One of the banners flying off the flag poles throughout the town
A brightly painted tartan pole
Another tartan pole
A view overlooking The Maclean River 
Brooms Head
The Shanty Shack 
The lower tier where campers set up their tents on the grassy area shown here (wow)
Brooms Head
Panoramic view from the hilltop at Brooms Head We’ve been at Yamba a week now and it’s an absolutely beautiful spot, very pretty and picturesque. There’s a boardwalk all through the Marina
Our caravan park Yamba Waters is centrally located, about a 10 minute walk up to the marina and about 20 minutes walk into the main part of town. The sites are all very large. We got a drive through sight which is better for parking (and saves many domestics trying to back a huge 25 ft. van between trees etc). There’s a river at the back of the park, a heated pool, big chess set (never seen anyone – yet – playing it) and a second pool. Everyone here is very friendly and helpful. There are other caravan parks buy they don’t allow dogs. This park has only just started to take dogs. It’s pretty full as there is a big golf tournament on next week. We can’t believe how fast this first week has gone by. The dog friendly beach is about 10 minutes by car and we take Sally there twice a day which she absolutely loves.
The weather has been really warm every day. We feel like its summer rather than winter. We’ve been going for lots of long walks and driving around the various beaches. We’ve seen dolphins off the breakwall every time we’ve walked there. Richard’s been checking out the fishing spots and chatting to the locals on the breakwall and rocks off of the beach and has decided to try his luck out tomorrow. Will let you know how he goes in the next blog.
On Thursday we went to the Scottish town called Maclean, 20minutes from Yamba. Coming into the town we immediately saw the power poles on both sides of the road painted in the brightly coloured clan tartan colours with the clan names above them. They’re really bright and striking and quite unique set amid the sugar canes. We weren’t really sure what to expect as we’d vaguely heard about them. The town is really pretty with huge material banners with Scottish themes flying off the top of the power poles. We drove up and down the town a few times and stopped at Ferry Park Tourist Information Centre with a café overooking the river. This town has become very RV friendly and the car park was filled with cars and caravans stopping to enjoy the sunshine and have lunch. We stopped off at many beauty spots all overlooking the huge MacLean River
We then headed to Brooms Head a sleepy coastal town a further 30 minutes drive from Maclean. I really only wanted to go there because of the name. On the way there we saw a sign saying “Caution emus on the road” and I cracked up it really tickled me. I’ve never heard of emus being a danger to motorists before. Apparently they run wild across the roads and can be as hazardous as kangaroos!!! Well, I’m glad to say even though our eyes were peeled looking out for feral emus we only spotted one lone kangaroo in the paddock going and coming back. When we got to Brooms Head we were totally blown away by the beauty of the place – crystal clear, turquoise water with spectacular views. The caravan park is at the top of the hill and overlooks some stunning beach scenery. It’s a tiered layout and campers have got the perfect deal there as the allocated camping spots are on grassed areas on the bottom tier right next to the rocks of the breakwall and the beach literally within arm’s reach of the camp spot. We had lunch at the “Shanty Shack” right on the beach. It’s only open from 11 – 2 during the winter but its really busy as there’s only that café or one at the service station to chose from. There is also a bowling club but that’s it for cuisine and/or entertainment. That apart, I would love to stay there, but it’s in the middle of a nature reserve and dogs aren’t allowed there, alas. But keep that area in mind if you ever want to stay somewhere quietly spectacular.
On Saturday we decided to go to Yamba Cinema to see Red Dog. Boy oh boy what a cultural experience that turned out to be. Admission was $7 each (sorry no eftpos!!). They show one movie at a time in an area that seats about 200 people maximum. The cinema is closed on Thursdays. The last session on Monday and Tuesday afternoons is 1pm and the last session on Friday night is 8pm. The actual seating area is a step back in time, old musty original red carpet, blue wooden painted seats with red velvet upholstery (really uncomfortable after about 5 minutes). The ceiling fans are covered with at least 20 years of dirt and dust!! The actual movie was hard to hear with no surround sound (eat your heart out Gold Class and 3D). That old saying you get what you pay for! All in all quite a unique experience. The actual movie was fantastic, really enjoyable – a real heart-warming, entertaining, feel-good movie. Definitely up there with the classic Australian iconic movies Man From Snowy Mountain, The Castle and Strictly Ballroom and should scoop all the rewards when they’re dished out.
Last night we went to Yamba Shores Tavern located on top of a pontoon attached to the tavern right over the water. It’s a lovely place and the food was great with large serves. It’s a popular venue for weddings and functions and recently refurbished and very modern. A lovely relaxing and casual atmosphere. We’re going there for lunch next week to take advantage of the water view, which was hard to see at night.
We’ve had a lovely, relaxing week and are looking forward to more of the same next week.
Signing off for now. Stay tuned for the next exciting instalment next week.
Take care
Marian and Richard (and Sally)
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