"...there’s something special about Yamba"

 

It is said that during the Christmas holiday period the little New South Wales coastal town of Yamba (2023 est. resident population 6,467) easily doubles its population and this year, 2024, appeared to be no different.

December visitor numbers are still manageable, but thankfully for the rest of summer and other holiday periods thoughout the year visitor numbers are a little lower.

Something I suspect one Time Out magazine editor discovered when she visited.

Clarence Valley Independent, 18 December 2024:

Yamba has been named one of the 10 best Australian destinations” Time Out magazine’s editors travelled to in 2024. Image: Rodney Stevens

The accolades keep coming for the paradise we know is Yamba – much to the dismay of some long-term locals – after the town was announced in “The 10 best Australian destinations” Time Out magazine’s editors travelled in 2024.

This is the most recent recognition in a growing list of acknowledgements for Yamba, following the September 2024 announcement Yamba was the fifth most searched hidden gem in Australia in a study by worldwide luggage storage app Bounce.

In 2009, Yamba was named Best Town in Australia by a panel of tourism and travel experts in a survey conducted by Australian Traveller magazine.

And in the 2023 NSW Top Town awards, Yamba was a finalist in the Top Tourism Town greater than 5000 residents’ category.

While some locals dislike the idea of promoting Yamba as beautiful destination we know and love, the economy and businesses of the town, and to a degree, the entire Clarence Valley is reliant on tourism.

Time Out’s Sydney Lifestyle writer, Winnie Stubbs visited Yamba and fell in love with the town, penning this review.

“The NSW coast has no shortage of magical beach towns, but there’s something special about Yamba,” Stubbs wrote.

“Sitting with an unpretentious air on the southern edge of the Northern Rivers, the laid-back beach town is home to just the right amount of everything.

“There are surfing spots for every ability, hidden coves and rockpools for dreamy summer days, a charming old-school cinema for rainy evenings, and a delightfully unintimidating range of must-try eateries and drinking spots.

“A pod of dolphins has made its home below the southern headland, punctuating the sparkling coastline beyond the ocean pool on quiet, sunny mornings, and during whale watching season you’ll see migrating humpbacks stopping to scratch off their barnacles at a rocky outcrop beyond the beaches.

“Now home to two super-luxe hotels, Yamba is on the up – get there before the crowds do.”

During the 2024 12-day festive holiday period in the Northern Regional Area of NSW there were 226 reported major crashes, 4 fatal crashes resulting in 4 deaths and 104 people were injured on northern roads

 

For the purposes of compiling regional crime statistics NSW Police report results according to three area groups, Northern Region, Southern Region & Western Region.

The Northern Region runs from the Central Coast up to the NSW-Qld border and inland as far as the Moree Plains, Narrabri District & Liverpool Plains.

Over the festive holiday period NSW Police conducted Operation Christmas/New Year 2024 which commenced at 12.01am Friday (20 December 2024) and concluded at 11.59pm yesterday (Wednesday 1 January 2025).

During that 12-day period state police on duty in the Northern Region recorded the following:

Restraint Infringements – 89

Mobile phone infringements – 117

Speed infringements – 2,527

Breath Tests – 66,421

PCA charges – 203

Drug-driving detections – 367

Fatal Crashes – 4

Lives Lost – 4

Reported major crashes – 226

People injured – 104

One of the incidents included in the 2,527 speeding infringements recorded and mentioned in Operation Christmas/New Year 2024 media release was:

About 5pm Monday 30 December 2024, officers attached to Brisbane Water Traffic and Highway Patrol were patrolling Peats Ridge Road, Somersby, when they detected a motorcycle allegedly speeding. Police followed the motorcyclist which they allege was being ridden at 177km/h in a 110km/h zone. After a short time, the rider - an off-duty police officer attached to Northern Region - stopped in Tuggerah and police issued him a traffic infringement notice for exceed speed over 45km/h. The man’s licence was also suspended. An internal review will be conducted.

Sadly during this 12-day period 12 people died on New South Wales roads - four more than during the same police operation last year.

