We are going on a road trip!
I am looking forward to sharing snippets of my journey across NSW with you over the coming days and weeks. First stop is the Hunter Valley. Leaving the density of Sydney behind us, we took our time cruising our way up north towards the hidden beauty of the upper Hunter Valley. Our first night was spent in Muswellbrook situated in the heart of the Valley. It boasts new energy projects, mining, agriculture, olives and award-winning wine production. Not to mention delicious cheeses which can all be tasted in restaurants or at the farm gate.
Muswellbrook has a 4.5 km heritage walk consisting of fine old buildings, grand country homes, and stunning Jacaranda lined trees. On our doorstep is the Wollemi National Park. Home of the Wollemi Pine one of the world’s oldest and rarest tree species. As you make your way along the track you can enjoy the beauty of the sandstone escarpments of Wollemi it is certainly a bushwalker’s ‘Mecca’.
Going on a road trip through northwest and east of NSW is a rewarding and educational experience, but more than anything, it’sbeauty is what brings me back again and again. Driving past the noble, waxy, silky oaks and stunning Jacaranda pine, you feel a sense of relief and expansion. As if you can finally take a big, deep breath in, and exhale.
Next time your travelling north through the Hunter region, consider taking a side trip to beautiful Barrington Tops where there is a breeding project called DEVIL ARK. They are doing great work to save an endangered Australian animal the Tasmania Devil.
Our journey has just begun, and we can already feel ourselves unwinding. Tomorrow will take us to the Country Musical city of Tamworth – see you there!
– Lyn Taylor