Yamba - end of the first week.

One week has passed since I arrived on the 7th. of February and the standout item has been the humidity!
Although the maximum daily temperatures have been lower than those in Canberra at this same time, the humidity here on the coast has been up in the 65% -75% range. Down in Canberra the humidity has been in the 30% - 40% range.

Night-time temperatures have been far higher here also and it is not possible to use a blanket at night because the range between maximum day and minimum night is slight....maybe 8 degrees.
Compare that to Canberra, where the range can be 20 degrees.

But humidity aside - and, after all, this is the height of the summer season so it is to be expected - I have become more and more comfortable with this region the longer I've been here.
The appropriate words are difficult to express but it really is just a feeling of being at ease with the decision to move here. I really like this area and the change in climate.

So, this past week took me to Grafton - a town/city which I had never visited before yesterday, even when I was growing up on the mid-north coast (Port Macquarie area) back in the 1950s/1960s.

My sister was travelling to Wauchope by the CountryLink XPT train service, returning tomorrow (Sunday).
Being a train nut, I couldn't help but video the train .
It was done with my Panasonic Lumix TZ40 and only the second time I've used the video capability.
It's in 1080 HD 16:9 ratio, so for the best reproduction, view it directly on YouTube.

Below are some photos of historical buildings in the commercial centre of Grafton.

First up, the magnificent Post Office, built in 1874 and still going strong.
Weren't public buildings imposing back then?

Directly opposite is the Post Office Hotel, the core of which is original. There are a few later additions - probably 1940s or 1950s.
Note the timber platform projecting into the street...well, into the parking section.
This is set with tables and seats after business hours and on weekends and provides a pleasant place to sit under the stars on a warm night.

Almost as old as the Post Office is the original courthouse and the adjacent NSW Sheriff's offices.
The courthouse was constructed in 1880.

Sitting on the footpath in front of the building is a reminder of times before mobile 'phones and instant global communications.....an old red telephone box.
It is non-working and has been retained as an historical artifact.

I love the wide, tree-covered streets in Grafton...so wide in some areas that there is parking down the centre.

This next shot looks up Prince Street from near where the courthouse is situated.

I am back in Grafton tomorrow and will take some photos of the old gaol (which only closed last year), the original Grafton brewery (a business in which my father owned shares back in the 1950s/1960s) and the location on the river where the flying boats used to alight.