Off the beaten track to Sheba Dam and Lake Liddell, Australia

Leaving the cool mountain air of the New England Tableland behind us, it was time to continue south and head down off the highlands to Australia’s country music capital – Tamworth. I personally have no great interest in country music, but since we had to pass through this country city anyway, I thought it would be worth checking out.

Panoramic view from Moonbi Lookout as we head down to Tamworth

Tamworth is much larger than I thought it would be, and although it has the country town feel to it, it has the size and busy streets of a small city. We only really stopped to pick up a few supplies, but we made sure to go and see the Big Golden Guitar, one of Tamworth’s top tourist attractions.

The Big Golden Guitar in Tamworth

Travelling with a dog in Australia means that we have to really search to find campsites that allow dogs and that also don’t cost a fortune. In the Tamworth area it seemed that our best bet was to head off the main highway out to the small historic town of Nundle. With a few campsites to choose from, we ended up heading up another mountain to a small campsite called Sheba Dam.

Our old van struggled to make it up the steep climb past large pine plantations, but eventually we got to the top and made it to our campsite. The two small Sheba Dams have been around since 1888 and were built to supply the gold miners of the area. These days they are an important habitat for water birds, turtles, yabbies, fish and frogs. The campsite is right on the lake and is free to stay there.

Sheba Dam

The jetty on Sheba Dam

We took a walk around the whole dam after setting up camp, strolling through the eucalypt forest with lovely lake views and the sounds of birds around us. The cool clear night was perfect for a campfire, so we kept ourselves warm and cooked our dinner right there on the fire.

View of our campsite at Sheba Dam

Panorama of Sheba Dam as we walk around the lake

Sheba Dam at sunset panorama

The following day we found our way back to the New England Highway to continue south into the Hunter Valley, driving through the horse country of the Upper Hunter and the towns of Scone and Muswellbrook. We turned off the highway again south of Muswellbrook to head to our next campsite on Lake Liddell.

This man made lake was built for the nearby power station which can be seen from the camping grounds, but we set up on a section of the lake that faces away from the station. Camping costs $5 per person per night for an unpowered site and the facilities include flushing toilets and nice hot showers.

Our camping spot at Lake Liddell

Our camping spot was just beautiful, right on the shore of the lake with water birds and swans swimming just metres from our spot. At night, the cloudless skies displayed thousands of stars above the lake, and in the morning the rising sun seemed to light it all on fire with a beautiful golden glow.

Panorama of Lake Liddell near sunset from our camp. What a view!

Birds flying over the lake at sunset

Starry night over Lake Liddell

We awoke to this beautiful sunrise

This was another spot that we had never heard of, but are now so glad that we do.