Yamba.

Sitting at the mouth of the Clarence river in northern New South Wales, Yamba has everything you would want in a holiday except the gaudiness and noise of a big city.

In effect, Yamba is a small, stylish village but with national parks close by, uncrowded beautiful beaches and award winning restaurants it's a place you could easily spend a week or two relaxing and winding down.

With a lighthouse, a big river, a marina, a fishing fleet, great beaches with Norfolk pines and some groovy restaurants and cafes, the town, recently voted the best town in Australia, somehow combines just about everything people enjoy in coastal towns.

To top it all off, the CSIRO and Stanford University described the area as having the 'world's best climate', an enviable combination of sunny summers and mild winters which the locals love and visitors enjoy.

Yamba is home to one of the largest commercial fishing fleets in Australia catching 20% of all the seafood consumed in New South Wales.

That may not be exciting to some but watching the fleet going out in the evening and returning in the early morning is a sight not to be missed.

As you would expect fresh seafood is always available and is the best you've ever tasted.

Try out one of the the local seafood restaurants for an experience not soon forgotten.

Yamba is also a popular stopping off port for the cruising yacht fraternity and the marina is well worth a look.

When you visit you'll find the accommodation in Yamba is world class.

From award winning luxury resorts and holiday apartments, to family holiday parks, top class motels and great discount hostels it's all here.

The area has five superb beaches, there are safe, sheltered beaches for families as well as crashing waves for those who prefer the wild surf, and the rock swimming pool is a great place to cool off.

The fishing in the area is superb, as the local fishing fleet testifies, and anglers have a choice of rock, beach, estuary or deep-sea fishing spots.

Boats are available for hire or charter, and houseboats and cruisers are another holiday option.

Some of the other small towns along this section of the coast are well worth visiting and these include Brooms Head and the nearby Yuarygir National Park.

Here you can see kangaroos, wallabies and one of the last flocks of coastal emus.

Wooli and Minnie Water are ideal destinations for a day trip and the Solitary Islands National Park is a feature of the area.

A trip to the hinterland is also rewarding with the towns of Maclean and Grafton being worth a visit and further inland the Nymboida National Park is absolutely magnificent.

Just to south of Yamba is one of Australia's most famous surfing beaches at Angourie.

This small village is on the northern tip of the Yuraygir National Park and boasts some great holiday accommodation including former World Surfing Champion, Nat Young's 'Nat's At The Point'.

Also found near this village is the Blue Pool, a former rock quarry that has been filled by a natural spring, creating a superb and popular swimming hole.

Yes Yamba may well be the best town in Australia..........enjoy,

John.

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