Nambucca Heads week 1 2013

April 19^th, It was very windy this morning, but our pack up was very easy. I didn’t have the full annexe to pack up and most everything else was done yesterday. We said our “good-byes” to Terri and Patrick, we did enjoy our stay at Wallamba River, and headed north on our way to Nambucca Heads. On the way, we stopped at Ricadoes Tomato and Strawberry Farm, just north of Port Macquarrie. Val wanted to buy some green tomatoes to make a batch of her “green tomato pickles”. We had always talked about visiting this place whenever we saw the advert on TV and were staying at Wallamba River, but never got around to it. We were surprised to see how busy the place was, for a Friday, it was packed. The Shop section was loaded with products made at their place and if you didn’t want to pick your own, they had fresh picked Tomatoes and Strawberries to buy. Their set up in the hot houses was fascinating, as you will see in my photos. They had A frames made of PVC pipe and fittings, and the strawberries growing out of the T fittings. We were issued with small scissors to cut the strawberry stems when collecting them. Doing your own picking was fun. The Tomato plants were in rows of pots up on a shelf, so you didn’t have to bend down to pick them. I enjoyed a coffee and cookie while Val went and picked the Tomatoes and then I went with her to help pick the strawberries. We would recommend everyone, to visit “Ricadoes” and see it for yourself. We arrived at Nambucca and booked into the Pelican Caravan Park for 2 weeks and 4 days. We are on a waterfront site and we absolutely like the view of the Nambucca River, it’s great. It was too windy to put out the awning, so that’s a job for to-morrow.

April 20^th, Today was a work day, for me, I finished setting up our site including the annexe and front awning.

April 21^st, I took the boat off the car and set it up ready to go in the River tomorrow. I even went down to the boat ramp and cleared away the buildup of driftwood. There is a lot of driftwood going up and down the river with the tidal current, as a result of the floods they had here earlier in the year.

April 22^nd, I had to clear the boat ramp of driftwood again, and then get it into the water. I had decided to tie the boat up at the river’s edge, just down from our Van, at a set of steps. Keep in mind that this is the first time that I have been in this river. So, I motored down to my selected spot and tide was fairly low and ran aground about 10metres from shore. I decided that I could get into the water, wearing my gumboots, and pull the boat into shore. When I stepped over the side of the boat my boots sank into the silty bottom and the boat started to float. Unable to move my feet and holding onto the boat, of course, I was forced to sit down in the muddy river, up to my waist. Not Happy, Jan! I got myself up, pulled the boat in and tied it up to a tree. I hosed myself off and went into the annexe, stripped off and put on a new set of dry clothes. I had my mobile phone and car keys in my pocket, so now I need another new phone. I dried out the car door control and eventually got it to work again. We went into Nambucca Heads and I bought a new phone from the Post Office. Luckily, I have a basic Telstra phone, so it only cost $39 to buy a replacement. We dropped into the RSL on the way home, for a drink and a flutter but didn’t have any luck on the Pokies. We stopped off at the Fish Shop and bought a whole sea mullet, to put in our crab pot. After the Fishmonger told Val how good it was to eat and how to cook it, I had to fillet it and use only the carcass for the crabs.

April 23^rd, when the tide was high enough to float the boat, I went out to put the crab pot down and have a fish. I put the Crab Pot down near the oyster lease, where I could keep an eye on it from our Van. The fish weren’t biting so I went in and tied up the boat to the Jetty, a much better place to tie up. After lunch I thought I had better remove my towing hitch from the front of the boat before it got damaged on the jetty. I grabbed my tools and went down to do the job. I was thinking that I would have to get down on my knees to undo the bolts when my shifter slipped from my hand and dropped into the water. Bugger! The water was shallow, so I could see my shifter sitting in the mud on the bottom. I went back to the car and grabbed a fishing rod, and then patiently groped in the water with the line until eventually I got the hook into the hole, in the handle of my shifter, and reeled it in. What other disasters could happen to me here, I ask you!  I removed the hitch from the boat and packed it away in the Van boot.

April 24^th, No crabs today but I did catch a 43cm Flathead this morning. Val has been getting back into her “Dot painting” again and loves doing it. Today she amazed me by getting into a different style of painting which I thought was good. See the photos.

April 28^th, Not a lot to report, I’ve checked the crab pots every day and gone out for a fish. Nothing, no crabs, no keepable fish and lots of driftwood in the river. All I’ve caught while we have been here is one Flathead and one shifting spanner! I managed to do a few odd jobs around the Van and Val is continuing to paint madly. However, we are both “Happy” and like this area.