Here's a map which shows all the places we went to.
Two days after our wedding, we headed north, with our first stop Salisbury Lodge, just outside the Barrington Tops National Park . We stayed one night and on the way to Scotts Head, we drove through the Park up to Mt Allyn.
At Scotts Head, on Ben's sister Anna's recommendation, we stayed in a house which was only 5 minutes' walk from Main Beach. You can see on this map where 'Treetops' is. The street it is on is Hibiscus Way, which is the first cul-de-sac parallel to and to the right of the road leading up to the Lookout. The house was huge, with enough beds for 10 people! There was a spacious timber deck at the back where we had breakfast and lunch. We went swimming every day and also drove to Stuarts Point, South West Rocks and Coffs Harbour for a look around. At Stuarts Point we walked from the town across the footbridge through the dunes and mosquitoes to the beach. You can see this here. Somehow we missed the famous Trial Bay Gaol at South West Rocks, and our trip to Coffs Harbour was mainly to get a beach towel for Ben and to visit my father's third cousin and his mother.
On Sunday morning we headed further north, to Bellingen. The Youth Hostel there is in a lovely old building with lots of chairs on the verandahs overlooking the Bellinger river, so you can just sit around and enjoy the view. We had the room that is on the corner shown in the photo on the right, so we were often at that table, having breakfast or dinner. We drove to Gleniffer for a paddle in the freezing cold creek there. We also went along the Waterfall Way to Dorrigo National Park where we looked out over the rainforest from the Skywalk, and went for a 2 hour walk from the Rainforest Centre to the waterfalls. Along the way we saw a pademelon and a brush turkey.
After two days in Bellingen we left for Armidale, taking the Waterfall Way. On the way we stopped at Oxley Wild Rivers National Park to see the Wollomombi Falls, which are Australia's highest. You can read more about all the waterfalls in the area here.
We didn't have any ideas about where to stay in Armidale and got recommendations from the Visitors' Centre. We chose a bed and breakfast place called Creekside - the owners live in the main house on the property and there are two cottages for guests. We had lunch at a cafe then got to Creekside in the late afternoon. On arrival, we got a tour of the herb and vegetable gardens, the chicken run and the back field where the horse runs around, the children's cubby house and of course the cottage. The one we had was lovely - the front door opened straight into the living room which had a TV and VCR. To the left was the well-equipped kitchen and past that the bathroom at the far left end of the building. To the right of the living room was the bedroom with beautiful old furniture - a mirrored wardrobe, high bed with warm quilt and electric blanket and bedside tables.
The next was sunny and we drove into the city for a walking tour of the historic buildings. We started in Central Park in the city centre and wandered as far as The Armidale School. There are some photos of Armidale here. Back in the park we had a picnic lunch, then went on a walk to see significant buildings in the city centre, such as a pub, the Post Office and Courthouse. We also went shopping. Ben is now the proud owner of a Mountain Designs fleece jacket! Before heading back we drove out to the New England Regional Art Museum, and then the University of New England for a look at Booloominbah, which was built between 1886 and 1888. It is a magnificent former Gentleman's Residence in the English style, surrounded by beautiful grounds. Now it houses university offices. That evening we went out for dinner because we didn't feel like cooking. The Jitterbug Mood has a stupid name but good food. In particular the honey and macadamia tart with orange caramom sauce that I had for dessert was memorable, both for the taste and its hugeness.
Before we left Creekside, the owners gave us some tomatoes and basil from their garden for our lunch on the way to the Hunter Valley. Our last two nights were at Peppers Guest House in Pokolbin. Ben's parents had given us an engagement present of a stay there, including dinner at Chez Pok for one night and breakfasts both mornings, and we'd decided to save it until after the wedding. We had a Classic room which just means it was on the ground floor. It was at the end of one of the wings so it was quiet. There was a small garden setting outside our room, looking out over a grassy area at the back of the building and we sat out there reading until it was time for dinner. We don't usually eat three courses so we were very full after a delicious meal in the cosy glassed-in terrace part of the restaurant. I had Hunter Duck Ragout with Fresh Pasta & Marinated Olives to start while Ben chose chicken livers. Then we had seafood with roasted tomatoes, basil and champagne sauce and pork with pears poached in rum. My dessert was ginger and lemon creme brulee with sesame biscuit, while Ben had ice creams and sorbets.
We should have done something energetic the next day, after that dinner, but we just drove around to some of the wineries and Ben tried a few red wines. We bought some at Allandale in Lovedale, Thalgara, Hungerford Hill in Pokolbin and Peacock Hill Vineyard on Palmers Lane before Ben got sick of wine tasting. We tried the sauna when we got back and could only stand it for about 15 minutes, though it felt like ages.
That was basically it. We left for Sydney the next morning after a relaxing 2 weeks or so, then it was back to work.
Last modified: Thurs Oct 28 08:33:43 EST 1999
