Big Sky Country Attractions 
Big Sky Country (New England) is a beautiful highland region, with magnificent mountains and many waterfalls, in the hinterland of the Holiday Coast, which extends northward from Port Macquarie to the border with Queensland. Its rivers, streams and artificial lakes (Pindari and Copeton Dams) offer good fishing and excellent facilities for water sports. Its fertile black soil produces wheat and, particularly to the west, cotton, and its excellent grazing nourishes sheep and cattle. It is a good area for gem fossicking (hunting for precious stones). At Glen Innes and Inverell there are sapphire reserves where the necessary equipment can be hired; a permit is required and can be obtained from tourist offices.
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Cathedral Rock National Park
6500ha.
Rock formations and buttresses such as Cathedral Rock and the Woolpack Rocks, massive granite crags which are frequently snow-capped in winter; the highest peaks after those of the Snowy Mountains (Round Mountain, 1584m); beautiful forests, marshland and a rich fauna. From the tops of the granite crags there are fine panoramic views.
There is a camping site on Native Dog Creek and good facilities for visitors on Native Dog Creek (picnic area), with a footpath to Woolpack Rocks, bush walking, and rock-climbing.
Rock formations and buttresses such as Cathedral Rock and the Woolpack Rocks, massive granite crags which are frequently snow-capped in winter; the highest peaks after those of the Snowy Mountains (Round Mountain, 1584m); beautiful forests, marshland and a rich fauna. From the tops of the granite crags there are fine panoramic views.
There is a camping site on Native Dog Creek and good facilities for visitors on Native Dog Creek (picnic area), with a footpath to Woolpack Rocks, bush walking, and rock-climbing.
Cathedral Rock National Park
Ebor Road
Armidale, NSW 2350
Australia
Ebor Road
Armidale, NSW 2350
Australia
Lightning Ridge, Australia
Lightning Ridge (pop. 2670) is surrounded by the famous Lightning Ridge opal fields, in which the valuable black opals are found. The veins of opals lie 20 m under the surface, and the landscape is patterned by spoil heaps and abandoned mines. Although the summers are very hot and the winters cool the opal miners do not live in underground dwellings as they do in White Cliffs and the opal fields of Queensland and South Australia.
Lightning Ridge Tourist Association
Box 1380
Lightning Ridge, NSW 2834
Australia
Box 1380
Lightning Ridge, NSW 2834
Australia
Narrabri, Australia
Narrabri (pop. 7440) lies near the Nandewar Range (Mount Kaputar National Park). It is an old, established agricultural town, though in recent decades cotton (now covering over 50,000ha) has been displacing wheat. Near the town are a solar observatory and a station for measuring cosmic radiation.
A good base for visiting Mount Kaputar National Park.
A good base for visiting Mount Kaputar National Park.
Narrabri Visitor Information Centre
Newell Highway
Narrabri, NSW 2390
Australia
Newell Highway
Narrabri, NSW 2390
Australia
Mount Kaputar National Park
Mount Kaputar National Park, named after the hill of that name (1524m), is part of the Nandewar Range and, like the rest of the range, was formed by ancient volcanic activity.
The first European in this area was an escaped convict who came here and lived with the Aborigines. When he was recaptured in 1830 he told Thomas Mitchell about a river named Kindur, and in the following year Mitchell set out to look for the river and found the curiously shaped hills which he called the Nundawar (later Nundewar) Range. The region was settled in the second half of the 19th C. In 1925 an area of 777ha was declared a nature reserve, and in 1958 this was extended to form the present national park. There are numerous viewpoints which can be reached by car. Swan Rock is a 40m high basalt formation resembling organ pipes.
The park offers a new campsite at Bark Hut, bush walking, rock-climbing, and observation of nature. At Dawsons Spring, at the end of the access road, there are picnic areas and camping sites, no provisions. Visitor center at Dawsons Spring (32km east).
(Big Sky Country)
36,800ha.Mount Kaputar National Park, named after the hill of that name (1524m), is part of the Nandewar Range and, like the rest of the range, was formed by ancient volcanic activity.
The first European in this area was an escaped convict who came here and lived with the Aborigines. When he was recaptured in 1830 he told Thomas Mitchell about a river named Kindur, and in the following year Mitchell set out to look for the river and found the curiously shaped hills which he called the Nundawar (later Nundewar) Range. The region was settled in the second half of the 19th C. In 1925 an area of 777ha was declared a nature reserve, and in 1958 this was extended to form the present national park. There are numerous viewpoints which can be reached by car. Swan Rock is a 40m high basalt formation resembling organ pipes.
The park offers a new campsite at Bark Hut, bush walking, rock-climbing, and observation of nature. At Dawsons Spring, at the end of the access road, there are picnic areas and camping sites, no provisions. Visitor center at Dawsons Spring (32km east).
Mount Kaputar National Park
Narrabri, NSW 2390
Australia
Narrabri, NSW 2390
Australia
Access from Narrabri on a road which is sometimes steep and narrow (41km an unsurfaced track unsuitable for caravans). Access to northern and central areas from Narrabri-Bingara road and Narrabri-Terry Hie Hie track. No access from Barraba.
Adult and child fees are for camping only and apply per night.
Tamworth, Australia
Tamworth (pop. 35,100) is the commercial and cultural center of northern New South Wales. It is also known as the capital of Australian country music, to which thousands of fans flock in January for the annual Australian Country Music Festival.
Tamworth City Gallery has a fine collection. From the Oxley Lookout in 400 ha Oxley Park there is a fine view of the town with its many parks and gardens.
Tamworth City Gallery has a fine collection. From the Oxley Lookout in 400 ha Oxley Park there is a fine view of the town with its many parks and gardens.
Tamworth Information Centre
Corner Peel and Murray Streets
Tamworth, NSW 2340
Australia
Corner Peel and Murray Streets
Tamworth, NSW 2340
Australia
Tingha, Australia
Tingha (pop. 840) is a little New England settlement where large deposits of tin were discovered in 1870. In the town's heyday there were 6000 men working in the mines. A few mines are still being worked.
On Copes Creek is a museum containing a collection of minerals and Aboriginal works of art.
On Copes Creek is a museum containing a collection of minerals and Aboriginal works of art.
Uralla, Australia
Uralla (pop. 2300) was established in the 1850s after rich discoveries of gold in the area.
Visitors can hunt for treasure in the fossicking area at the Old Rocky River diggings.
The notorious bushranger Captain Thunderbolt was shot dead by the police in Uralla in 1870 and was buried in the local cemetery.
Visitors can hunt for treasure in the fossicking area at the Old Rocky River diggings.
The notorious bushranger Captain Thunderbolt was shot dead by the police in Uralla in 1870 and was buried in the local cemetery.
Uralla Visitor Information Centre
104 Bridge Street (New England Highway)
Uralla, NSW 2358
Australia
104 Bridge Street (New England Highway)
Uralla, NSW 2358
Australia
