Tamworth CMF #2

Tamworth #2

Tamworth as a city and the Country Music Festival have turned out to be a very enjoyable experience.  The town appears to embrace  the Festival and all of the visitors even though I am sure there are some very annoying disruptions for the locals.

 Peel Street before the crowds arrived

 Nice old style buildings in Peel St

We have enjoyed ourselves immensely.

The opening concert was a free one in Bi-Centennial Park. Many well known artists appeared and we were introduced to quite a few new musicians.  It was a great night with about 10,000 people attending with no fuss.

We have been to concerts by the Bushwackers, Troy Cassar-Daley, the Highwaymen,  and Graeme Connors.  Each was very good but the concert by Troy was great as he introduced many special guests to perform with him including, Kasey Chambers, The McClymonts,  Adam Harvey, Kieth Jamieson (ex-Blackwater, still looking like he has a wallaby stuffed up his shirt), and many more including Troy’s wife Laurel, of course.  The show was preceded by a video story about him and the making of his latest album in Nashville.  It gave both of us a new appreciation of Troy and kick-started another great and late night.  The tribute show to the Highwaymen was a great night at the Longyard Hotel.  Willie Nelson played by Bruce McCumstie was so good that with your eyes closed could not be picked from the real thing.  Daniel Thompson played John Wayne and was also brilliant.  We had seen Daniel a couple of times at other Pub/Club shows and his deep voiced songs of Johnny Cash were great.  Earlier in the week we went to see the Grand Final of the Starmaker and the Road to Discovery competitions featuring new country/folk/blues song writers and performers.  All of the performers were great and both nights included performances from the contestants as well as many other established artists.  Both fantastic experiences even though we did not pick the winners either night; the judges obviously saw things we couldn’t – (or they were wrong!!!)  The standout performer that was not selected was a young guy from Toowoomba called Bart Thrupp.  His song ‘Girl in the Fishbowl’ had the audience on its feet, including us. He can be found on You Tube and at www.bartthrupp.com

 Bill & Kasey Chambers

 Road to Discovery Finalists - Bart Thrupp 4th from the right with the dreadies, Kelly Menhennett - Songwriter winner 3rd from right, Andrew Redford - Performer winner 1st on left. 

 Troy & Jammo

Troy

 Troy with the O'Sheas - they have great song 'Its a Smash', Aussies living in Nashville.

 Bob Corbett Winner of Starmaker, his prize includes a RAV 4 for a year and an album recorded in Nashville.  

 Carol meets the McClymont sisters.

We saw many other groups at pubs/clubs around town and another group that was recommended to us and which we would never have chosen to see was “Simply Bushed”  the lead singer looks more like a boilermaker than a singer / songwriter – a large lad in a singlet with long red hair and a long beard.  However we thrilled by his songs and his performance.  His song ‘I’ll See Ya’ really struck a chord with us and is our new favourite song, right up there with Barts.

Today has been a big day starting with the Bush Poets Breakfast back at the Longyard pub at 7.15am and finishing with the Graeme Connors concert at the Town Hall this evening.   The poets were absolutely hilarious and the stories about the dead koala, the fitness program, and the laws of the land had us in stitches.  Please ask us about them when you see us next.  Graeme Connors is just a great storyteller through song and his new songs ‘Everybody is working in the Mines’, ‘Beach-house in the Blue Mountains’ (re global warming), and ‘GFC’ were very topical and well received.  We also took in a couple of hours of Bill Chambers (and friends) of the Dead Ringer Band at lunch time which was very good.  We saw the Poets at Bill Chambers with new friends Russ and Jane Drew. They hail from Beresford near Newcastle and shop at the same shopping centre we used when we were staying with Peter.  Jane used to work in a Mitre 10 and Russ is an ex copper.  Their friend Julie is also staying with them and we have enjoyed many hours of chatting in the evenings with them. Russ & Jane are just finishing their second trip around Australia and we have got many good tips and opinions from Russ.  Another thing Russ has managed is a re-kindling of my ability to sit and drink beer until all hours of most nights.  We have both been enjoying a beer / wine with them and the weather has been perfect for sitting outside in the cool night air.

 A bush poet at breakfast that had us in stitches!!

