As Bear and I packed up to continue our New South Wales road trip, we headed up into the hills leaving the smoky valley behind us.

I rifled through our collection of audio books, pulled out a new Phryne Fisher mystery and popped it in. Then we settled in for the ride with a bit of dark chocolate and a handful of rosemary roasted Brazil nuts.

Only twenty minutes down the road we spotted a miraculous lookout sign and pulled over to see what we could see. I say miraculous for we have found that while Australia has breathtaking natural beauty around nearly every bend in the road, there are next to NO pullouts from which an appreciative viewer can enjoy it. It is most distressing to a passionate photographer like myself who would dearly love to stop every few kilometers to captureΒ  stunning mountain ranges, jewel-like alpine lakes, and the fabulous architecture. Sigh. Tis most distressing.

We decided that should I ever win the Lotto, I’m going to make it my mission to spend part of the loot on building lookouts across Australia.

Moonbi Lookout

The road just past the aforementioned sign led us to the top of a nearby hill and we clambered out to find ourselves surrounded by fantastic classic cars. We chit-chatted with the owners who were delighted by the not-yet-finished classic car on the back of our trailer, Bear’s 1971 Datsun Coupe. (Yep, he loved my Lucy so much that when he found a similar one in even better condition for a great price, he nabbed it! We now have two Datto Coupes that we’re fixing up. :-))

When the chatting about motors and whatnot was finished, we moseyed up steps set directly on a massive rock, and took in the stunning views from the Moonbi Lookout.

Moonbi Lookout

The air was wonderfully cool up there with luscious breezes that felt like summer. Smoke from New South Wales forest fires still smudged the horizon and made us feel so grateful that we only deal with floods in our part of Australia.

view from Moonbi Lookout

I’d love to return one day when the fires are out and the smoke has cleared. You can see the tops of the Blue Mountains in the distance even now, but I can imagine the views are amazing when the air is clean.

view from Moonbi Lookout 2

I’d also like to see it after the summer rains when everything is wonderfully lush and green. It must look like an Australian version of Scotland or Ireland then.

view from Moonbi Lookout 3

Eventually we moseyed back to the car and continued on our way. Once we got over the ridge the smoke cleared and we were greeted with clean, cool air, so fresh and invigorating. Down came our windows as we rolled along taking in glimpses of pastoral beauty.

New South Wales country

Next time we’ll explore something I never expected to find in Australia…Stonehenge.

Do you have a favorite lookout near where you live?