It was our last days for exploring Armidale and surrounds.We went wine tasting, visited a museum and lookouts. We drove a few miles south to Peterson's Winery. It was a very cold morning.
The cellar door was a converted horse stable.
The tasting was done outside in the sun but it was still cold. The one hundred year old Palmerston Homestead was bought by Peterson's wines and is now an upmarket guest house.
The vines had lost their leaves. We bought a few bottles and then headed off to Uralla and our favourite cafe in Uralla for a warm lunch.
Then we visited the McCrossin's Mill Museum. Originally built by Alexander Mitchell for John McCrossin in 1870. The old mill was bought by the Uralla Historical Society and converted it into a vibrant museum and function centre. It featured a series of nine dramatic paintings "The Death of Captain Thunderbolt", an infamous bushranger (highwayman) that roamed this area for some years in the early days.
There was an exhibition of Chinese artefacts from the Rocky River goldfields.
Then we returned to Armidale where we found the lookout where we could see the city below.
The next morning we drove into town for breakfast. We had a glimpse of some late autumn trees.
We walked past this mural and down the lane to the mall.
It was a very clean town.
It was early and cold so not any people in the mall except those in the cafe.
After breakfast we set off for home and the warmth of Brisbane. We said good by to the coloured leaves.
We crossed over the Great Dividing Range and came home via Grafton and Ballina on the coast.
We said goodbye to the farmlands.
We had lunch in Grafton and stopped here in Ballina for a rest and then home sweet home. It is a five hour drive.
