Coonabarabran - Armidale

Very cold night in Coonabarabran but by the time we drove to a lookout in the Warrumbungles it was a beautiful morning, perfect for views over the ranges. Many of the walks in the Warrumbungles take several hours so we chose just a short walk, about 1km, and very easy . Great views and very peaceful. Back in 2013 the entire area was severely burnt out but the bush is regenerating itself nicely.

On the edge of the Warrumbungle National Park is Siding Springs Observatory which has the largest telescope in Australia. There was an extensive information display regarding space and planets and black holes and super novas etc. but really it was all to technical for me.... information overload. For me one of the most interesting displays was a representation of what a litre of milk would weigh on different planets including the sun and moon. On the moon it is very light but on the sun we would not even pick it up.

This area also has the world's largest virtual solar system display being 1:38million in size. The observatory represents the sun and in several directions there are sign boards representing different planets. Earth was close to the observatory (about 3km), Jupiter was about 30km away near Coonabarabran, while Neptune was at Gilgandra.

From Coonabarabran we drove to Armidale via Gunnedah and Tamworth. The countryside just seems to be getting drier and drier. In some areas it is down to bare dirt, no grass cover at all.

Tomorrow we head along the Waterfall Way from Armidale to Coffs Harbourand promises to be a very beautiful drive.Read more