Yamba and Maclean - winding down.

March 14, 2023

Yamba and Maclean - winding down.

It has been a while since I posted here. I really should make a better effort to keep my blog up to date as it is the main place where I can write about what I have been up to.

So, I am writing about a few nights we stayed in a place called The Big Red Barn. It is a beautiful country AIRBNB in the locality known as Gulmarrad, about 6 kms from the town of Maclean on the Clarence River and about 25 minutes drive from Yamba, lovely coastal town where the Clarence River meets the ocean. The stay there was wonderful and our hosts were great too. Follow that link and you can see what the place is like. Highly recommended.

We were on our way to Brisbane, QLD, to have an early Christmas with my family. The first time we had all been together for so many years. It was wonderful. The 'winding down' part of the title refers to my imminent retirement. It's not exactly permanent retirement just yet as I am on Long Service Leave til mid July. In mid July I will resign my position as a Police Radio Dispatcher after 24 years. I started my Long Service Leave back in October 2022 and this holiday was the first opportunity we both had to wind down.

The area along the Clarence River and on the coastal area of Yamba is so beautiful with many things to do and see. It was hot so we didn't hang around on the lovely beaches on the coast there (we have them here at home too!) but it's good for sightseeing and plodding around. The best place we visited was the Angourie Pools just south of Yamba. Originally rock quarries that went too deep into the water table and filled with fresh water about 50-100 metres from the beaches and ocean! Depth unknown but the perfect place to swim on a hot humid day and also to jump off the many rock ledges surrounding the pools.

There are other places of interest north and south of Yamba on the coast so if you haven't been there; go and take a look.

Beautiful Sunset over the Clarence River through the rigging of this boat.
The people on this boat were on a trip from Adelaide!

Obligatory Seagull photo!

Wider angle of the Sunset over the Clarence River at Maclean.
Maclean is a perfect little town and just opposite where we took this
photo is a great Chinese Restaurant!

Above and Below, Yamba Bay Oysters. Yamba is also well known for its eateries and especially Seafood as you could imagine from a place on the river mouth. I love taking photos of these quaint little sheds built on the foreshore of lakes and rivers, especially if they are surrounded by boats with the appropriate equipment of fishing nets, rope, winches etc

Turners Beach, Yamba. Great family beach, gentle rollers for the kids and
rock pools to explore in low tide.

The Green Pool at Angourie. Beautiful. The Green Pool and the Blue Pool
were formed from a Rock Quarry when a spring of freshwater was disturbed. Sometimes, in the warmer months, the pools can be closed due to
algae blooms.

When the Angourie Green and Blue pools are closed, you can still swim in the
salt water rock pools which are about a 1 minute walk from the Blue Pool.