With cyclone Alfred bearing down the brave Maserati team met at Café Patina in drizzling rain for a coffee start.
Santo and Lucy off to McCarrolls with Battery problems and Catherine going to catch up after breakfast.
Before we headed off Sam relayed that his neighbour pointed out most people are heading south away from cyclone and we are going north, mad he said; we are storm chasers Sam remarked!
With Ross and Denise dropping out the group agreed we will avoid Thunderbolts Way and head the New England Highway to try and avoid the bulk of the rain; so it was off to Warbirds at Scone.
The trip was trouble free with little rain and the tour at Warbirds was first class as were the exhibits, with a café onsite we had lunch allowing Santo, Lucy and Catherine to catch up and join the team.
We continued up the mountains and on the outskirts of Tamworth Charles declared he needed fuel, Siri found a service station nearby but didn’t tell us there was 5km of dirt road to get there! At least it was a short cut to the New England Hwy and a complete bypass of Tamworth.
Uralla
We arrived in Uralla for afternoon tea and a wander of the shops and craft outlets. One dress shop, next to the coffee shop, got special attention and a suitable amount of Sydney money was left in the town.
Upwards again over the Moonbi range with Kim and Carrie leading us into Armidale for our beds for the night.
Armidale
An Ottoman experience - dinner that night was in the basement after a few drinks at the bar. The restaurant was lit with a hundred Turkish lamps and the meal was enjoyed by all.
On Saturday we took a short walk to the visitors centre where we met our bus driver and guide for our tour of Armidale. The Maserati Club members now know Armidale, we saw the high side, low side, west side and everything in between. We had two wonderful experiences at the Indigenous Gallery and the New England Regional Art Gallery, and saw some of the famous regional schools. Then we entered the UNE Campus and by the end of the tour we could name all of the colleges and all the faculties.
Back at the visitors centre a core group decided it was time for the pub and lunch. After a wonderful meal we went back to the hotel for a rest before dinner.
Dinner Saturday night was across the road at the famous Manor House, as the name suggests a restaurant in an historic Manor. The discussion for the evening was, will we brave the 800mm of rain on the coast or head back down the New England Hwy which was mainly dry. Quick discussion and Port Macquarie was cancelled and Muswelbrook was substituted for Sunday night.
Uralla again.
Heading back down the New England meant we could tour the Mill House Museum at Uralla and pay our respects to Thunderbolt at his grave site, especially given Santo was such a fan of his endeavours,
We then headed to the famous Willow Tree Inn where we had lunch on the patio trying to stay protected from the ‘Sun’.
David’s friends owned the Hunter Belle Cheese factory and so we stopped in just before closing to sample their products, only to find the owners were in Europe.
Muswellbrook
We stayed at the best accommodation in town and enjoyed pre-dinner drinks in Sam and Beatrice’s balcony room before heading to the local club for dinner.
After breakfast on Monday the group headed home with some stopping in the Hunter Valley for lunch.
A great weekend had by all.
