Inverell

After Lightning Ridge we went to Inverell, which we both found unexpectedly charming, perhaps because of the cool house we stayed in, and perhaps because it wasn't Lightning Ridge. It wasn't the house we booked, but the lady rang and said there was a problem with the hot water, and we could either turn the hot water on and off outside every time we needed it, or she had another property that might work? We decided not to deal with the hot water meter and moved to this 1940s (?) cutie. 

It was above the river, over the road from town, so we walked in for a supermarket dinner and to see the sights. Inverell is quite pretty. 

We went back to that building after lunch the next day because it was the local art gallery, and we bought a painting by a regional artist. The gallery was a very mixed bag but we found one that we thought nailed the landscape, and that's what you want as a tourist. It is a bit disheartening as a beginner painter because the good paintings were very good indeed, on the other hand there is a lot of shit that locals put up for sale and I reckon one of my fish would hold its own. In some corners. I'll put up a picture of what we bought when I remember.

In the morning the river created a beautiful fog that burnt off soon enough. It was very spectacular from the balcony. This is the inside of the house - a classic of its time! check out the carpet in the dining room. The kitchen was original but worked fine, and we love having all that space. 

We then went for a walk around the reservoir and into the Barayamal National Park, which was lovely. Not as spectacular as the Warrumbungles but flat, which I quite liked. Perfect walking weather, sunny and cool, and we saw exactly two retirees with a spaniel.