Uralla is a small town on the New England Tableland of New South Wales, at about a thousand meters above sea level, and the cold is something you can feel in the clear air. The high plateau is a landscape of rolling grassland, granite outcrops and sheep paddocks, with winter frosts that can be savage and summers that are mild. The town lies on the New England Highway, just south of the university city of Armidale, and its main street retains the verandas and brick shopfronts of a nineteenth-century gold-and-wool settlement.
Uralla's claim to fame is a bushranger. Frederick Ward, who called himself Captain Thunderbolt, robbed coaches and travelers across the tableland for six years in the 1860s, known for his courtesy and his skill with horses, and he became something of a folk hero. In May 1870 he was shot dead by a policeman near Uralla, and his body was displayed in town. His grave is in the local cemetery, and a life-size statue of him on his horse stands in the main street. A museum in an old mill, McCrossin's Mill, tells the story of the town.
The road that carries his name, Thunderbolts Way, runs from Uralla southeast through Walcha and Nowendoc to Gloucester, about three hundred kilometers of twisting back road that crosses the high country and then drops through rainforest toward the coast. For riders, it is a delightful, quiet route, with long, flowing bends, steep descents and few other vehicles. The surface varies, with some rough patches and a few unsealed sections near the old gold fields, and the weather can change quickly on the plateau.
Uralla has fuel, a supermarket, bakeries and pubs, and Armidale, 22 kilometers north, has more. Walcha, the next town on the Way, is smaller, so fill the tank before leaving. The best months are spring and autumn, with mild days, while summer afternoons can bring thunderstorms and bushfire smoke. Winter mornings bring ice on the road, especially in shaded dips. Kangaroos, wombats and cattle are a serious hazard at dawn and dusk, and the Way has long stretches without mobile coverage.