Eastern New England
Eastern New England is the eastern part of the New England region in New South Wales, covering the local government areas of Armidale, Glen Innes and Tenterfield. Large parts of the region are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Gondwana Rainforests of Australia.
Cities
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- 1 Armidale – New England's university city and Australia's highest city
- 2 Emmaville – discover its past mining history and scenic attractions
- 3 Ebor – take a picnic by the Ebor Falls
- 4 Glen Innes – New England's "Highland Capital", and a base for exploring many national parks
- 5 Guyra – a historic little town with a lot to see
- 6 Tenterfield – famous for the Tenterfield Saddler and the entertainer Peter Allen
- 7 Urbenville – a scenic gateway to South East Queensland
Other destinations
edit- 1 Apsley Falls – forms part of Oxley Wild Rivers but in practice a park of its own, characterised by a giant waterfall and gorge.
- 2 Bald Rock National Park
- 3 Boonoo Boonoo National Park
- 4 Cathedral Rock National Park
- 5 Cunnawarra National Park
- 6 Gibraltar Range National Park
- 7 Guy Fawkes River National Park
- 8 New England National Park – a national park known for its lookouts and mountain views
- 9 Oxley Wild Rivers National Park – home to the large Wollomombi Falls, a waterfall with a drop of over 100 metres
- 10 Tooloom National Park
- 11 Washpool National Park
Understand
editClimate
editVisitor information centres
edit- Armidale Visitor Information Centre, 82 Marsh Street, Armidale (next to Hungry Jacks Restaurant), ☏ +61 2 6770 3888, tourism@armidale.nsw.gov.au. M-F 9AM-5PM, Sa 9AM-3PM, Su 9AM-1PM.
- Glen Innes Visitor Information Centre, 152 Church Street, Glen Innes (next to Woolworths), ☏ +61 2 6730 2400, tourism@gisc.nsw.gov.au. M-F 9AM-5PM, Sa 9AM-3PM, Su public holidays 9AM-1PM.
- Tenterfield Visitors Information Centre, 157 Rouse Street, Tenterfield (corner of Rouse Street (New England Highway) and Miles Street, opposite the Subaru dealership), ☏ +61 2 6736 1082, info@visittenterfield.com.au. M-F 9AM-4:30PM, Sa 9AM-4PM, Su 10AM-2PM.
Get in
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NSW Trainlink trains connect Sydney to Tamworth, Walcha Road (for Walcha), Uralla and then terminate in Armidale, the southern most point of Eastern New England. From there, there are coaches to northern towns such as Glen Innes or Tenterfield, however, there are no coaches to towns like Ebor. There are also coaches from Grafton passing by Glen Innes, and then going onto western towns such as Moree.
If you're coming by car, there are four major highways leading into this route, all from different areas making Eastern New England one of the most connected areas by car. From the south heading into Armidale, there's the New England Highway, coming from Newcastle, about a four to five hour drive. From the east heading into Armidale, there's the B78 Waterfall Way from Urunga near Coffs Harbour, and takes about a two and a half hour drive. Also from the east, but this time from Grafton is the B76 Gwydir Highway, and about a two hour drive from Glen Innes. The final major route into Eastern New England is from the north via the New England Highway, and a 2-3 hour drive from Brisbane to the NSW/Queensland border.
Get around
editThe only form of public transport in Eastern New England is either the east-west coach service from Grafton to Moree, or the north-south coach service from Armidale to Tenterfield.
Apart from that, the New England Highway is the only highway that runs continuous connecting most towns in the Eastern New England region.
See
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- Cunnawarra National Park is a world heritage site, as part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia. It may not have much, but the Beech lookout is definitely a worth if you don't mind diverting off Waterfall Way. It's about 70km from both Armidale and Dorrigo. The park is home not only to the imposing eucalyptus trees (which are the tallest in NSW) but also to various endangered wildlife species. Here you can see glossy black cockatoos, rufous scrub-birds, powerful owls and spotted-tailed quolls.
- Oxley Wild Rivers National Park is also another world heritage site, as part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, with large waterfalls, endangered wildlife species, and only a minute drive from Waterfall Way. It's home to Wollomombi Falls, which has some of the largest drops anywhere in Australia.
- Lookouts There are numerous lookouts scattered across the region, with nearly every town/city having at least one.
- The New England Regional Art Museum in Armidale showcases a Museum of Printing, an artist's studio and with a collection size of 4,500
- The Emmaville Mining Museum in Emmaville showcases a vast collection of minerals and photographs from the time when this region was a mining area.
Do
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Larger cities/towns like Armidale or Glen Innes tend to have more of a variety to choose from compared to smaller towns like Ebor, and particularly for those with special dietary requirements, it's possible to find at least one restaurant/cafe/kiosk to suit your needs. All towns in the region have at least one cafe and/or a restaurant, although what's in them depends on which town you're in. Because of Armidale's large student population, shops in Armidale are usually open for longer and cater for larger groups compared to any other city, town, hamlet etc. in the region.
As always, the typical non-ethnic aspects of Australian cuisine will be present in nearly every town in the region and "pub grub" is a fairly easy and quick meal for travellers. If it includes a smorgasbord, there should be enough to satisfy all dietary types. Chips, hamburgers and basic fried items are fairly staple pub grub but you will also find some pubs are more innovative and carry local cuisine.
As with most populous regions of New South Wales, finding a Maccas, a KFC, or Subway is a piece of cake. However, on the contrary, finding a Hungry Jacks or an Oporto may be harder to find.
