It is so quiet here in South Ballina.
No traffic and no sounds other than the sound of rain on the roof
last night. When we eventually decided to get out of bed the rain had
dried up and the clouds were almost gone. In fact the sky was so blue
after we had eaten our breakfast that I persuaded my stay at home
hubby to come for a walk to the beach. The beach is almost adjacent
to the caravan park we are staying in.
The walk did us both good and Colin
looked quite happy to be out on the sands.
There wasn't another person on the
beach for as far as the eye could see. This is supposed to be a
surfing beach but the waves were very small indeed.
We needed a few pantry items from the
shops in Ballina (we are a ferry ride across the river from Ballina)
so the day was planned so that I could take a few shots in Wardell
which was on the road trip to Ballina from here, There was time for a
cup of coffee before we left so I can show you the little cabin that
is our temporary home here in South Ballina.
I had read that Wardell had a few
historic buildings in it – historic in Australia terms but only
just over one hundred years old. I took a few pictures of what I
could see were old building – the original Post Office is now
closed and empty of everything except a few pieces of large
furniture.
Post offices like this one were to be
found in country towns all over country Australia. They were painted
white and proudly displayed the Aussie flag on the flagpole out the
front.
The most dramatic old structure in
Wardell is the lifting bridge over the Richmond River that is still
used by all the cars buses and trucks that use the Pacific Highway
between Sydney and Brisbane. I really do not know if the bridge is
still operational or if it even needs to be. Once upon a time
paddlesteamers and yachts would sail up and down the river and need
the higher clearance. I did once see the bridge lift for a high
masted yacht but that was a few years ago.
And under a small road bridge beside
the big lifting bridge is this wonderful painting. Obviously done by
someone who loves music!
Before heading back to the caravan park
I drove Colin along the track I walked along the Richmond River. When
I walked it I stopped before reaching landsend where the river met
the ocean but this time we bounced our way over deep holes and
corrugations on the gravel track and then walked out along the
breakwater where we were lucky enough to see whales passing by. The
whales did not do anything exciting – like breaching or like tail
flapping but they did break the surface of the water and occasionally
blew spray into the air. This was a lucky shot! We stayed and watched
for half an hour and in that time saw at least a dozen whales –
many too far away to see anything more than the spray but a few close
enough to capture with the 200mm lens.
As we retreated to the car we paused
briefly to watch as an early fishing boat headed out to the open
waters, The bar is calmer on the further side, the waves were really
rolling towards the rocks on our side of the estuary.
Another fascinating day and lots more
photos to pack into my hard drives!
I have made tentative plans for
tomorrow but if the weather changes (it is like summer) then our
plans will change too! I will tell you about what we did, tomorrow!
AJ
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