Yep, its been a while (again) since we have regaled you with our tales of our adventures but there hasn't been a lot happening.
The Captain has been kept busy with his painting and decorating whilst The Deckie made a quick trip south to catch up with family. There were also a couple of nice days where we managed to get out and explore the region a little bit more and finally, last weekend, The New Boat was put into the river!
One of the items on The Captain's "to do list" is a fishing/camping expedition - when the weather warms up - to The Clarence Gorge. So, with this in mind, we packed The Rav and headed west for a day trip up The Clarence Valley.
Our first stop was The Pinnacles Lookout at Maclean where you can see the lower reaches of The Clarence as it heads out to the sea.
 |
| The Clarence Crossing The Coastal Plains |
Instead of sticking to the main highway we decided to take the tourist route. This took us over an old wooden bridge and then onto a car ferry. Haven't done that for a while!
 |
| Coming To Get Us! |
 |
| On Our Way |
Our trip took us thru the outskirts of Grafton, past some beautiful sections of the river and then onto a little village called Copmanhurst. Copmanhurst was once the head of navigation of the Clarence River and was a major port for the surrounding industries. It is no longer a major port but has a very nice pub with some even nicer lunches!!
 |
| One of many bends in the River |
 |
| Checking Out The Boat Ramp at Copmanhurst |
After lunch. we drove up alongside the river for a little bit further. checked out a section of the road leading to The Gorge and headed home.
 |
| Upstream from Copmanhurst |
Last weekend, the weather reports gave great indications that at least one fishing trip was in order. Saturday morning dawned bright and clear, the tides were good and The New Boat thought it was her turn to have a little trip.
The fishing rods were taken out of storage, the esky packed and off went.
 |
| Champing At The Bit!! |
The first fish to be caught by Team Turtle on the Clarence River was caught by The Captain - after all, he is the long term fishing person!! The poor little flathead was only just the correct size so we did the right thing and sent him home. A little later (and at another spot) The Deckie managed to catch her dinner for the night - a very nice bream.
 |
| Lucky Little Flathead |
 |
| The Deckie's Dinner |
The weather was excellent, the fishing not bad and the day was just so pleasant and so we decided to do it again the next day. Unfortunately, the fishing was not quite so good even though the conditions were once again excellent. The most interesting part of the day were the spoonbills.
 | |
| One Of Many Spoonbills |
Oh well, that's fishing and boating!!
