Down Underneath

I can see all the way to LA!

Back in Australia we were based in Brisbane where all our lovely grandchildren live. For a treat we headed down over the Queensland border to the New South Wales seaside town of Yamba. This laid back resort is at the head of the Clarence River and in the nineteenth century the harbour needed a lighthouse to guide shipping into the port. A neat little structure was built and served the local sailors for 75 years whereupon a taller lighthouse was erected and a few years later the decommissioned lighthouse was razed to the ground. This must have upset the locals because they raised the money and with the help of teams of volunteers they rebuilt a replica of the original over a number of years. Here's me on a very hot day in my big hat  - you'll see the lighthouse now serves as the studio for the local radio station. No sign of ladies of the night though - apparently this was the spot for picking up girls selling their wares a century ago!

 

One of the requirements when choosing somewhere to stay was the presence of a parkrun and Yamba had a little beauty just a short walk from our apartment. Here's a shot of the parkrun volunteers at the end of the run including young Ted and his mother who were handing out finish tokens. The wonderful green machine on the left arrived while we were running and over the next hour or so was joined by several hundred other vehicles lining up for the Yamba Hot Rod Rally. 

A couple of blue hot rods.

To my mind a hot rod rally involves souped up old bangers racing noisily round a dirt track cheered on by raucous spectators. But surprisingly there was no racing, the drivers and passengers all parked up and spent the day chatting to each other - a thoroughly amiable social event it would seem. And the locals all got the chance to amble round to look at the gleaming cars and chat to the drivers.

And here's a yellow one!

And another green one, this time on the inside lane going home.