Country Music Capital of Australia

We decided to break up the long drive with a couple of days in Tamworth, famous for their Country Music Festival each January. We had intended to play a game of golf here, but on the first day the course was closed due to their championships being played, and it rained all the second day, so we'll have to check out the delights of the Tamworth Golf Club some other time.

Having been denied a game of golf, we decided to go on a walk instead. The Kamilaroi Trail starts at Oxley Lookout (pictured), and provides panoramic views over the town and distant hills. We have only done a couple of walks in the time we weren't travelling, and they were either flat or downhill the whole way, so the 6km of uphill and down dale really tested our legs. As is so often the case we were nearly the only people on the trail, although the sounds of civilisation drifting up from the town below meant we couldn't really fool ourselves we were having a true wilderness experience.

The inclement weather on our second day in Tamworth confined us to indoor experiences. Our first visit was to the Golden Guitar centre, with its huge replica of the Golden Guitar trophies handed out to the winners of the annual Country Music Awards. We're actually not terribly interested in country music, so after taking the photo here decided to pass on the Gallery of Stars Wax Museum, particularly as we hadn't even heard of half the headline stars they were boasting of in the advertising. Maybe we should have gone to our next stop first - the Walk a Country Mile Interpretive Exhibit. This gave the history of country music in Australia, including lots of snippets of songs and displays of memorabilia. We found it surprisingly interesting, particularly when needing to fill a cold, wet day.

Our last stop was the Tamworth Regional Craft Centre, showcasing local efforts such as wood turning, knitted items, handmade toys and other old fashioned country arts and crafts. We came away with a jar of chutney (Wendy's always a sucker for homemade chutneys and relishes) and a cloth bag to keep all our plastic bags tidy, although we were nearly tempted by the clock which had all the numbers heaped up at the bottom of the face, and emblazoned with the words 'Who cares, I'm retired'!