Gunnedah, Mackellar and Quirindi

We had morning tea at Gunnedah, another substantial regional town that I had long known of but never visited. 

Two views

What I did not know was the connection with Dorothea Mackellar, who wrote "I love a sunburnt country".  She might have been from Sydney, but her brother had a property at Gunnedah (according to Wikipedia) and it was there that she was inspired to write the poem.  There is a statue of her (which we missed) but we saw this impressive silo painting.

Then we had lunch at Quirindi.  Normally we just pass through it on the new England Highway to Tamworth.  But there is a hidden town centre beyond the turnoff.

The cafes were closing as we arrived, so we sat outside on a bench under the tree to eat lunch. The cafe was run by a very chatty man who went to Epping Boys High and who met his wife at a cafe in Eastwood.  She was Vietnamese, her mother also worked in the cafe and Kin Mun got their very multifaceted life stories. Australia is full of surprises!

Tomorrow we drive back to Sydney, but through Putty and Richmond, and the Yengo National Park.  Shorter distance than the freeways, but takes longer.  Hopefully less stressful and more scenic.