TAMWORTH NSW - via (Port Macquarie)

 28th November 2021

Port Macquarie to Tamworth

Why is it that all caravans insist on leaving the park at the same time?.  

We lounged around Reflections Holiday park all morning thinking we can pack up quickly and get on the road.  I didn’t take into account that this was our first big trip i an unknown van and packing up everything after a 3 day stay proved more time consuming than I had anticipated.  When I had finally hooked up I had to pull forward so we could wrap up the ground sheet and various bits and pieces.  This move was awkward to say the least because our site was so small I had to pull into the middle of the road which consequently ended up stopping traffic, it started with one car and van and very soon 2 two and when I had put the tarps away safely it looked like the whole caravan park had backed up and were waiting patiently, “glaring”.  Of course it was raining and I done what I promised myself never do which is get a little frustrated  (after all that is only for those incompetent people!!). So we hurriedly said goodbye to Brad and Rhoda and I pulled out to circumnavigate the caravan park.  

After about just five or six meters I noticed a guy running along side behind the van trying to get my attention.  I pulled up and he informed me the steps were still down, the fly-screen door was not closed and locked and the vent on the roof was open.  I could feel my embarrassment rise within and realised that my long standing years of experience in vanning really meant very little.  So swallowing my pride I found an area and pulled up meekly to let others through.  I emptied the chemical toilet and on the way out the gate met Sharon’s brother Brad holding a bag with all my Rachet's to raise and lower the van which I had left sitting on the campsite.  By this time my complexion had turned a dark purple and grabbing the bag threw it into the back seat beside the dog I pointed the van to the highway and made a conscious decision that in future I not to be rushed and take my time to pack and check everything to ensure this never happens again.  “This of course is a bit like saying I am never going to drink again, or smoke again, loose words that at the time give you the confidence to continue however being human is a disease we all have to learn from”.  

Taking the Oxley Highway we made our way to Tamworth which is a 272km drive from Port Macquarie.  The little van performed brilliant and around three and a half hours later we pulled into Tamworth Paceway which was to be our home for the next 3 nights.  

We found a nice little grassy spot to set up camp which was situated just below the Paceway itself.  We found out later that they run the horses starting at 3 am and have several runs during the day.  I found this experience quite amazing, nothing like sitting in your bed and hearing the hoofs of horses and snorts as they work their way around the track.  If I sat up in bed I could just see the tops of their heads going around the track just above our van.  Reminded me of a roulette like you would see at a fair.  

The next day we boarded Gemma at Precious pets boarding kennels just outside of town as we had planned to do everything we could during our stay in Tamworth.  However that turned out to be disappointing to say the least.

We made our way to the local information center (it has one of the 150 big guitars in town just outside the front door) and discovered that due to Covid restrictions most of Tamworth was either closed on a Monday or most venues were not operating due to the current situation.  Had we known this in advance of course we would not have boarded our dog however we always seem to learn the hard way “Duh!”.

We got a local map and got the Information center to mark up what we should see.  

It turned out that Tamworth had been flooded the week before we arrived and when we went into town I took some footage of the river which was still in flood 

After a visit to see the cool private collection of motorcycles at the Powerhouse Motorcycle museum we had coffee next door to get out of the heat.

Electric Harley - what a gem

The following day we paid a visit to the Botanical Gardens and then walked in the Bicentennial Park with Gemma and stopped for lunch.  

The park is full of interesting Art work and is equipped with a huge play area to keep the kids amused.  

Sadly places like the Powerhouse museum and the Australian Country Music hall of fame were closed on our visit so we will need to make a return trip here,(perhaps during the festival as it is a really interesting town)

We followed along on the Country Music Pioneers Parade and found some interesting bronze busts of the famous legends of country music 

We discovered the Hands of Fame Park and had lots of fun looking through the various handprints to try and identify singers we know of 

Sharon lines up with Catherine Britt 

 

 

The Famous Slim Dusty 

Tamworth is a truly interesting town however we felt cheated as due to the current COVID situation we didn't get to experience it the way we would have liked.  Needless to say I look forward to a visit during the festival in the near future when all has returned to normal.

We met up with Slim & Joy in the main street 

Our Accommodation was the Paceway Tamworth

"Address: Unit 24/60 Showground Rd, Taminda NSW 2340.  Hours: Open ⋅ Closes 5PM Phone: (02) 6765 9382"

The Amenities had Clean hot showers, Toilets, and beautiful big grassy areas to settle in. 

Prices range from: $20 per night Unpowered site for 2 people & $25 per night for 2 people Powered site

All in all we found it very reasonable and accessible and a pleasant stay particularly with the novelty of the horses throughout the day I would give it a 3 out of 5 for comfort and accessibility