Travellers on the wallaby trail – Spruleswood travells

Mullumbimby’s Vibrant Culture and Friendly Locals

Mullumbimby, alternate, friendly, historic, culture.

Mullumbimby, or Mullum as the locals call it, is as friendly a town as you will find anywhere.

I have been going to Mullum for about 49 years. The town has changed and grown. Still, the people who inhabit this village definitely have not. From my oldest memories Mullumbimby locals have always been welcoming and that is a quality that remains.

This year we stayed at the show grounds, very friendly caretaker nothing was a problem for them
Definitely worth a return visit

We stayed for 7 days at the campgrounds even though it was very wet.Nothing new, it has been wet almost everywhere we have been. We had been looking ahead to the Showgrounds markets that are held every Friday. It was a bleak, wet day and the expectations of the markets being on were low. Still, they breed them tough in Mullum. Most of the market people turned up at daybreak and set up regardless.

Mullum character
Market stall
Mushroom selection Mullum markets
Plant based food stall Mullum

The village is between the counterculture capital of New South Wales, Nimbin, and the Byron Bay coastal settlements. Mullumbimby is small in population. Yet, it is big in character. Locals describe Mullum as the biggest little town in Australia. In many ways, it lives up to that claim. A very active local arts scene art galleries, music festivals, there always seems to have something happening.

The girls were busking to advertise their performance later in the week at
and very popular it seems

Even with the wet weather, I always felt there was something to see or do. Mullum has plenty of clothes shops, mostly girls’ stuff. There is a very well-stocked organic food shop. Mullum also has a healthy alternate healing industry. Of course, the hotels and cafes are very well patronised.

Uncle Toms Pieshttps://uncletoms.com.au

Now, situated at the turn off to Mullum, they have captured the formula to a successful rest stop. They offer good food and coffee and the atmosphere is always friendly.

The famous Uncle Toms pie shop was a stop always eagerly anticipated. As young surfers, we traveled to the Byron region, especially on those cold winter trips. It can be a very busy place when the tourist buses arrive.

Mullumbimby’s history goes back to the mid eighteen hundreds. During that time, timber was king. Farming helped sustain the future and is still one of Mullum’s key industries. There are still some historical sites and buildings that go back to the early 1900s. one of standouts is the Mullumbimby hydroelectric power station, built in 1924. Other significant sites include the Federation bridge over the Brunswick River and beautiful examples of early settlement homes. Some of these homes have been restored, while others have fallen victim to time and flood.

Federation bridge
Old tree Mullumbimby
old house destroyed during flood
Historic house Mullumbimby
Historic house Mullumbimby
House garden
History Federation bridge
Hotel Mullumbimby

We have moved on to Jones’s gully at Crows nest, Queensland. I am positive Mullum will call again. We will find more to keep us coming back yet again.

Mullumbimby, NSW, Australia

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Coonabarabran area

Burren Junction to Coonabarabran, not a long road but we were surprised by the amount of climbing we seemed to be doing, I was expecting a flatter area, although it is a easy and

Interesting drive there was not much action, but plenty of Emu around and some very large cotton farms on the way.

We arrived at Coonabarabran golf club, a bit after lunch time on Thursday; its a free bush camp with plenty of room for 30 or more vans, we had almost finished setting up, when I thought that I had better go down to the club house and let them know of our arrival, and I wanted to have a sqiz at the course. The staff had just started, so I signed in and commented that this was a good set up considering it was free, the young lass behind the bar then explained that it was not really free and I would have to pay $5.30, I was a bit surprised, she smiled and said of course you also get a beer for that price what are you having, thinking straight away, bugger! Jackie is up there setting up, well I paid for it didn’t I ? And only had a XXXX gold, really! Only one.

Well I finally escaped from there but on the way back I bumped into a couple of golfers unloading a buggy, and asked them who I had to see about playing in the comp on Saturday, one of them “Chris” (he had trouble maker written all over him) told me that all I had to do was front up at 11:O’clock and Bobs you uncle, having said that he asked me if I had played here before, “answer” negative, he then suggested that I grab my clubs and join them in the Thursday comp. Well there wasn’t much setting up left to do, and anyway why not, and we are out to make new friends. After 9 frustrating holes of golf, no help from my new mate Chris, a beer to test the Toheys old tap, then I wandered up to our site to find that there were now 10-15 new campers there, popular spot.

It is a bit cooler here than Townsville, but at least its not raining “yet”, very peaceful camp, Friday we are looking around Coonabarabran or (Coona) as the locals call it, really not much to do on good Friday, Just have a drive around.

Like so many of the old New South wales towns the village of Coonabarabran, has a variety of homes although Coona, is mostly of the older variety. You really have to drive up to the lookout to get an idea of the size of the place. WE had a late start and it had not really warmed up by the time we ventured out to look, so being good Friday with nothing open we headed back to the camp, and besides I had to rest, a big day on the course tomorrow. What can I say about golf Thursday; I did not hit the greens, couldn’t putt, comp day, Billy came out to play 4th overall I met some great golfers, won a ball (closed club day visitors couldn’t win major prizes) gave the Toheys old tap a work out, back to camp to get ready for dinner in the clubhouse, in their very good Chinese restaurant.

PILLIGA POTTERY FARM

SUNDAY we are visiting Pilliga a region in New south wales known for its unique pine flooring timber cotton and so we find out some very classy pottery, the drive takes about 40 minutes and about 10K is dirt pretty good but you would not want to have to drive it after an inch of rain, Pilliga Pottery and farm comes as a bit of a surprise if you haven’t looked it up, Getting there you drive through scrubby red soil country then you start getting glimpses of this weird looking building through the trees.

The farm gives you the impression that it is or was built a a community property, the web site says that it was built with community help, there are a lot of people working here and must live here, as there are no properties nearby and a few different nationalities serving and working around the place, given that it is a well maintained property and the pottery is excellent there is so much stock that there must be an outlet in a major city, a great place to visit.

Coonabarabran a great place to visit, we are in our way now to Lake Creegellio about 105k west, might get some fishing in there.

Nanango to Crows nest

The Big orange in Gayndah was our only stop here The coffee and scones were very good nice friendly staff

.Gayndah is known as the citrus capital of Queensland and also the home of the Big Orange.

Visit between April and October to taste the fresh juice made from the citrus growing on the property.

Nanango

Nango, Queensland’s fourth oldest town and the second largest in the South Burnett, Nanango is a vibrant centre steeped in heritage while still retaining its tranquil rural charm.

The township started as early as 1848 when Jacob Goode established a traveller’s rest house at ‘Nooganida’ on the banks of Barker’s Creek on the Nanango run. By 1851 he had a licence to sell alcohol. Thus it was that Nanango, described as Queensland’s fourth-oldest town, came into existence around Goode’s Inn. It grew slowly as a stopping point for people passing through the area and as a recreation point for the shepherds and rural labourers who worked on the large holdings. In the 1860s when gold prospectors, brought to the area by the wealth of Gympie, found small deposits in the streams and gullies around the town. At one time the area’s population included 700 miners, many of whom were Chinese. In the 1880s there was some reef mining but the goldfields were short-lived, Today the town is a typical rural centre in rich poll hereford country. The local industries include beef and pork production, dairying and milk processing, timber, small crops, grapes and olives.

If you love a country market, Nanango has one of the biggest in South East Queensland. Held on the first Saturday of each month at the Nanango Showgrounds you’ll find something for everyone. friendly country town surrounded by vine scrublands and eucalypt forests enjoys cool summers and brisk winters. One of the things that I really like about older towns and villages is the history that is displayed by the buildings and in fracture, Nanango did not disappoint.