11/09/2026
Week 9: Uralla - Armidale - Guyra - Ben Lomond - Brodies Plains
Happy Friday!
Electric fence update: Fence - 2, Dan - 0
Had a fabulous time at the Armidale Rodeo on Saturday night, barrel racing and bull riding highlights. Halfway through the evening Dan said he'd "...like to have a go at the bull riding..." bro your body will fall apart in the chute, never mind the arena 🤣🤣🤣 let's just say I believe it was the beers doing the talking!
Our next stop was Guyra, a cute little town that sits about 1300m above sea level, where we stayed at the Mother of Ducks Lagoon. On our way there we stopped at Thunderbolt's Cave, renown as being one of the hideouts of the bushranger. Pretty neat going in and seeing where it looks like he carved out sections of the boulder to make a chimney and a second exit.
Guyra was a special stop for me, as many of my ancestors are buried just out the back off the Inverell road at the Ollera Cemetery. It was very emotional visiting the old cemetery and seeing the graves of my great-times-four grandfather; my own father bears his name as his middle name.
The afternoon and evening were spent at Ben Lomond, where we checked out the disused railway station and deserted tracks, and another old cemetery. It was at the station that Dan decided to jump a fence to get a better photo. Yup-
you've guessed it - the fence was electrified, sending me into further spasms of laughter 🤣🤣🤣 zapped in the hand and the ass while halfway over! And once on the other side, he had to get back 🤣🤣🤣 The man seriously needs constant supervision!
Our travels continued with a stop at Glen Innes, where we took in Stonehenge Recreation Park (complete with attack magpies), the Australian Standing Stones, Skywalk and the deserted and disused railway station. We then set up camp in a tiny blink-and-you'll-miss-it town called Brodies Plains with camp right by the Macintyre River, our base for the next few days.
We spent some time having a look around Inverell, a lovely old town with beautiful architecture, of course finishing off with a beer at the oldest pub in town! The evening was spent watching night 1 of Chariots of Thunder with beers, wines and snacks. Looking forward to the next 2 nights of Chariots of Thunder, with plans being made to maybe attend in person next year in the NT!
Have a great weekend everyone!
Til next time
Dan and Don ###