April 1st saw us pack up at Tenterfield and travel the short trip down the New England Highway to Glen Innes. We checked in at Craigeburn Caravan Park just South of Glen Innes. It was our most expensive stay so far at $30/night but a very nice campground. Set on some 40 Acres there were only maybe 6 caravans at the busiest night we were there. Lots of beautiful trees and Granite Boulder formations. Kangaroos, Rabbits, and Possums abound. Full services including dump site and Laundry for fellow caravaners information. Set up just after lunch and did some sightseeing and shopping in Glen Innes in the afternoon. Very nice town with some wonderful old buildings. The Town Hall and a couple of schools stand out. We had a bit of a storm that night with some heavy rain but no wind. It was chilly in the morning at 8 degrees.On the Saturday the 2nd we travelled the Gwyder Highway to Inverell. Stopped at the Sinclair Lookout which is a couple of km of the main road on quite a rough dirt track. Weren't sure is we were going the right way but comes out to a great viewpoint where you can probably see 270 degrees.
Went to the Inverall Tourist Info Centre which is very nice and lady there was very helpful. As most of the shops closed at noon on Saturday we only had a quick look downtown before heading out to Goonoowigall State Conservation area. We had a picnic lunch there and did a 5Km walk on the Thunderbolt Boulders Circuit. Interestingly enough there is no evidence Thunderbolt was ever there. The walk however was amazing and the boulders incredible. It is amazing they just appear out of nowhere and the way they balance on each other is unbelievable. We got some good and some goofy pictures with the boulders and John discovered a great collection of Farmer's Friend while there. We had a relaxing drive back to Glen Innes and enjoyed a couple of cold drinks at the caravan on a beautiful sunny day. Clear and Cool overnight. Definitely glad we brought the heavy doona.
The second was only a few km up the road where we came to Raspberry Lookout. Again only 1Km off the highway is a wonderful lookout where you can see for miles. Interesting coloring as the Rainforest mix with regular Australian Bushlands.
We then journeyed to the Coombadjha Camping area in Washpool National Park. We did a 9KM Washpool Walk. There were many beautiful Rainforest sites but this was not one of our favourites to this point in our trip. The track was not well cleared or marked in many spots. Very wet, muddy terrain and to top it off; Leeches! The walk took us 3.5 hours although an hour of this was stops to pull off leeches! A good walk for true nature lovers but not for the more civilized suburban folk like us. We would highly recommend the Dorrigo National Park walk over this one for fellow travellers who enjoy walking but not in these conditions. A very tired and bloodied couple made there way back to Glenn Innes. On the way out of Washpool Park we had a short delay as an 7-8 foot Carpet Python (apparently rarely seen we discovered later) had decided to have a sunbake right across the road. John got to try out his Steve Irwin skills to move the snake from the road so we could pass. I will summarize in saying John will not be pursuing employment in this field. After a few attempts at rolling rocks at the snake which only aggravated him but didn't move him, Sandra slowly drove by him with two wheels in the ditch. The snake finally moved as our front tyre went by his raised head on the passenger side. John had his window mostly rolled up to avoid an attack. Remember our bloody legs would be an easy target for a snake (even though I don't think this type of snake bites). I forgot to mention I also saw a small Grey/Black snake cross our path during the walk. We nervously made our way past this section. We slept soundly that night which was again quite cool.
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