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.

Where's the sun?

Where's the sun? Not here, at present! However, Easter weather was surprisingly good, we had some glorious weather and people even went home with sunburn! But, true to this year's pattern, the good days were followed by...rain! Still, it wasn't cold and the kids didn't care, they still swam and played happily.
We have another busy Saturday and Sunday coming up, with QLD's long weekend. There are only a few caravan sites still available - and tents are okay to go on those slabs too so give us a call if you need a site.
Fishing has been excellent - lots of fish, particularly at the beach - conditions for the fisherman though, is not so great! They've been coming back tired, wet and cold...but happy! Tailor and black-tip off the beaches, mud crabs in the river and snapper out wide. Feel free to give your excess to us!!!

Availability for Easter

Well, Easter is nearly on us, and apart from one cabin...we are fully booked. We really hope the weather is kind to us this Easter. Historically, it always rains at Easter, no matter where you are in Australia, but this year the weather has been anything but normal, so here's hoping Easter will be an anomaly...and not rain!

We hope everyone has a happy Easter and that Easter Bunny finds you at your campsites!

Special Deals

Need a holiday? We've got a special that you're sure to like!

Check out our website http://www.anchorageholidaypark.com.au/

QLD Weather

It has been a distressing start to 2011 for many people with flooding, particularly in QLD. Our thoughts have turned to our customers, friends and family in northern QLD as they await the arrival of Cyclone Yasi. We have experienced cyclones so we know what it is like to 'wait and see' and it is always a nervous time.

We hope that the strength of Yasi dissipates as it hits the coastline and that you all remain safe.

Come And Play!

We're waiting for you!

Weather is hot.

Sun is out.

Beach is good.

Fish are on.

Check out our specials page on http://www.anchorageholidaypark.com.au/

Flood Update

Contrary to what Sky News has apparently been reporting, Iluka is not flooded! The flood waters at Iluka thankfully never amounted to more than a really huge high tide. Nor are we cut off. We were for a short time, but north re-opened quickly and while south is still blocked between Maclean and Grafton, the Summerland Highway is open and operating.

In fact, visitors trying to get to Yamba for their holidays are coming to Iluka and then crossing to Yamba on the ferry. The river here at our northern arm has calmed and while it is still has too much fresh for fishing, the fish are now at the beaches...good flatty, massive herring and the occasional fat happy bream have been caught. The ocean water is clearing rapidly and people are swimming at the beaches, but we have a pool anyway, so the kids currently in the park have made great use of that!

So we would like to reassure our customers that Iluka and by association, the Anchorage Holiday Park are open for business, with no flood damage.

Christmas...and the weather.

We have been lucky. While rain has fallen, we have not experienced the terrible deluge that poor Queensland has endured. Our caravan sites and cabins are high and dry and until this week, so was our campground. We were lucky to have the week after Christmas with glorious sun and hot days - sunburnt faces everywhere!


Since New Years Eve (which was dry and a LOT of fun...see our website for photos), we have had a fair bit of rain. Total for Jan so far is around 208ml, with more showers to come apparently. Bureau says that it should be clear from the weekend...we hope so!

Surprisingly, the fishing has not been too bad. Species ranging from the good old flatty and bream in the river, to massive herring and a jew or two that have been caught on the beaches. The river is muddy, we suggest no swimming, but the fish don't seem to care that it's raining. Recently though, the fresh has brought some catfish down-river, so you’ll need to be cunning!