Is that rain?

Yes it bl***y well is! with a vengeance! Yamba is certainly a beautiful resort area, but at the moment it is the wettest place in Oz! All of this coast is getting it, from Brisbane down to Sydney and beyond, but Yamba has twice been mentioned on the Sydney TV news!Night before last we had 64mm of rain, continuous downpour for over four hours, which made the site look like a lake, but last night we had continuous thunderstorms and over 100mm of rain. In our language that adds up to 7 inches over two nights. a hell of a lot.

We are fortunate, we are in a nice cabin, on stilts, so we are quite dry. We feel very sorry for a couple in front of us in a tent, with four children, who are continually baling water off their pitch to try and keep the water from under their tents.

We had intended to spend just a couple of nights here, but there is little point in moving on up the coast where the rain is nearly as bad. In any case, we have a problem, Betty is taking in water in the passenger side, the carpets are sodden, and our suitcase in which we keep our best clothes is damp also. We have had to unpack and lay out to dry, so we have rebooked here until Friday. We are unsure where and how it is getting in, we will certainly have to find the leak before we can travel on. At least we are comfortable in our little cabin, most of the tenters have packed up and gone home, not the guy in front of us though- he is determined to face it out.

But the rain does not deter the ardent surfers, this coast is a surfer's heaven, just a little further north is a resort called Surfer's Paradise. A break in the rain yesterday let me sit and watch them for a time while Anne went to beautify herself at the hairdressers.

The beach is sandy, with rocks at eather side of the cove, ideal conditions for these people, who will spend most of the days just waiting for the best wave. Most are without wetsuits, so the water must be pretty warm, I don't do sand and sea so I didn't try it.

This place and the rain will give us a chance to relax a little before the hectic trip to Malaysia and Bangkok coming up next week, sitting around reading and watching TV is quite a change from charging about, which is what we usually do.

Last night we went to Yamba Rotary Club, whose meetings are held in the local bowling club. Many sporting clubs and RSLs (Like our British Legion) in Oz serve budget meals, and will allow visitors to sign in providing they live over 5k away.  A lot of Rotary clubs meet in these places to keep costs down and are quite good. I had a good meal of roast beef, but Anne wasn't keen on hers, a chicken snitzel. That's how it goes!.

The club has a very high profile in their community, we saw seats throughout the area, and a couple of welcome signs as we arrived in town. They have also marked out a few walking trails around the coast, with Rotary wheels in prominence along the trails.

So we are stuck here for a couple more days, as I look out of the window it is teeming down again, not a break in the clouds, the tent next door is starting to float down the site..........