Walcha sits on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales at about a thousand metres, high enough to have real winters, with frosts, a few snowfalls and a cool, clear air that smells of eucalyptus and woodsmoke. The town is small, with about two and a half thousand people, and it wears its sheep country history openly. Fine merino wool built the district, and for a century the big properties around Walcha shaped both the landscape and the social life. English elms and oaks planted in the streets turn gold and red in April, which is not a sight many people expect in Australia.
The town is a showcase of its own idiosyncrasies. Sculptures stand on the main street and elsewhere around the town, the result of a local habit of putting art in public places, and the old buildings along the road recall the days when the wool cheques arrived once a year. Just outside town, Apsley Falls drops into a gorge of dark rock, a short drive and a short walk from the road, and it is a good way to stretch a day.
The Oxley Highway is the reason riders know the name. West of Walcha it crosses the tableland in long open sweeps, with paddocks and granite outcrops, and east of town it begins to tip toward the coast, dropping off the Great Dividing Range in a long series of bends through dense forest and past waterfalls toward Port Macquarie. It is among the better motorcycle roads in the state, and on weekends you will meet other riders. The surface is generally good, though shaded corners stay damp, and logging trucks use the road as well. Watch for kangaroos and wombats at dusk, and for frost in winter mornings.
Walcha has fuel and basic services, but opening hours are those of a country town, so do not count on late-night supplies. The nearest larger centre is Tamworth to the west. Autumn is lovely, with clear days and cool nights, spring brings green paddocks and lambs, and summer can be hot at midday and stormy in the afternoon. Bring a warm layer even then, because the altitude makes the evenings cool.