 Russ after the Poets with the guitar and 'Ol Purple' Slim Dustys ZC Fairlane that his wife Joy McKean drove to the Festival and was inside signing books looking very spritely at 82.

 Mackay boy Graeme Connors and mandolin

Our stay in the showgrounds has very pleasant and relaxed.  I must mention the first night there were about 20 of us sitting around having happy hour when the power went off along a row of vans including ours.  Seeing as beer was being consumed there were several would be electricians leaping up to assist the new van setting up and restoring power to all our vans.  After 10 – 15 minutes they gave up and the caretaker had been summonsed and an electrician was being called out from town.  Carol insisted I take a look and upon first inspection of the power box, I turned all 6 circuit breakers back on that had been turned off because they were installed upside down to all of the others in the box.  When the new guy plugged in he turned his down (thinking down was on like the rest) and he had no power.  The first helper then turned the rest of the block of circuit breakers down also which left all of us without power.  When I pointed out the words On/Off we discovered that all of the helpers were in fact as old as I am except that none of them were wearing their glasses.  We all had a good chuckle, cancelled the electrician, and returned to our beers with no problems encountered since. 

A couple of other mentions among the buskers which come in all shapes and sizes and included a brilliant young drummer, an Indian family playing and singing Country Music, Spoons Perry, and Pixie Jenkins.

 Rodney the one man band - a local Tamworthian

 the Indians doing a pretty good job of country

 Amazing little drummer with mum and dad.  Mum indicated that sales of their CD's went to Mum & Dad and the tips went to the boy who was saving up for an electric drum kit.  Some ol guy out of the audience walked down to the music shop and paid $1,600 for a set and cameback and gave the voucher to Mum - a great gift recieved excitedly.

Tamworth (Country Music Festival)

We enjoyed Barry Ferguson’s 60^th birthday party at Yamba Golf Club.  It was good to catch up with several people we know including Jim, John, Barry’s 3 boys, their mate Tom (a good electrician who did some work for us in the Forestdale house), and Mick Brennan (a very capable manager from our Namoi Cotton days). We had given Baz a nice clock on a large piece of eucalypt we bought at Timbertown.  We oiled it and added a new clock mechanism and it looked good and will last many more years (just like him, hopefully).  

 Natan,Baz,Kaltin,Blake

The coast was great; even the last day when the rains arrived.  Yamba is a relaxed seaside town with all the facilities but not so big that it looks great for families on Xmas holidays.  The Clarence River is hundreds of metres wide from Yamba back 30 or so km’s, to past Maclean, and fishing trawlers operate along the river and out to sea.  The seafood is therefore plentiful and fresh.

A short drive south along the coast leads to Angourie which is an even smaller quieter seaside village.  There a good swimming and surfing beaches with a little peninsula jutting a few hundred metres off shore providing waves on one side or the other.  There is a nice restaurant and a good little café which served great fish and chips at very reasonable prices for table service.

 Peninsular at Angourie

 A few waves for the surfers

As I mentioned, it poured rain all day Sunday which was no problem for us cricket watchers except the test finished early on that day.  Next morning between showers we hit the road again heading back through Grafton and then west through the ranges to Glen Innes.  The Mann River flows beside the road for several kilometres and it first crosses the road at Jackadgery.  The Mann River Caravan Park on the western bank looks like a great spot to spend a few days next time through.  I have since been told that it is a great spot and the park has large sites, good amenities and friendly managers.  It is also a good spot to rest before or after visiting Washpool or Gibraltar Range Nat Parks a little way west at the top of the range.   The drive up the hill into the clouds was very pretty.  The rainforest is beautiful with tree ferns growing everywhere like weeds and regular views of large white water rivers. 

 Mann River

 On top of the range at 11am in the middle of summer!!

 Raspberry Lookout revisited - previous photo from the same spot you could see for miles.

 Forest & Fog (cloud)

The road was steep with two huge switch backs near the top but we were impressed with how easy the vehicle and van went up there – only 2 courtesy pullovers to allow cars to pass.  We made such good time into Glen Innes that we (Garry) decided to head on to Armidale and spend 2 nites in the one place.  Those 2 days gave a chance to do a big shop and also give the van a good spring clean.  Carol did a great job on the inside even found on her knees at one stage scrubbing the floor!!! 

