Evans Head – 16/11/2011

We have kind of gone from the sublime to the ridiculous at the moment. Our nice sea breeze has turned into gale force winds. The canvas on the trailer is flapping around, and every now and then when we get big gusts. Everything is holding and hopefully by the evening it would of calmed down a bit.

We went for a quick dip in the river, the winds were coming up so we didn’t stay in too long, it was a nice refreshing dip. This morning we walked to the beach and out to the break wall and had the pleasure of seeing 3 dolphins. We then walked up the street for a few supplies. Things haven’t changed that much. It was very warm in the sun and very little breeze up the street. We got some fish and chips for lunch, as soon as we can back to the river the nice breeze was back. Then the bad winds came. That’s the luck of the draw with the coast, storms are supposed to be coming this arvo/evening. Being right of the river we would feel it more, a few rows back and they might not be getting much at all.

Oystercatchers

It really is a lovely place, one we plan to come back to. We do have a few more caravans and a motorhome near us all opting for the unpowered sites. By this arvo there are quiet a few more.

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Despite the wind we are going to stay another night, we had fun this arvo doing some bird shooting. Darters, sea gulls, white faced heron, plubber, a couple of sea eagles with a nest up the top of one of the trees near us. Lots of fun.

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Around 6pm the fishing trawlers go out for the night, nice to watch them cruise by.

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A special tea tonight for our anniversary of roast lamb and roast veggies. We have had a lovely day.

17/11/11 – The wind eventually dropped and we had a good night sleep. Was a bit over cast this morning and the sea breeze has just picked up again. One disadvantage of being in this spot is the walk way, not an issue during the day, but people doing their very early morning walks having a chat as they do so, wake you up.  Friday and sat nights as well as holidays might be more of an issue, but that is the price you pay for such a great spot. Apart from that we have a great view and are getting lots of comments about what a great spot we are in. The camper gets a lot of looks. We can testify to the benefits of the wind guards on the burners.

When the tide goes out you can walk around on the sand and watch the sand crabs scurry back into their holes. The birds come onto the sand looking for little fish and crabs. When the water goes out it leaves shallow pockets of water that are great for little kids.

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We have had some entertainment from yesterday arvo. Some people in a motorhome aren’t satisfied with whatever spot they are in. We watched them arrive and move the motorhome from one spot to another fiddling around and finally settling on a spot. Within a few hrs they were moving finding another spot supposedly better. They moved up to right in from of the tennis courts, of course once the night time tennis started them moved again. Then this morning they have up and moved again. Wonder how long this spot will last.

Kookaburra

We went for a walk over the bridge to the other side of the river this arvo. As usual when we don’t take the cameras we come across heaps of birds.  Corella’s, Fig birds, Darters, galah’s and more. Across the river is where all the fishing trawlers dock, there is a fishing co op where you can buy fresh fish.

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Chris really likes this spot and is finding very relaxing so we might end up staying a few more days yet. Our only concern is how noisy the walking track will Friday and Sat nights.

18/11/11 – We have decide to stay here for another few nights and head home on Sun morning. It’s such a lovely place. We do expect it to get a bit busier and noisier over the weekend. We are already seeing a few more campers arriving filling up the front row.

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It’s a popular spot for fishing with the locals and the holiday makers. We have seen several fish jumping in the river in front of us. Lots of people go out with those worm suckers things to get the big long worms out of the sand. It’s also a popular day picnic and swimming area for families along the sand and grassed area along the river.

We went to the Evans Head RSL for lunch fish, chips and salad for $10 each. It was very nice and he staff were very friendly, worth calling in for a meal if you are in this area.

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In the arvo we took a run into Ballina, very busy on the roads be good when the by pass is done. Bought a bin for the camper very exciting.

19/11/11 – We had a bit of excitement this morning. Looks like there was some big police sting off the coast. A police rib  had a boat in tow with cops in both boats, down the Evans River, then we saw a massive police boat poke it’s nose into the heads up the river. A police helicopter was also flying above us. Then the rib went back out to meet the police boat. Exciting.

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Wind has really come up today, people have batten down the hatches and added more ropes and pegs. Not us, the trailer is all going great. It’s so nice to have some inside room where we can escape the wind. It was blowing up grit and sand. We have had wind up to 32km/h with wind gust up 44km/h, hope it knock backs soon.

We went for another walk across the river and tried to get some more birds shots. Few different eagles or kites about that we had loads of fun shooting. Hard to shoot holding onto a hat and a camera. Away from the water the wind drops off and the sun has some real bite in it. Back at camp the wind is still not letting up.

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