4 May 2023 - Tamworth to Port Macquarie (via Walcha)

Up betimes to head for Port Macquarie (Lake Cathie) by way of Walcha, a distance of just under 300 kilometres with a few stops on the way.

First stop was the Moonbi Lookout, a depression-era employment project to construct an observation deck on top of a huge rock on top of a big hill.

Moonbi Lookout - a deck on a rock on a hill

Moonbi Lookout - but with a pretty good view

Next, morning tea at the Royal Hotel and Café at Walcha. Not "tea" as such but cappuccino and another Anzac biscuit, even larger than the one at Walla Walla (q.v.) and a good deal more difficult to chew! Even dunking parts of the Anzac in the cappuccino had little effect!

The Royal Hotel & Café -  not all beer and skittles

Located on the "Thunderbolt Way" (named after the bushranger known as "Captain Thunderbolt" - see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Thunderbolt 

Walcha appears to be the very hub of rusty metal sculptures. 

A remarkable but not very rusty drinking fountain at Walcha

Two human figures holding up a rusty  roof onto which water falls from some chrome-plated dishes

A really rusty sculpture at Walcha entitled "The Family"

Then to the quite impressive Apsley Falls in the even more impressive Apsley Gorge. 

Apsley Waterfall in the Oxley Wild Rivers National Park

Part of Apsley Gorge - quite a bit bigger than the Anzac biscuit at the Royal Hotel & Café, Walcha