Today we went to Ulmarra. As we poked our bow out of the little tributary we were in we faced 7 – 10kn winds on the nose. That was a surprise as we’d spent a perfectly still night onboard. Not fancying tacking despite at last having wind we motored on. The river banks continued their lovely green interest for us, with sugar cane fields, lovely fat cattle and homes varying from old farm houses to very flash homes.
There was a dredge working the river – quite near to another cross-river ferry. These ferries look like fun – I’d like to return in a vehicle to get the experience from all angles.
The Ulmarra pontoon (another excellent facility) would hold maybe 3 vessels. The wind was still being a problem and the water was quite choppy. We took great care securing Top Shelf in view of this. Once more we were the only ones on the pontoon, though anchored off Ulmarra were 5 yachts. A couple of the sailors from these yachts stopped to chat to us on their way to or from Ulmarra. One told us that last night was really rough on the river with winds up to 25kn – what a surprise when we didn’t experience more than a ripple on the pontoon at Brushgrove. Such interesting stories everyone has, and so friendly. Made me start to hanker for a life on a keel yacht sailing the coastlines and oceans … but no, not for me. Love my little trailer sailer, and have a campervan too – so the best of both worlds.
The morning was spent reading and catching up on emails, etc sitting in the cafe that adjoins the Ulmarra pub – just at the top of the jetty, as usual. Sometime around midday the breeze dropped completely and the river once more assumed the glassy surface we’ve come to expect.
I took a walk around the village – the whole town of Ulmarra has been classified by the National Trust and it’s definitely worth a few days exploring and enjoying this piece of well-preserved history. I found several arts and crafts shops, which were unfortunately closed at 4pm on my rounds, several ‘bed and breakfasts’ and renovated apartments, and a well-tended park with BBQ facilities and play equipment for the children. The hotel has quite remarkably intricate wrought iron lacework – pity it didn’t show up better in my photograph. The public boat ramp – hmmm, definitely not designed for trailer sailers to launch – has a power line going right across the ramp descent to the river. I didn’t see a grocery store – the petrol station looks like it might carry some commodities.
Another BBQ onboard for dinner, a pleasant night sitting out in the cockpit (granted we were wrapped up) and the anticipation of a quiet, restful night. We definitely have to plan longer trips. I’m finally beginning to relax into the lifestyle and our trip is over tomorrow.
If you’d like to see more photos from this leg of the trip click HERE.