Today's route would take us down the coast from Coolangatta to near Ballina before heading inland via Tenterfield to Glen Innes. Effectively crossing the Great Dividing Range, it was not unexpected that the road took us through some mountainous and heavily forested areas. While in Queensland we heard a lot about not only the fires in that state, but also one just over the border into NSW at Stanthorpe. But approaching Tenterfield we could see that the forest had been freshly burnt and there were several crews clearing burnt trees from the roadside; some which had obviously fallen on the roadside armco given the damage we could see.

It was only when we asked at the Tenterfield Tourist Information Centre that we found that these fires occurred less than two weeks ago and in fact had forced the closure of the Bruxner Highway, the road we had just come down!

We bought some lunch at the Tenterfield Bakery and enjoyed that in a park on the main shopping strip. While walking to the Bakery a couple of helicopters took off from the Showground and apparently they were still working on active fires in the area.

Of course we couldn't come to Tenterfield and not visit the Tenterfield Saddler. Obviously made famous in Peter Allen's song of that name, Allen's grandfather George Woolnough occupied this building as a saddler from 1908 to 1960. 

Heading South from Tenterfield we were surprised to see signs of another recent fire very close to the town. A report said that "Due to the effort of fire fighters 65 homes in the immediate area of the fire were saved, but unfortunately 1 home was destroyed." and we could see just how close the fire came to a large housing estate.

Heading further South we passed by Bluff Rock which looked like just an interesting geological formation. However apparently it is the place where the first conflict between first settlers and a local Aboriginal group occurred in the early 1840s. There are conflicting records of the 1844 massacre, but it is said that a shepherd was murdered by Aborigines on a nearby station. The Aborigines fled to the Rock, chased by a group of four white men who caught them and threw them from the top, killing most of the tribe and injuring the remainder.

After setting up on Site 14 at the Fossicker Caravan Park in Glen Innes, we walked a short distance into the CBD. Here we came across a "Return and Earn" station; actually the second we've seen on this trip. It is a self-serve facility at which you can return recyclable containers and gain a credit for the container deposit. You just put the containers into the chute and presumably by reading the product bar code, it works out whether it is eligible for a credit. There is also a bin in which to place ineligible containers. You can get the refund digitally credited to a PayPal account, as a voucher redeemable at Woolworths or donate it to a charity or community fun raiser of your choice. Makes you wonder why we don't have them in Victoria along with a container deposit scheme.

There is some incredible period architecture along the main shopping strip and it looks like there has been a concerted effort to maintain the streetscape while accommodating the needs of contemporary retail/commercial activity. The Town Hall carried multiple flags reflecting the strong Celtic theme of the town.

Dinner was leftover sausages with mushroom and garlic risotto.