Visit the New England North West including Armidale, Tamworth, Tenterfield and Glen Innes.
The New England North West region of New South Wales starts at Newcastle and follows the Great Dividing Range up to the Queensland border. The region is mainly a farming area and its a great drive travelling along the New England Highway seeing the diversity of Australia’s country.
Situated on top of the Great Dividing Range the New England region features four distinct seasons and has a string of national parks with deep gorges, plunging waterfalls and spectacular winding roads from various part of the coast inland to the plains. You’ll fall in love with the cool summers in the tablelands, the glorious colours of autumn, hot fires in winter and the clear, fresh air of spring.
Visitors wanting to experience Australian NSW outback country living can visit the thriving towns of Tamworth, Tenterfield, Inverell and Glen Innes and the city of Armidale, the regional centre, famous for its wonderful autumn foliage.
Whatever the season you’ll find something to delight you in the New England region. This is Australia’s big outdoors, where the stars seem to touch the earth. If you are looking to enjoy the great country hospitality of rural Australia, the New England region is a great place to start.
Visit Tamworth and Armidale or venture further afield to Moree, Narrabri and other farming centres. Each has its own special appeal. Away from the bigger centres, there are National Parks and wide stretches of farmland to explore. Excellent fishing and fossicking opportunities exist throughout the region. If you love country music then you should visit Tamworth, a town dedicated to country music. There is also a country music festival in January which attracts 50,000+ visitors annually. This event has grown to be one of Australia's premier music events.
An example of New England natural beauty is the Boonoo Boonoo National Park. Located 26 kilometres north east of Tenterfield is situated on 2,692 hectares. Scenic Boonoo Boonoo River has a 210 metre fall and rainforest filled gorge. Bushwalking, swimming and bush camping are among the attractions of this area. Other examples include Gibraltar Range and Walshpool which offer spectacular scenery, while Guy Fawkes River is great for both bushland walks and canoeing. New England and Cathedral Rock offers great landscape, but for some amazing and beautiful waterfalls visit the Oxley Wild Rivers. Werrikimbe is another park which has a range of bushland walks which you can take.
There are several places worth visiting if heading north from Armidale. Balancing Rock can be found at Stonehenge and is a perfect photo opportunity. The temperature does change in this region as you venture past Glen Innes, as the towns reach a higher altitude.
The largest town in this region before you reach the Queensland border is Tenterfield, where you can see Thunderbolt’s Hideout which was exactly that. The nearby National Parks are also worth visiting as is the Clarence region just north of Tenterfield and the famous beef town, Casino. The Clarence Region is quiet and extremely pretty, perfect for that getaway retreat. The area also offers good bushwalking, canoeing on the rivers, horse riding and gold fossicking which is great fun.
Central West NSW including Orange, Bathurst and Parkes
Its fair to say, the Central West of New South Wales is a combination of rural farming, historic towns and the harshness of past gold mining endeavours, and shear natural beauty.
The Central West is an area heading inland from the Blue Mountains for around 400km. Lithgow and Bathurst lead into this region both with some fabulous landscape and sights nearby. West from Lithgow is Bathurst, home to a selection of Victorian buildings which are spectacular. Any motor racing fans couldn’t turn down the opportunity to visit the nearby Mt. Panorama Motor Racing Circuit where the 1000 Touring car Race is held in October. As the road is public you can even get to drive around it.
Just west of Bathurst is the major country town of Orange. Ophir is nearby and is popular today with gold fossickers. You can also drive to the top of Mt. Canobolas for some great views. Further west again is Forbes where many 19th century buildings are still standing. It has a museum and Vintage village telling the history of the area.
South of Bathurst are the beautiful Abercrombie Caves, where there are guided tours everyday. The area is rich in bushranging and gold-rush history and it still retains some of that pioneering spirit of years ago. Heading north from Bathurst you should visit the old gold town Sofala, the old mining town of Hill End as well as Rylestone and its Aboriginal rock paintings. Places such as Gulgong, Ophir and Sofala are a window on our pioneering past. North again from Rylestone is the wine growing region of Mudgee
A further 20km and you will stumble across another old gold town. On your journey north to these wonderful places you will finally reach the city of Dubbo and the Western Plains Zoo. Today, through a growing collection as well as conservation and breeding programmes, Western Plains Zoo is home to more than 1,465 animals from throughout the world.
The Central West region of New South Wales is home to some of the cleanest air in Australia and some of the clearest night skies in the world so when you're in Central NSW you have the opportunity to discover more than just what's on Earth. With no fewer than six astronomy centres in the region, visitors have the chance to explore things that are out of this world! The two most well-known telescopes are the Anglo Australian Observatory at Sliding Spring near Coonabarabran and the Parkes Radio Telescope. There are four other privately owned observatories in the Central West, these being located at Dubbo, Gilgandra, Bathurst and Cowra. All are unique in their own right and well worth a visit.
There are twelve National Parks and eight Nature Reserves in Central New South Wales. You can start the trail with the largest wilderness area in NSW, Wollemi National Park. Here at the inappropriately named Dunns Swamp you may be lucky enough to spot a platypus while enjoying the magnificent sandstone formations called pagodas. Warrumbungle National Park is situated on 23,198 hectares and is located 35 kilometres west of Coonabarabran. The park offers magnificent scenery, abundant kangaroos, wallabies, emus and many other native fauna and flora. Opportunities exist for bushwalking, nature study, photography and rock climbing. Rock climbers and pack campers must obtain a permit and keep the ranger advised of their activities. Basic camping is available in forest surrounds. Caravan and camping with hot and cold showers, septic toilets and public telephone at Camp Blackman (fees apply).
Emus are found at Munghorn Gap and Goulburn National Parks. Goobang National Park offers unique plant communities and rare birds and together with the Maquarie Marshes, are international Ramsar-listed wetlands. The largest snow gums in the world are found at Coolah Tops National Park which also offers splendid panoramic views and waterfalls. For a complete contrast, visit mallee country out west. The parks are there for you to enjoy, either camping, rock climbing, canoeing, wildlife spotting or simply observing the stars far from the maddening crowd.
Finally you can try flying, gliding or ballooning over landscapes that take your breath away. Central NSW offers a range of events that include the world famous Bathurst 1000 and a host of events that capture the essence of the region.
NSW National Parks can be closed at times because of bushfire and bushfire danger. We advise you check with NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service before you set off. Phone 1300 361 967 (within NSW) or (02) 9253 4600 or visit www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au. Remember, play it safe and tell others where you go and when you will be back.
Disclaimer: The information contained about this region is provided as a guide only. Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information, Break Loose Publishing disclaim any liability or responsibility for the accuracy of the information contained herein. For our complete Disclaimer please follow the link at the foot of the page.
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Visit the New England North West including Armidale, Tamworth, Tenterfield and Glen Innes.
