When you live, so to speak, somewhere, you don't necessarily go out to visit the 'sights' in your 'home' vicinity. I remember, I had lived in London for many years before I visited the Tower of London and its crown jewels, and then, solely, because a visiting friend wanted to see them.
Well, on a lesser scale, that's been the case for me, here in Yamba. The villages of Wooleweyah and Angourie (where do they get these names?) are not far away. I've been driven through them, appreciatively, over the last decade, on a number of occasions, but I've never done much more than pass through.
Angourie was my most frequent visit, because it used to be the home of a rather nice, if expensive, named Barbaresco.
The main attraction at Angourie in recent years has been, for me, Spooky Beach and its adorable avian inhabitants
But they are not supposed the be the 'main attraction'. The signs all arrow you towards 'the Blue and Green Pools'.
I had never ventured. But, today, Robert and Louis thought we should go 'for coffee' ... lovely! ... and ....
Somebody entrepreneurial must have built the Angourie 'commercial centre'. Commercial? In my time its 4-5 'shops' have simply been occupied, apart from during its heyday with Barbaresco, by nowt but the eternal 'coffee bars'. And Barbaresco is now gone. So, does Angourie have that many coffee-drinkers ...?
There are just two, at the moment. We chose the one now named 'Bay St Local', in spite of its name. It is the old grocery shop cum newsagent cum, obligatorily, coffee shop. But coffee clearly has a higher profit margin than groceries and newspapers, and reigns supreme.
They delivered the goods capably. The coffee was strong, the $14 cheese-and-tomato toasted sandwich fine ... and the company was glamorous ..
Will I go back? Yes, if passing ...
And, then, to the crux of the outing. We were going to visit the Pools. On foot? OK, I've brought my stick .... DEVASTATION! It's a crumbly descending path ... part has a handrail, but only part. Can I DO this? Robert seemed to have more confidence in my abilities than I did!
Well, I did. I even managed the few metres where the path had been swept away, and I had to cling to the overhanging foliage to stay upright.
But it was worth it. The 'Pools' are man-made. Made where the stone was quarried for the local breakwater. They ar'n't particularly green and blue when the sun isn't out, and they are mirroring the sky, but they are still pretty. I'm glad I made the effort.
Yes, I'm glad I dared it. Because I sha'n't make it again. I shall just have these photos to remind me of a sweet little 'adventure'.
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