Following the cancellation of our trip to Broughton Island, in the wake of the cyclonic weather system off the NSW coast, we’ve travelled 31/2 hours north-west of Newcastle to the New England tablelands. This extensive high plateau straddles the Great Dividing Range and features rolling grassland plains, world heritage rainforests, dramatic gorges, unique cold-climate vegetation and significant biodiversity. On our way to our lodgings, the historic Walcha Road Hotel est. 1860, we called in at Copeland Tops for some rainforest birding – unfortunately it was raining, so we saw very little! The afternoon was spent doing the notorious bush-ranger ‘Captain Thunderbolt’ heritage trail and birding a couple of lagoons near Uralla. We have two more days sight-seeing and birding before heading home on Thursday.