Four days off work over the Easter long weekend, and I couldn’t sit still. So, we packed up a girls road trip and headed south. Located in northern NSW (or New Englad as the area is known) is the university town of Armidale. Home to private student boarders during school terms and locals during the holidays, this pretty town is well worth a visit, especially during autumn.
Easter really is the perfect time to visit – not too cold (it’s been known to snow in winter!) and the leaves are just changing for autumn. Driving south from Brisbane you can see the change in the leaves as soon as you hit Tenterfield. Claret Ash and poplar trees line the road, sporting burnt orange, gold and red leaves, something that you just don’t see back home.
Saturday morning saw us enjoy the obligatory holiday brunch at a cafe in the mall (which was surprisingly hard to find on the Easter long weekend), and then we headed to Blue Hole, a local creek not 15mins out of town for a picnic lunch. Situated in the Gara Gorge, Blue Hole waterhole was part of the now defunct hydroelectric system that powered the old goldmines in the area. I spent most of the afternoon lying on the picnic blanket eating… so when it came time for dinner I had to man up and head out to dinner and drinks in town to eat more… On the itinerary for the night was The Imperial, The Royal and of course, The White Bull – pub names found only country towns.
Easter Sunday means Easter eggs. As a giant child myself, I got a little excited about it all, and planted ‘Easter Bunny footprints’ throughout the house and garden. Very fun! After getting our fill of chocolate, we headed out on a lazy Sunday drive towards Uralla and Kentucky, tiny towns south of Armidale. While many of the local wineries were closed, we were lucky to find Eastview Winery open. The charismatic wine maker / brewer pulled no punches telling us about his livelihood of winemaking and brewing. Situated in an old apple packing shed, the venue and wine were fabulous, but even better was the running commentary. Well worth a visit.
Rather than heading home via the highway on the overcast and cool Monday morning, we took to the country, following the back roads from Tenterfield through places like Tabulum, Bonalbo (not to be confused with Old Bonalbo), Urbenville and Woodenbong. Not only did we see some stunning poplar trees with golden leaves, but we passed through some amazing national parks – Yabbra and Mt Barney. The country change dramatically as we drove, and by the time we crossed the border, the weather had turned hot and sunny and I was forced to remove my suede boots – essential footware for New England!
