THE Wandering Wilmers have been travelling for three years, but are cooling their tyres for two months in Tamworth, grabbing an early spot for the country music festival.
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Ray and Gayle Wilmer have wanted to visit the Tamworth Country Music Festival for more than 20 years and, in 2015, they are crossing the event off the bucket list.
Not content to arrive in Tamworth with the tens of thousands of other visitors, they set up camp in the first weekend of December at Paradise Tourist Park and are ready for their first Tamworth Christmas.
Mrs Wilmer said the couple was originally from New Zealand, they lived in Perth for 25 years and retired to Queensland for five years.
They took to the road as their grandchildren grew up and have been living the life of nomads for three years.
“Tamworth has been on the bucket list,” Mr Wilmer said.
“We did three years in Queensland and the Northern Territory and we were planning to be in NSW and thought we would go to Tamworth and do the festival.”
Mrs Wilmer said arriving early meant they could choose a good spot for the two months.
“Most parks won’t take bookings for January and by the time festival comes, we’ll know everything that’s going on,” she said.
Before the festival they plan to travel out on day trips from Tamworth to Nundle and other surrounding towns.
The couple said they did not really mind who they saw during the festival, they were just here to listen to country music.
Mrs Wilmer said they liked Lee Kernaghan, Chad Morgan and The McClymonts.
They’ve also booked tickets to at least five shows.
“We couldn’t believe how cheap the concerts are,” Mr Wilmer said.
They will catch concerts including Pure Country Spectacular, Willie, Roy and the Legends, Classic Country and the Jim Reeves and Patsy Cline show.
Mrs Wilmer said she also looked forward to catching the ABCRA National Finals.
When the festival wraps up, the Wandering Wilmers will travel to Inverell, Glen Innes, Ballina and down the NSW coast.