Yamba

Yamba sits where the Clarence River, the largest on the New South Wales coast, meets the sea, and it has stayed lower-key than the beach towns further north despite steady growth. A lighthouse stands on the headland above a set of small beaches and an ocean pool, the surf at Angourie a few kilometres south is a recognised national surfing reserve, and the town's prawn trawler fleet works out of the river, selling the catch on the wharf. A small ferry crosses the river to Iluka, where the Iluka Nature Reserve protects a remnant of littoral rainforest included in the Gondwana Rainforests World Heritage listing. Whales pass offshore in season and dolphins work the river mouth.

History

The Yaegl and Bundjalung are the traditional custodians of the coast here, and the ancestors of the Yaegl, speakers of Yaygirr, lived around the mouth of the Clarence in permanent settlements; Matthew Flinders described large bark huts with rounded entrances against wind and rain, and Captain Perry in 1839 canoes of superior make. Flinders landed on the southern headland, now Pilot Head, in 1799, but judged the rough estuary dangerous and sailed away, timber cutting began in the 1830s, the townsite was surveyed in 1861, and the settlement first called Shoal Bay was renamed Yamba in 1885, with about 340 people; its surf lifesaving club, formed in 1908, is one of the oldest in the world (Wikipedia, Yamba, New South Wales).

The main sights

• The river mouth - the Clarence meeting the sea with the prawn fleet working.
• Angourie - the national surfing reserve and the Blue Pool quarry hole.
• The Iluka rainforest - World Heritage littoral rainforest across the river.
• The ocean pool and headland - the lighthouse and small town beaches.

When to go

September to May for swimming and warm water; the region is subtropical and mild year-round. School holidays and Easter fill accommodation. Summer brings humidity and afternoon storms, and the region floods periodically.

What to expect

Yamba has grown and is no longer a secret, with holiday crowds in summer. The river mouth has strong currents and is not for casual swimming. The ferry to Iluka is small and weather-dependent.

Nearby

Iluka is across the river; Grafton lies upstream and Byron Bay well to the north.

Key facts