Canberra - Au Revoir, Adieu, Until we meet again!

Our house found a buyer yesterday and we are anticipating being in Yamba after Easter - and that means before spending another winter in Canberra.

As much as I've loved this place for three decades this coming June, I am looking forward to spending my final years, however many or few they may be, in the warmer climes of Yamba.....where every day is just another day in paradise.

I can't wait!

Yamba - Au Revoir, Adieu, Until we meet again.

Well, my five-week sojourn comes to a close this coming weekend, when the owner of the house I've been taking care of returns from an adventure in South America and a cruise from Santiago to Florida.

The opportunity given to me to spend more than a month in Yamba has reinforced my urge to live up here permanently for the rest of my days so I am keeping everything crossed that the auction of our home in Canberra this Saturday (15th.) is successful.

Today I presented the last of my "Baby Boomer Radio" programmes for the local community radio station, TLCFM 100.3, who were kind enough to offer me a fill-in spot whilst I was here.
They have been wonderful and so have the listeners, several of whom phoned the station whilst I was on air this afternoon to say how much they liked the show and expressing regret that it has come to a close.
But hopefully, not for too long, because as soon as I return I'll be looking for a vacancy in the stations programme.

Below is a "selfie" I shot outside the studio today after I'd finished.
It was done on my mobile, so is rather low-tech.
The large object in the background is the water reservoir.
We members of TLC FM 100.3 prefer to think of it as the base on which our antenna is mounted!! :)

Here are a couple of final shots.
They are of Yamba Bay, behind Whiting Beach.........

So as the sun sinks slowly in the west we say "farewell" to paradise.........for the moment, anyway. :)

Yamba - Convent Beach

One of the five beaches located at Yamba, Convent Beach is popular with surfers.
It is sandwiched between Main Beach and Pippi Beach, the latter which extends to Angourie.

The landward side of Convent is fringed by Pandanus palms. At each end of the beach are rocky outcrops.

Below are some photos taken yesterday.
All photos enlarge when clicked.

First, looking north towards the bluff that separates Convent from Main Beach.
The Pandanus palms can be seen on the left of the photo.

Below, the southern end of the beach.

 

It's a hard life living in a beach-side town. A real grim existence!

A couple of shots of myself and my sister.

  

I have just a week left here before returning to Canberra, something about which I am not exactly overjoyed.

Fingers crossed that fortune will be kind and that our new home will soon be in Yamba.

Yamba - Turners Beach

One of the four "town" beaches, Turners Beach (click on the link for the location map) is bordered on the north end by the Yamba break-wall on the mouth of the Clarence River and on the south end by an impressive sandstone cliff, above which is the bluff on which sits the lighthouse.

These photos were taken yesterday. All enlarge when clicked.

The size of the boulders in the breakwall is hard to gauge....don't scale them by the size of the gulls, because the wall is about 30 metres behind them!

The two shots below.....

The beach in the background is Whiting Beach.

It's on the river side of the breakwall, not on the coastal side, and is therefore popular with young families.

The second shot is on the beach or coastal side of the wall.

The structure on the bluff is the water reservoir.

In the lee of the breakwall at the northern end of Turners Beach.

The wall stretches out some 700 metres from this point.

Lastly, a couple of fisher-females trying their luck at the base of the wall on the riverside.

I have no idea whether they caught anything or not!

Yamba - to Brooms Head

This morning I visited the beach at Brooms Head, some 4o kilometres by road south of Yamba.
Below are some photos, but first, a location map. The Satellite view gives a better indication of the size of the village.
Brooms Head

First up, the view north.
Beyond the pine trees is the Yuragir National Park; Brooms Head actually sits within the bounds of the park.

This is apparently a very popular holiday spot for families, with two caravan parks and a host of holiday homes and cabins. There is, of course, a permanent population of maybe a hundred or so people here.

There is a small shop (a"snack shop") and a community hall which also doubles up for Sunday church services, but that's about all.
No doctor, no general store, no fuel, no pub or tavern. For those things you have to go to Maclean, some 24 kilometres away.

The triangular structure (above) supports a fresh-water shower head and a couple of taps, for washing salt and sand off one's self when ending a time at the beach.

The next two photos were taken from Brooms Head itself.
The first is the view north, with the beach hidden behind the projecting rocky headland.

This next photo is the view south from the same location, with Red Cliff (local name) being the headland seen in the distance.

A beautiful view down the coast, with the storm clouds building up over the land.

Yamba - to the Gold Coast and return

Yesterday I paid a visit to Queensland's Gold Coast, driving from Yamba up the Pacific Highway to Southport (taking a friend to a medical appointment) and returning via the Gold Coast highway and then back onto the Pacific Highway.