Armidale to Tamworth was uneventful, even though it included another trip down Dead Man’s Hill – a 6 km downhill run.   It made me look at the heights in the towns. From sea level at Yamba we rose to a maximum of 1,350m in Guyra and dropped back down to 350m above sea level at Tamworth.  No wonder the rivers on the east side of the range were white; they drop over 1,000m in 200 kms while the Peel River in Tamworth drops only 350m in over 2,000 kms when it flows into the sea in South Australia.  Anyway back to Tamworth.  It has dried out a lot since we came through before Xmas and heated up to mid 30’s.  The town sure does fill up with Country Music activities and people.  We were booked into the Showgrounds along with several hundred others and we have found everyone very friendly.  It is the first time we have regularly joined in with Happy Hour each afternoon and there is always someone willing to pull out the guitar and sing a few songs.  It is very pleasant and we are enjoying it a lot.  We are amazed at the line of vans coming in each day but we all seem to be fitting in so far. 

 Carol has arrived at the big guitar.

A short drive through the countryside took us to Manila, Sommerton and back.  The country has dried out noticeably in the last few weeks and the paddocks with sheep are already looking bare.  Manila is a very typical western NSW town and is situated on the Namoi River.  They have a nice picnic area on the river bank below the weir with plenty of picnic tables and huge river gums for shade.  The town has a pleasant main street with many buildings over 100 years old.  We posted some postcards to the Grandkids in Manila so it will be interesting to see how long they take to arrive.

 Manila Weir on the Namoi River - This photo will make David & Shaneen sooo homesick.

 Manila

 3 old buildings preserved with new modern businesses inside -?, 1899, 1900

We have done our recce of our concert sites in Tamworth and are off to town with 10,000 others for the Official Opening Concert in Bi-Centennial Park this evening (Fri). 

More about Tamworth next week if we are not all country music’d out by then.

Yamba

We spent a little over a week at Barry’s place and I must say it is a peaceful place with no traffic, the birds and the bubbling brook.  Barry and Garry put in a big effort on the house surrounds  however they did tail off towards the end of our stay to allow time to fit in 18 holes of golf in Murwillumbah and a trip into a couple of nearby National Parks.  The golf was fun even though the weather had turned uncomfortably hot in the last few days.  The course is challenging and well designed into the hills and waterholes.  A par or two always makes it memorable though.  

 Another burn rather than $22 per ute load at the dump!!

 The big old shed gets a clean up.

The shed got cleaned out, the grass got mowed again and there were another few fires of rubbish.  A lot of rocks large and small were gathered from around the creek and along the road and placed along the bank of the creek on the house side to slow any erosion.  Garry had to build a couple of small rock dams to divert the creek away from the house.  They also increased the size of the ponds close to the house.  I am not sure if they were necessary but were fun building them in the water after it turned so hot.

The markets at Chillingham attracted us on Sunday morning and provided us with good local fruit and vegetables.  They also allowed Barry to shop for presents for his daughters in law.  Barry took the goods home and we continued on through Chillingham to Natural Bridge Nat Park.  This feature is over the top of ranges and just into Queensland.  The mountains are formed from a volcano that is now Mt Warning.  Layers of basalt were laid down and eroded over time.  The Natural Bridge is formed where a creek running over the basalt has broken through the harder top layers of basalt and now has worn away the lower softer layers of rock.  It is a very pretty waterfall and the cave beneath is large and has glow worms which are visible at night.  The rainforest surround the creek was impressive as usual. 

