Christmas holiday on the Clarence……

Early in the year, our plans were to go to New Zealand.  However, after due consideration, (and finances),  we opted for taking a cruise on the Clarence River, near Grafton, NSW.  Our plans were to pick Camille up on the way through and we could spend some “quality” time with our granddaughter.

After an hour of catching up with Jen, we packed Camille’s things in and headed off.  Camille discovered my I-Pad and we now have LOTS of FREE games.  

 

We finally reached the spot where our houseboat was waiting for us and we all gathered our gear and with much talking and excitement, we boarded our home for the next 9 days.

This houseboat is the SAME EXACT one we had 20 years ago, when we took Jenny, Rob, & Lizzie when they were little.  A few alterations here and there, but the same boat.  We had a great time in this boat and we were excited about giving Camille a great experience too.

Well after a few lessons on what to do, where things are, and where you can go and where you can’t go on the river, we finally headed off.  We dropped anchor in Coldstream River which runs into the South Arm River.  It was isolated and protected from the winds.  The anchor struggled to hold us, but it finally grabbed and we were secured for the night.                                                                                                                 The first thing we did was throw the fishing line out. First fish of the trip, was a catfish, caught by me.  Camille wanted to hold it, but Papa said no, you can pet it’s belly before I throw it back in, so that started the trend of ‘petting’ the fish bellies, including eels.

 

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Camille was VERY impressed that Papa caught such a LARGE fish on the handline!  “Can I pet it’s belly?!” 

 

 

 

After a big breakky of bacon and eggs, we headed back up the river making our way to a little town called Maclean.

 

We stopped at a small sandbank to have some fun swimming and playing.  As we all piled into our floaties, we noticed that the anchor wasn’t holding, so Chris went back to the boat to secure it, and Camille and I stayed on the bank checking out the Pippie shells and small fish. 

Quiet time on the boat.

 

 

 

Camille’s keeping an eye on the ferry that crosses the river at Lawrence.  They were very friendly and even waved at Camille on the way through.

 

 

Time to pickup supplies at Maclean.  This is the same jetty where Jenny caught a huge Flathead when she was 12 years old.  Camille made friends along the river, inviting them in to see where she sleeps and maybe colour in her colouring books together.

 

 

 

View from the jetty at Maclean in the early morning.  The fog was lifting from the river.

 

There are quite a few trawlers that scour the river for prawns which are a popular dish for Christmas.

 

 

 

Papa teaching Camille how to fly a kite.  Once they were finished chasing the kite’s shadow, we stopped into the local pub for lunch, where Camille had her chicken nuggets and special fizzy drink.

 

 

The local rural Fire Brigade doing its bit for Christmas by having Santa toss handfuls of lollies to the kids at the park.  Chris and Camille just happened to be there at the right time.  Camille came back onto the boat with a shirt tail load of lollies.

 

We spent Christmas Day at Scotty’s sister’s house in the hinterland between Lismore and Ballina.  A house load of people greeted us with enthusiasm as we piled people & food into the home.

And as we starting leaving, the last minute photos were taken of the family members.  This one is of Jenny, Scotty, and grandkids.

Soon after we piled everyone back into the car and headed back to the houseboat where we settled in for the evening back on the South Arm River.

 

 

 

The next day was glorious as we headed up the South Arm River for a morning cuppa at a local restaurant while we waited for Scotty to arrive from his workplace.

Here, Cody and Mum are taking in the scenery as we head up river.

 

 

And then there was the incident with the kite being flown off the back of the boat, which then hit a high power line and disintegrated with sparks and popping.  As Chris frantically scrambled trying to get the kite to drop, it dissolved into nothing. Camille was horrified, Jenny yelled at dad to LET GO OF THE KITE!, but laughing at the same time, and Cody watched with dismay saying, “night, night, kite” .  All this being done while the driver of the boat (me) was none the wiser.                                   

Last day.  Early in the morning, Cody and Grandpa are enjoying a cup of coffee and hot cocoa while they watch the fish come to the surface and the ducks silently clean themselves for the start of the day.

 

 

 

Jenny’s excited as this is her first eel she caught.

 

 

 

We had a great time catching up with family and it was just the right amount of time spent too.  But now, it’s time to get back to work and get organized for the year ahead.