We drove to Warialda and wandered the streets of the lovely town looking at the wonderful old buildings. The lady in the information centre loaded us up with local attractions as well as local pecans. They were available in tasty varieties like honey and ginger, chilli and several others.
At Glen INNES, the lady at the tourist office was a fund of information and steered us to the Railway Hotel where the counter lunch was delicious. We ate in front of an open fire in a restaurant which was full of people. Obviously, the place to be!
We did some fossicking on the creek at Glencoe without success. It was bitterly cold as well, so we packed up and went into town.
The publican of the Red Lion offered us space in his yard beside the pub with showers and toilets which was generous of him. We had a few drinks, a very good dinner, and watched Parramatta beat the pants off Manly! We met some of the locals too, including a young guy who does fossicking tours. He showed us a lot of gem stones he'd found and gave us his card for future reference. It's too cold here to be fossicking at this time of the year and you need sunshine as well.
Walcha was our next town. There were a lot of wonderful woodcarvings around the town, particularly totem pole sculptures. Also, a home on the Uralla side of town with wood-shingled roofing which is a rare sight.
The countryside is lovely with areas of lush green, and many small creeks. The skies are leaden and heavy with rain but it is mostly dry.
Our last night before reaching home was spent beside the Manning River at Bretti Reserve, about 40 Kms north of Gloucester. Nanette and I walked along the river bank where a few others were camped. It was an ideal place, with green grass, flat ground and fresh water suitable for swimming. We cooked a pot roast lamb dinner on the fire despite light rain.
