With cyclone Alfred moving in and rain and winds building, we left early from Grafton and headed south on the hinterland road to Armidale.

After a couple of hours of light rain we stopped in Armidale for a midmorning brunch in the region known as New England.

From there we drove on a further 2 hours and thankfully the weather pattern improved with sunshine welcoming us on our arrival into Tamworth. This is the home of country music and the horse capital of Australia.

A 12m tall guitar symbolizing Tamworth’s status as Australian country music capital. The site included a visitor information centre and a gallery showcasing country music artefacts.

The Tamworth Music Festival is held annually in January, this is one of the largest country music events and throughout the city there are statues and memorabilia acknowledging those musicians that helped to establish the scene.

We did a walking tour passing countless country music statues scattered along the central streets.

After enjoying a lovely walk around the public park, we drove out to Goonoo Goonoo Station our home for the evening.

We are staying in a converted sheep shearing hut, in a wonderful former farm in the middle of the country, 20km from Tamworth.

The Kamilaroi people have lived in the Tamworth region for thousands of years and represent one of the largest Indigenous nations in Australia.

The language of the local First Australians is Gamilaraay who lived in many place names including ‘Goonoo Goonoo’ which means ‘running water’.

This place has all the bells and whistles of a luxe regional escape, partnered with a good dose of history as a restored working station from the 1830s. It’s swept its fair share of design awards too – an incredible place to stay and all for just £65 for the night.

This evening we went to the Glasshouse restaurant and bar and looked out over the wonderful hinterland views – then the sunset with a glass of wine in our hands!!

Tomorrow we are off to Hunter Valley for a couple of nights for some wine tasting and exploring….