To Armidale

To continue the abandoned theme, our hotel in Coffs Harbour turned out to be a huge resort style place which upon checking in looked like we had all to ourselves. The huge reception area opened onto cheesy fountains that led down steps to a huge floor to ceiling view of the private garden and beach beyond. But looking out at the stormy sea and then seeing no one bar the staff behind the check-in desk, it felt like the place was being evacuated for a hurricane. View Larger Map The next day wasn't much better. We tried a quick visit to the tropical botanic gardens. We walked down the pier and watched the sea breach over the stone barriers at the mouth of the harbour. But that was it. Despite all the leaflets advertising dolphin shows, whale watching, horse riding, and of course the Big Banana, on that wet and windy day there didn't look much to do. The next town was much nicer though. Our drive was to take us from Coffs Harbour through Waterfall Way, a drive through the scenic "New England Highway" that promised plenty of waterfalls and rolling pasture as far as Armidale a few hours west. The first stop on the way was Bellingen, another town promoted by NSW tourism, this time for its well preserved architecture. And it was a great little town. But it wasn't until we were having our third coffee for our third sit-down (a cafe with floor to ceiling random crap like broken food processors and antique typewriters) that we really noticed the locals were dressing just a little bit different. Even the toddlers were dressed as hippies. I guess we were the last to know that far from just being some well preserved Victorian display piece, the town was home to a population of artists and musicians and general alternative folk. Definitely not what we were expecting after the Big Banana. When we occasionally got lucky with the weather and got to see some beautiful countryside; great views down onto farm fields turned silver by the winter with solitary trees scattered about that looked straight out of a painting. You really could be forgiven you were somewhere in rural France were it not for the times when the forest would close up on the road and you'd instantly be driving through Australian woodland with great strips of bark peeling off gum trees. Or pulling over at the side of the road to find that beyond the fence were horses and emus. We continued on to Dorrigo National Park, somewhere worth spending a few days if we weren't afraid of scratching the paint off our rented hatchback. Places like that are a good reminder why so many people here drive SUV's. The park had an elevated walkway over the rainforest and a series of walks down through it. And as if on cue as soon as we started walking the rain came back. But a rainforest is a perfect for rain so it didn't ruin anything. There were signs dotted about teasing us with the possibility of seeing such exotic animals as a Lyre Bird, but all we saw was another brush turkey We were still a couple of hours outside of Armidale but wanted to stop at the biggest waterfall along the way even if it was raining. And it was pretty cool. But then I made the most novice of mistakes for drivers in Australia and forgot to stop for petrol. The dial was perilously close to E. I felt relieved to find there was a petrol station marked on the map at the next town which looked about twenty minutes down the road. So it was with some dread that we arrived there, at this tiny "town" off the main road with one closed shop and a single out-of-order petrol pump, the fuel dial in the car sitting at E and there being a good 45-minutes to our destination, Armidale. I had a vision of having to pull off in the middle of nowhere, in the dark, and having to thumb a lift to the next town while leaving my wife in the car at the side of the road. In the movies, one or the other is always gruesomely killed right? So I turned off the radio, stopped using the break and tried to coast as much as I could. The dial can always go way past empty right? I certainly found out because with my heart in my mouth we coasted into Armidale on petrol fumes an hour later.