NSW Coastal Rambling

I've been hanging out on the New South Wales coast for the past six days.  It's one of my favorite spots on the planet.  There are dozens of fine beach towns, ranging from large and lively to small and somnolent.  The medium sized ones, quiet but with all the modcons, may be the best!~  I'm currently staying in one, Nambucca Heads, that suits me quite nicely.  The weather has been pleasant the past three days, but before that the rain came down with a vengeance.  Most areas in the 600 km range from Noosa to Nambucca Heads have been drenched with 25 to 40 inches so far in 2013...in just over two months!  As a result, many fields are flooded.

River flooding has eased, but the coastal streams are still high.  Here the Clarence River is inundating the shoreline near Grafton.

The rain has been accompanied by strong winds, kicking up the surf.  And, the rivers have deposited scads of mud, silt, and wood into the ocean.  The result is a mess on the beaches.  This is the surfside swimming pool at Yamba, another sweet coastal town.  The storms have deposited mud and seafoam in the pool, and you can even see a log in the far end.  These pools are common in NSW coastal towns, and are delightful places for a swim...but they'll need to be cleaned up after the recent storms.

The Big Prawn is, alas, in rehab!  The building he was formerly mounted atop, a tourist center, was deteriorating and was purchased and razed by Bunning's Warehouse, a local Home Depot-like chain.  The Prawn is currently up on blocks while the new warehouse is being built, after which the Prawn will be restored to its former glory and placed atop the new establishment.  I'll return in a couple years and hopefully the Prawn will have returned to its rightful prominence as the Alpha crustacean.

Look at these trees!  These are flooded gums in Yarriabini National Park, in the coastal rainforest south of Nambucca Heads.  This is a magical place, with flooded gums, hoop pines, huge antarctic beech, and bangalow palms all

 in a lush jungle setting.  The road in is bad...unsealed and in bad repair due to the storms...but the journey was worth it.

Now I'm in Scotts Head, another of my favorite beach towns.  This is a small place, verrrry quiet, and verrrry beautiful.  You can sit at this cool picnic table and contemplate the vast beach in the background.  NSW beaches often go 5, 10, 15 miles in this manner.  Warm, quiet, gorgeous...perfect.

The river residue has created foam empires among the breakers.  This one, on Scotts Head beach, is typical.  It's a bit eerie standing in the foam as waves cause it to undulate.

On the waterfront in Nambucca Heads, the breakwater rocks on the Vee Wall have traditionally been decorated.  There are many themes.  Families vacation here every year, paint a rock, and update it on every visit.  Some rocks are memorials to deceased loved ones.  Some have religious themes.  Others are artistic.  And some, like this one, are just pop icons!