 The exit of the stream under Natural Bridge

 The cave goes back 15m to the left

 Under the bridge

 The lookout - bridge in background

Back into NSW and on to the very quaint little town of Tyalgum.  This little town has beautiful shops including Art Gallery, Coffee Shop, Doll Shop, old Pub with a swimming pool and the “Tiny Shop of Beautiful Things”.  These shops all sit opposite a beautiful green sports oval ringed by huge shade trees.  Next stop was another town called Uki.  It is located on a river in the rainforest and has a great old pub with very good large cheap meals for lunch.  It was very popular with most of the diners choosing to sit outside on the big timber benches under shade trees.  The ‘hippy’ type that turned up for lunch with a large rabbit in a shoulder bag added to the character of the place but was a bit off putting when it sat on the table while he ate lunch.  Mount Warning Nat Park is only a few km’s from Uki and very popular on the weekend by the 100 or so cars that filled the car park and edges of the road.  Being hot and with a big lunch on board we declined the 9km walk to the summit (5 to 6 hours) and settled for neat walk through the rainforest and creek at the base.  We must come back for it someday.  The trees are full of staghorns, crow’s nests and other ferns with tree ferns and palms through the creek.  Another outing was a quick drive over the Tomewin Mountain road to Currumbin.  This drive provides spectacular views of the mountains, coast, and Murwillumbah and valleys on the return.  One regret was not making the time to contact Cousin Beryl and Les for a catch up.  We will do that on our next trip through this area when we don’t have a project and appointments to keep.

 A large strangler fig at the base of Mt Warning

 Trees are full of stags & ferns

 Banana plantations in the valley from Tomewin Mountain, Mt Warning in the background, Crystal Ck over the hill to the right

Carol was due back in Ballina to receive some beauty treatment – a Christmas gift from Brendan and Michelle.  This turned out to be a very nice treatment for her.  The end of this week then sees us further south in the seaside town of Yamba.  Yamba is on the coast on the south side of the mouth of the Clarence River and is a very pretty seaside town with good swimming, ocean and river fishing, and great views from the hill (where the Pacific Hotel happens to be) behind the main beach.  

 View from the dining room at the Pacific Hotel overlooking Yamba Surf Club

 Surf Club from Lighthouse Point

 main beach

 Sea water pool behind our heads at Yamba main beach

 Lighthouse established in 1866

There is a good 18 hole golf course and a huge Bowls Club in the middle of town.  Good seafood can be bought from the water at the marina and from several fish and chip shops in town.  We are staying at the Yamba Waters Van Park which is a couple of minutes from the centre of town but very quiet and on a salt water inlet.  The sites are the biggest we have encountered and the facilities are good.  There is a van park in the middle of town on the river (Calypso Van Park) but we are glad we are not in there as it is still packed with holiday makers and would be noisy at the end of the main street.  We are very impressed with Yamba but my study of the real estate puts it at the high end of prices we have encountered elsewhere.  There are some expensive homes around here – houses for $2M units for $1M.  Compared to around Murwillumbah where you can get 20+acres with rainforest, a creek and a house for less than $500K, it doesn’t look like they have heard about the recession down here yet.  We are looking forward to a night out on Saturday night and a bit more of a look around as the weather is perfect summer beach weather – warm with a cool breeze all day and night and a shower last night to wash the Crystal Creek dust off the van and the car – life is good!!

Upper Crystal Creek

We celebrated a quiet News Years Eve in Ballina, bought some seafood and a nice bottle of champagne and stayed in. The weather finally turned good in the last couple of days when we were about to leave.

 Perfect summer weather the day before we left

 Note the jogger in the middle!!!

 We left Ballina Monday morning, after a little negotiating to get the van out. The sites are the smallest we have so far encountered and we had to take the awning down on the tent over the road and move a neighbours car to remove the van, but we did get going.

We are now at Upper Crystal Creek staying with our good friend Barry Ferguson. Barry recently purchased a home on 23 acres here and moved in 3 weeks ago, along with his faithful dog Flloyd. The home hadn’t been lived in in 3 years and so there is a lot of work to do. Garry and Barry have been mowing, whipper snippering, moving rocks and rubbish, and have made great progress. We have enjoyed some great food, drink and conversation on the back deck each afternoon.  The property has a brook running through and a couple of resident chickens running around. There is rainforest at the back on the ridge and that brings an abundance of birds in the late afternoon.

 Breaking new ground at Crystal Creek

Crystal Creek is a peaceful and beautiful part of Australia. We have had a couple of trips into nearby Murwillumbah, and have enjoyed walking the main street of shops. Murwillumbah is still an old fashioned type of town, no big shopping centres here yet.  We explored the biggest second hand shop we have ever seen today.