Big Sky Country
Features the areas of Armidale, Barraba, Glen Innes, Gunnedah, Guyra, Inverell, Lightning Ridge, Manilla, Moree, Nundle, Quirindi, Tamworth, Tenterfield, Narrabri, Uralla, Walgett.

This is the part of NSW where you can really get out with the family and stretch your wings, enjoying some real country hospitality.

Away from the bigger centres there are National Parks and farms where you can stay, explore and mingle with other families. There's also fishing, gold panning, fossicking and a chance to go back in time and rediscover what life used to be like for the early settlers.

Armidale is Big Sky Country's major centre - a town full of beautiful heritage buildings, some of them very grand. As a university town, it's also very cosmopolitan with lots of outdoor cafes and galleries.

Get the feel of Armidale by taking a journey on the Heritage Trolley Tour. Glimpse the history of Australia's first rural university town. ·

The university's first building "Booloominbah" built in 1888 is a suburb National-Trust listed mansion which is opened for inspection.
Phone (02) 6773 3909 for opening times.

An hour east of Armidale are the spectacular Ebor Falls on the Waterfall Way. This road to the coast passes through several world-heritage listed National Parks with incredible waterfalls and informative visitors centres.

If you want to learn more about trout and how they grow and breed, the LP Dutton Trout Hatchery near Ebor is also a very educational stop off.

The second largest town in Big Sky Country is Tamworth, the home of the Country Music Festival. This famous festival, held in January each year, has launched the careers of several popular Australian country singers - singers like Casey Chambers and Lee Kernaghan. Don't miss the Walk a Country Mile Country Music Interpretative Centre for the full rundown on country music.

Glenn Innes & Inverell draw many families keen to find sapphires or even gold and silver. Be dazzled by the mystic beauty of the Australian Standing Stones, near Glenn Innes or fish local rivers for trout or cod.

For a totally different experience, take the lengthy drive to Lightning Ridge, home of the famous Black Opal. There are plenty of opal diggings dotted about the countryside and lots of tales of miners who have struck it lucky. Be sure to bring your swimming costumes for a dip in the town's mineral water spas.

East of Narrabri lies the spectacular Kaputar National Park, renown for its ancient rock formations, great bushwalks and scenic drives. Of course, Narrabri is also famous for its cotton. Tours of cotton farms will show you how cotton is made from the raw through to the finished product.

Pack a big picnic hamper and roam the wide open spaces of Big Sky Country and explore, just like our forefathers, not knowing quite what is around the corner.

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