Walcha is a rural centre along the Oxley Hwy that connect Tamworth and towns further west with Port Macquarie on the coast. The country around Walcha is quite spectacular with rolling hills, gorges and waterfalls.

We are in town for a couple of nights to get some washing done before spending a night in the National Park.

There is another important reason for being here. It is to visit the Walcha Motel where we stayed 50 years ago and see if we can check out the room in which we stayed.

Allthego has kept the original room receipt to show the front desk, maybe we could have the same room rate? $17 a night with breakfast at $2.50 each

Allthego fronted up to the desk with Homealone lurking in the background and said:

‘We have a small problem, we were here a little while back and left something in the room and wondering whether we could look in and see if its still there?’

The lady said ‘ What is it?’ Allthego stumbled a bit and sort of avoided giving an answer. She said ‘No’.

Allthego pulled out the docket and came clean on being here 50 years ago. She was a little stunned but became quite talkative and informative about the present day motel.

Happy to show us the room. We didn’t recognise anything, must have had a refurb! Certainly, didn’t have WIFI back then! Interesting experience looking back.

In the time since it seems not a lot has changed.

A few neat old buildings remain, the old brick NAB branch with the banker’s residence on the second floor.

And a whole lot of sculptures have popped up to see and wonder why!

We had a look around at some of them including the large wooden ones that mark the compass point entrances into the town.

There is also a Rainbow Serpent ground mural overlooking the deep pool in the river where the serpent resides.

Allthego had to have a go at another pie in a hotel beer garden surrounded by ornate sculptures.

Unusual pie in that it was oval shaped, unremarkable. Homealone skipped the pie and had fish n chips, more chips! The sculptures were outstanding.

On the outskirts of town is the old Langford Mansion carefully restored by its current owners. It was built in 1903 on the spot where John Oxley camped in 1818 when on his surveying expedition in central NSW.

Constructed as a double story red brick building with 22 rooms and a 5 story central tower overlooking the gardens snd driveway. Great view from the road.

In the day and a half we have been here we popped down to the Apsley Falls to do the short falls walk and select a campsite. More of that next time.