Tweet of the Week

 

This pic.twitter.com/TGurdDCg7P

— melissa (@ArtistAffame) December 24, 2024

 

Cartoons of the Week

Matt Golding
2024 in a nutshell

Cathy Wilcox
My Christmas Carol

Megan Herbert

 

The first & only all species wildlife hospital in NSW, Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital, is in urgent need of ongoing funding to keep its doors open 7 days a week

 

The staff at Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital doing their thing. Image supplied 

IMAGE: The Echo, December 2023

Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital provides professional veterinary services for injured, diseased, orphaned and displaced native Australian animals. Its services are provided free of charge, 7 days a week, and available to wildlife rescue groups and members of the public.

Although receiving calls from all Australian states & mainland territories, the majority of phone calls made directly to the Wildlife Rescue 24 hour national call centre operated by Wildlife Recovery Australia, the parent organisation of Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital, came from members of the public seeking assistance within Queensland, New South Wales & Victoria in 2024.

These calls for information and assistance were made on behalf of a wide range of Australian native animals in distress, ranging from sea birds, marine mammals & sea turtles through to land birds, koalas, gliders, bandicoots, possums, echidnas, wombats, kangaroos, wallabies, goannas & other lizards, snakes, frogs & small native mice.

ECHO, 1 January 2025:

As Australia’s bushfire season approaches, the only all-species wildlife hospital between Sydney and the Gold Coast has been forced to reduce its opening hours over Christmas/NY as surging patient numbers take their toll on the humans who provide the vital veterinary service free of charge, seven days a week.

‘Combined with no government funding to operate, an uncertain economic climate, donor fatigue and a chronic veterinary sector workforce shortage, the relentless demand for wildlife care has forced us to reduce our opening hours to protect the mental and physical health of our veterinary staff and volunteers,’ said Dr Ken Henry AC, Chair of Wildlife Recovery Australia, the parent organisation of Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital.

‘It’s unsustainable that governments continue to rely on wildlife hospitals like ours to treat the native animals under their legal protection, with no recompense. Recurrent government funding would reduce the mental and physical stress on our people by allowing us to train more people to share the load.’.....

Read the full article at

https://www.echo.net.au/2025/01/wildlife-hospital-vets-struggling-as-summer-patients-surge/

It's happiness as usual on Yamba beaches during the holiday season

Pippi Beach, Yamba NSW
IMAGE: Yamba Weddings

Turners Beach, Yamba NSW
IMAGE: Clarence Coast Holiday Parks

Main Beach, Yamba NSW
IMAGE: Londoner in Sydney

The Courier - Mail, 29 December 2024:

If you’re a surf lifesaver and volunteer to patrol on Christmas, you’ll know what a rewarding experience it is.

Apart from the fact that doing a shift at the beach on our most venerated public holiday is virtue-signalling of the highest order, it offers an iron-clad excuse, if you need it, to get out of tricky family gatherings or participation in tedious board games.

It’s also the happiest day of the year to be on the beach. Everyone’s loving being there, and everyone appreciates the lifesavers being there.

Strangers will come up to patrol members and offer genuine thanks and/or some leftover pavlova.

Big tip for future reference: don’t put yourself in a situation that requires rescue after lunch on Christmas Day.

Another benefit of sitting in a chair for hours watching the crowd having fun between the yellow and red flags is that it offers the opportunity to let your mind freewheel, which is good exercise only without sweat.

On Wednesday, on patrol at Yamba, I turned on the TV in my head and skipped from topic to topic: wondering how various couples on the beach met, what do seagulls really think of us, do fish feel fear, using alliteration for amusement, how many prawns get eaten on Christmas Day, the enormous amount of equipment some people bring to the beach … and how lucky we are to be a swimming nation.

There were several families from overseas on the beach that day. They were easy to spot not because of their accents or wacky swimming costumes … it was the fact they wouldn’t go beyond ankle deep into the gentle surf.

Australia would be an entirely different country if we hadn’t embraced the aquatic life. It’s a credit to our culture that we put so much effort into teaching our kids to swim and that as a nation we are so confident in the water.

The OECD last year released a major report on the influence of swimming competence on people’s lives globally. Australia’s relationship with swimming is referenced repeatedly.

It makes for fascinating reading, and as I watched the kids bodysurfing a sentence in the report came to mind.

“The ability to swim, like other life skills such as being able to drive and cycle, broadens the horizon of the possible and empowers individuals.” Happy new year and see you down the beach.

*********HAPPY NEW YEAR 2025*********

Source: unknown