him away. It was close, about 6 inches from success.
Bald rock is so massive that is is impossible to get a photo to show how big it is, I wish my drone was working, this was the best I could do. The rock is the biggest granite monolith in the southern hemisphere, it rises about 200 metres above the surrounding country and measures about 750 metres long and 500 metres wide. The gentle climb to the top was closed for maintenance and I didn’t fancy the steep climb straight up the rock so I missed the view from the top.
The next day I went to Boonoo Boonoo (pronounced bunna-bunoo) National Park, I had intended to visit Basket Swamp Falls but the road had been closed because of damage from recent rains, but the Boonoo Boonoo Falls made up for it, they are impressive falls. Apparently Banjo Patterson proposed to his future wife Alice Walker at these falls. The walk in is an easy 300 metres through delightful bush and the falls are stunning, not sure the photos do justice. The falls drop 210 metres over a granite rock shelf.
Above the falls there were many small waterfalls but the trees made it hard to get a good photo but the walk was very enjoyable.
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The road to the falls gives you glimpses of the Boonoo Boonoo river which runs over granite with lots of pools and small rapids between, it is a very beautiful river.
Back in Tenterfield I caught up on some shopping and had to take a photo of the Tenterfield Saddler shop made famous by Peter Allen.
So that is Tenterfield, a very restful stop. Tomorrow I’m off the Evans Head for a few days. After packing up the van I usually couple up on the evening before I leave, which saves me having to do that in the freezing morning temperatures. Today I found my electrical connector to the van was falling apart, one connector fell out as I pulled the plug out, fortunately it was an unused one. Being a Sunday no shops were open so in the end to get mobile I had to remove the plastic centre assembly of the connector from the outer body and carefully plug that into the car socket. Luckily it worked, so I taped it in place with lots of PVC tape so it would not fall out while travelling. I’ll buy a new connector and a second spare so I’m not caught out again. You have to be prepared for all sorts of things when camping it seems.