Depart Brisbane

After two months of Grandparent Duties in Brisbane, the plan is now to work my way thru NSW/VIC to catch the Bass Strait Ferry on 13th November.  My first night was at a free camp near Bonalbo, NSW, where I met a Victorian couple working their way N to visit grandchildren.  They very kindly wrote out a brief list of places along my general direction to visit, as they had traveled the route a few times!  I'm very grateful to them, as my normal experience is finding out where/what I should have visited AFTER I've been thru an area.  Thus, as I travel generally down the New England Highway, I have some recommended "Must See" & "Worthwhile Detours" to schedule in!  One that I would most likely have missed is The Firs, where apparently lyre birds abound and you can hear all of the sounds of the Australian bush as a result. 

As my route took me  thru Tenterfield, a visit to The Tenterfield Saddler shop was-to me- compulsory!  Peter Allen's song about his forebears certainly put this spot on the world map!   From there to Washpool & Gibraltar Range NP for a couple of nights.  An early morning walk to Boundary Falls and Lyre Bird Falls was invigorating, as the signage pointed out Boundary Falls was only 400M, they failed to add it was nearly straight down (coming back was the real heart starter)!  The walk was worth it.  Lyre Bird Falls was a kilometre away, on arrival it was straight down. but fortunately there was no track - too steep.  A walk to a small pool on a creek, then along the creek before looping back was also interesting, with informative signs adding to the experience.