Holiday Fun In Iluka

Pelicans at Iluka

Christmas 2011

What a great season we had this Christmas. Lovely, friendly people... some we know of old, some we have just met. Everyone enjoyed the sun, sand and surf.

The weather was kind and our visitors made the most of it! We hope you all have a safe and happy year and we look forward to seeing you all back here for Christmas 2012!



New Year's Eve at The Anchorage

We had a fantastic crowd for our New Year's Eve Disco. The dance floor was rarely free and DJ Echo even kept the New South Welshmen grooving until 1am.

 

Kids Fishing Comp at The Anchorage



The kids' fishing competitions are always a hit and this year was no exception! Karen is buried under the crowd there somewhere... measuring and weighing the fish - some were still alive! A honker of a bream won this year's comp and winner Ashleigh was very excited.

Inaugural Beach Trip!

 

We Gaudoins had a great time at the beach yesterday. First time we've had the time to venture to the beach since Winter! We went to the Iluka Bluff. Had fish and chips at the picnic tables at the information shelter, walked up to the top to see if there were any whales - but the kids wanted to swim, so didn't stay up there long enough to see any. Perfect waves, just big enough for boogie boarding. The water was crystal clear and the sky so amazingly blue - photos were just taken from our (old) phone, so they really don't do it justice. Only a handful of people on the beach...snorkelling, swimming, rock pool hunting. The dolphins were hanging around too. Wonderful.

Newsletters

We are trying to stay ahead of the times and so we have moved into the world of electronic newsletters. Our first one will go out next week, all things going well. For those of you who wish to receive our news on a regular monthly basis, please go to our website http://www.anchorageholidaypark.com.au/ and subscribe.

Spring At The Anchorage And Iluka

 

Spring!

Historically, spring in Iluka can be expected to be gorgeous days, not too hot, not too cold. There is usually a bit of a wind that picks up after lunch, but all in all, a really lovely time of year. We are hoping that this year will prove the same! Baby ‘everythings’ start to appear and we spend a fair bit of our time rescuing tiny birds who have been blown out of their nests. Already, we have a family of ducks who are enjoying the pond down the back of the park...mum, dad and 9...yes, nine...ducklings! Two swallows have built their nest in our workshed again...we think it’s in a most inappropriate place, but it’s the same location as last year, so we guess it’s a good one for them. Anne and Graeme think there are baby lorikeets in their bird house at Amarco—they haven’t seen them yet, but mum and dad have been acting very protective, so presumably the babies are in there. Soon we will expect the dolphins to bring their babies to our end of the river, where they use the shallow water near our jetty to teach the young ones how to fish. What a great time to be in Iluka!

September in Iluka

This is a busy month for the Clarence Valley. For those of you visiting our area, there is something on every weekend. Among the events there are: Grafton Music & Arts Festival on Sept 8-11th; Causley Gate To Plate on Sept 10-11th; Iluka Race Day in Grafton on Sept 17th; Living The Good Life Festival on Sept 17-18th and the Iluka Pool & Sports Association’s Family Fun Day on Sept 24th. Visit www.clarencetourism.com for a detailed list.

Mad Hatter's Tea Party

We had a great day at the Anchorage Holiday Park's annual Winter Function.

This year's theme was Mad Hatter's Tea Party...and boy did everyone get involved with the dressups!! The day started with a fashion parade led by the White Rabbit who, after a false start by leading them down the garden path, finally managed to take everyone round in a nice orderly fashion! Categories included Best Hat, Most Mad, and That's Sad. There were so many good outfits that we couldn't pick just one winner...so there was a few!

There were games which everyone joined in with gusto. Tweedle Egg Race saw no eggs break during the race (despite much interference on behalf of the Tweedles!)...but one or two staff members seemed to be targeted at one stage! We can't remember the winners - it all degenerated into an egg mash!

Pin the Grin on the Cheshire Cat was the next game...and all the entrants had a good look at the cat before, thought they had their strategy to win...and none of them did! Winner was Marie with a wonderfully close grin. The other Marie (!) came last - with a grin on cat's a...se!

These games had warmed everyone up and there was no shortage of participants for the Queen's Croquet. Mallets were pink flamingos and Alice in Wonderland characters dotted the field as croquet arches. The first heat was nice and polite but that didn't last long! There was a bit of argy bargy, and a lot of cheating!

Lunch finished off the day, with the cake pictured above being the crowning glory. Willie entertained us as we all recovered enough to break out the dance moves.

It was a fun day.

For more photos...go to our Facebook page or our website - click on one of the links below.

Anchorage Facebook Page 

Anchorage Holiday Park Website

Beautiful Sunsets

Winter usually brings the best weather for us here in Iluka. Chilly nights followed by clear, warm days. Great fishing and friendly visitors.

This year, the weather has let us down somewhat. There have been some pretty wet days and it has been frustrating - not the least for our poor campers who have battled through some dodgy days! We have been both amused and pleased to see kids and adults using our heated pool throughout - even in the rain! We suppose as long as it is warm it doesn't matter whether it is raining!

On days like today, when the rain stops, the sun is glorious. The past week has been wonderful, hot enough for t-shirts and shorts. Everybody has come out of their caves and have been sitting soaking up the sun. There is good weather forecast for the rest of the week too, so why not take a short break and come and join us?

Great Fish!

With the improvement to the weather has come great fishing. One of our customers went on a fishing charter with Reel Time recently and brought home these great snapper.

He said he had a great time on the boat.

For those who prefer a relaxed activity on the water that doesn't involve fishing...Reel Time not only takes you fishing, you can also enjoy a cruise up the back waters of our beautiful Clarence River where you can view all manner of birdlife and beautiful scenery.



View from our office!!



Some more ideas for enjoying our wonderful area: 

• Take a sunset cruise on the sailing catamaran Rockfish.
• Meander up the river listening to great music on the Clarence River Ferry's Jazz Cruise on Sundays.
• Hire a bbq boat, catch and cook your own lunch!
• Take a stroll along Bluff Beach and up to the look out platform - it's whale season.
• Play around of golf.
• Play a game of bowls.
• Hire out the tennis court.
• Hire a bike and ride around the town and out to the beaches.
• Drive your 4wd up the beach and have a picnic.
• Cruise over to Yamba and watch a movie in their quaint cinema.
• Follow the shipwreck trail to Grafton.
• Go to Angourie Blue Pools where fresh water sits adjacent to salt.
• Take the day to explore all the wonderful galleries and museums in the Clarence Valley.