This was only my second visit to this part of the world, the last one being in the mid-1980s.
So there were some significant changes that I noticed!

First, a map. From Yamba to the Q1 Tower.
Yamba to Surfer's Paradise


After dropping my friend off at the medical centre I had a couple of hours to fill, so drove the short distance (a few kilometres) from the hospital across to the coast, with the Q1 Tower as my targeted destination in the GPS.
Below is a short video clip I made (followed by some photographs.)

Surfer's Paradise  does nothing for me. I find nothing appealing about it as either a place to holiday or live.
Sure, the towers are splendid examples of modern high-rise architecture but 20 metres from the high-water mark on a long stretch of white sand?

 ALL PHOTOS ENLARGE TO FULL SIZE WHEN CLICKED

The tallest building is the Q1 Tower.

Fifth-tallest apartment building in the world

The Q1 Tower at left and the other ultra-high-rise at the far end (not sure of its name)

The little pagoda-roofed structures are watchtowers for the surf life-savers.

Enough of the beach and towers.

There is a light-rail system being constructed.
Back in the day we called these "trams", the tracks running down the centre of the streets.

Light-rail tracks along the concreted section in the centre of the street.

After leaving Surfer's Paradise to head home, we motored down the Gold Coast Highway and had lunch at the Currumbin Beach surf club.
Currumbin Beach 
A few views from the restaurant deck, which projects over the beach and the water when the tide is high.

Arguably the best way to experience the towers of Surfer's....from a distance!

This is a lovely spot. I could live here......if I won the lottery!

The seaward view from our table

Finally, we stopped at Rainbow Bay, with the view in the background north to Coolangatta

Yours truly catching a few rays at the Pat Fagan Park, Rainbow Bay

Yamba - A wet bird!

This Ibis was quite happy to stand on the roof in a pouring rain-storm.
When the sun came out, off he went!
(Video in 1080 HD, 16:9 ratio)

Yamba - Dragon Boats on the Clarence

A 48 second video taken this morning (Sunday 23rd.) at Lawrence, on the Clarence River.

It's in 16:9 ratio and 1080 HD.
For best viewing, watch it on YouTube direct (just click on the YouTube wording on the viewer).

 

Below are some photos (all of which enlarge when clicked) but first, Google Maps so you know where in the world you are!

Yamba to Lawrence

The professional advertising poster!
Hanging on a barbed wire fence backed by sugarcane.

You drive from Yamba to Maclean, thence to the ferry point on Woodford Island about 10 km from Maclean. Cross the river and Lawrence is just 3 km further up river towards Grafton.

 

The riverbank was lined with entrants and their gazebo/tent shelters, plus locals and other spectators.

Competitors came from as far away as Coffs Harbour and Armidale.

Crews awaiting their turn in a dragon boat (there were four boats available) queued up on the bank near the launching area.

The crew representing Palm Lakes Resort (where my sister has her home) are referred to as the "Palm Lake Paddlers" and it was their first event, unfortunately delayed (and eventually cancelled) due to the increasing wind, which created whitecaps on the river.

A lovely location and the cooler weather was very welcome....although some good rainfall would also be welcomed by the sugarcane farmers.

Yamba - the picture show

The Yamba Cinema is a delightful throwback to the country picture theatres of the 1950s and 1960s.
This particular building has been the home of the "flicks" for 33 years, the previous venue just a couple of doors away.

There is no pretentiousness about the Yamba Cinema.
It holds over 200 people, in reasonable comfort, with an airconditioner and several ceiling fans for summer and some strip heaters around the walls for winter.

You buy your ticket from the box office, inside and to the right of the entrance, and that will cost you just $8. There are no reservations - you turn up for the advertised session, get a ticket and join the queue and find a seat when you get inside. First in, best dressed.

In the meantime you can buy a choc-top or popcorn from the candy bar and take a seat outside whilst waiting for the session to start, when you then line up behind the roped area at the left and move inside.

A couple of very large, shady trees shelter the entrance and provide a comfortable spot to laze away a few minutes before the program starts.

The movie that I saw today in company with my sister was "The Book Thief" - very powerful, very poignant and beautifully presented.
Emily Watson and Geoffrey Rush were brilliant but it was 13-year old Canadian actress Sophie Nelisse who stole the show as the central character, Liesel.

Yamba Cinema - a charming location to watch a good movie.

Yamba - Para-surfing at Pippi Beach

No, not me!

A couple of surfers enjoying the windy and overcast conditions on Monday morning (yesterday) at Pippi Beach, Yamba's southern stretch of golden sand.

Here's a very short (26 seconds) video.