I don't know how many times we've watched storms looming on the horizon, in all directions, but our roads seem to take us between the storms or around them.
Today, there were a lot of storms all around us and there were warnings on the BOM website for our area, as well as on the Higgins Storm Chasing Facebook page.
The first storm hit, just as we stopped at Murrurundi for a coffee. There was a little hail in it too, but we got under cover before the hail got us. It was LOUD under the tin roof of the little shop, so we took our time over a coffee and a GF passionfruit cheesecake slice.
The remaining storms formed a wall across the horizon from East to West and we knew that we'd have to drive through them somewhere on our journey. We were so lucky to miss a lot of them, but we caught the edge of one before we reached Tamworth. It wasn't much though.
We drove through about 40 mins of rain between Tamworth and Armidale, but it was rarely heavy and it was giving the ground a good soaking.
We lost some wind turbines today.
After we left Oberon and driving over the mountains, two huge wind turbines appeared in front of us and on the right hand side of the road. They were massive and we were waiting to get closer so that we could take photos with our phones, but we went round a couple of bends and they completely disappeared!
We looked everywhere! But no sign that they were ever there.
We took the back road through the Bylong Valley and roads were dreadful in patches and perfect in other patches. There big patches of multiple potholes but only every second or third patch was poorly repaired with piles of black bitumen/tar. It made for some interesting driving and we wondered how those patches appeared in random stretches of the road.
It was quite a wealthy area and where the United Emirates have their huge horse studs. Everything is oversized and the fencing is top quality, the grass is greener, the stables bigger, the horses all sleek and shiny, the machinery all brand new and the gates into the estates large and ostentatious. There is a LOT of money in that area.
We made up stories about the people who owned each estate...
We had some owned by big Chinese Mining Companies, some by Texas Oil Barons, some by Colombian Gun runners and some by Adani, the Indian Mining Company. We made up stories about who was living there and what they did.
The remaining farmland was dry and brown and unkempt. Some vineyards had died off. Some cattle looked skinny and unhealthy. The ground was dry and dusty. The dams empty. Then suddenly around a bend was the James Estate Winery where everything inside the fences and behind the big gated entrance was lush and green and perfect.
The vines were thick with full green leaves and everything looked incredibly healthy and clean and well maintained. At the end of their property, the land became barren again.
We travelled 556kms today. It was a long day of travel with no reason to stop, except for revive breaks, because we've taken that road so many times before. Tomorrow, we have plans for Wedge Tailed Eagle spotting, so we'll take it easy with the travel and eventually head to the coast.
We arrived in Armidale so late, we decided to grab some take-away for dinner, but as we drove into town, the main streets were blocked off for night markets, so we couldn't get to the cafes and restaurants easily.
We were too tired to park the car and walk the distance to the shops, so we drove to the Servies Club and walked into their bistro wearing the same clothes we'd been driving in all day. No make up. Hair a mess. Comfy travel shoes. Looking exactly like we'd just driven 556kms!
We found ourselves a little corner in the bistro and enjoyed delicious food - Thai Beef Salad and a Honey Glazed Bacon Cutlet with salad.
Our room at the motel feels very comfortable and I think I'm ready for some sleep now as it approaches 11pm.
It's been a long day.
This spoon and fork clock is in our motel room!
Nite all.
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