It's 2014 and I'm back in Yamba!

Looking after a friend's house for about 5 weeks and, coincidentally, our home in Canberra is up for sale and went on the market following our return after our fortnight's excursion here in October 2013.

Yep...we made the decision (on the way back, actually!) to sell up and move so now it's just a matter of time.

So in the meantime I am house-sitting following the end of the school holidays and am looking forward to checking out available properties to see what we can afford and where we wish to live.

Anyway, a few photos to kick off this feature and also the first for 2014.
Just click on an image and it will open into a full-size version.

First up is a view from the seaward end of the southern break-wall of the Clarence River looking to the northern extremities of Yamba.
In the background can be seen the lighthouse (centre) and, to the right, the water reservoir and then the communications tower for radio, marine and mobile-phones.
Beaches in the background are Main Beach and Convent Beach whilst to the right foreground the waves are breaking onto Turner's Beach.

Next is a shot looking straight out to sea from about half-way along the southern break-wall.
Rocks for this were quarried (in the early 1900s) at Angourie, on the coast just south of Yamba, and transported by narrow-gauge railway.
The two break-walls extend about a kilometre into the sea from the natural mouth of the river.

One of the prawn trawlers, "Chloe", heads out to sea, the northern break-wall on her left.
There are two fleets operating from this area; one is based at Yamba, on the southern side, and the other is at Iluka, on the northern side of the river.
This trawler belongs to the Iluka fleet.

They leave in the late afternoon and spend the night at sea, returning at dawn to unload their catches.
Finally for this post, a small video of "Chloe" motoring down the channel.