In December 2020 we cruised the Clarence River as far upstream as Cowper/Brushgrove and I wrote about this trip in my blog River Ramblings. At that time, we were having problems with our generator. This meant we couldn’t spend time on anchor because we couldn’t charge the batteries. As a result we didn’t travel as far up the Clarence River as I would have liked. Now that we’re back in Iluka, this is our chance to have a Clarence River do-over.
Our trip up the Clarence River
Our Clarence River do-over (aka pub crawl) saw us cover about 70nm (130km) upstream to Grafton and then returning to Iluka. Heading upstream we were timing the tides and going with the current, reaching speeds of up to 9.5 knots. We visited 7 hotels – Sedger’s Reef Hotel, Harwood Hotel, Maclean Hotel, Ulmarra Hotel, Robinson’s Crown Hotel, Brushgrove Hotel, Lawrence Hotel – although the Brushgrove is closed for lunch on Mondays so we just had a drink there, and we went to the Maclean hotel twice!
For a high-level look at this trip, with some photos, then check out this video. Then if you want more information, keep on reading.
Some more information and photos of our trip
Our pub crawl of the Clarence River actually started in Iluka at Sedger’s Reef hotel.
Luckily we were able to have lunch here on what was the last day of the bistro being open for a while. The hotel is being demolished. In the meantime there’s a temporary bar where they’ll operate while a new hotel is built.
Sedger’s Reef hotel, in its current shape dates back to 1928 when it was called the North Head Hotel. If you’re interested in history, there’s more information available on the internet.
I’m looking forward to seeing the new hotel when we return from our trip south because Iluka and the Clarence River is definitely an area where we can spend more time.
Iluka to Harwood (1 Feb)
It’s 10NM from Iluka Bay to Harwood and took us close to 1.5 hours. Two years ago I wouldn’t have had the confidence to bring the boat onto the pontoon, but now that we’ve had more experience – and some lessons in Townsville – we had no problems despite a strong current.
You can stay on the public pontoon at Harwood for 24 hours. It’s conveniently located across the road from Harwood pub, where you can enjoy lunch and keep an eye on your boat at the same time! We also managed to run a hose from the tap on shore to the boat and fill up our water tank, which was starting to run a bit low.
There was some traffic noise during the day from the nearby Harwood bridges, but it wasn’t bad overnight.
Harwood to Maclean (2 Feb)
It’s 3NM from Harwood to Maclean and took 30 minutes. We passed by Ulgundahi Island, owned by the Yaegl Local Aboriginal Land Council. I found an interesting wiki article about the history of Ulgundahi Island. I was also shocked to read that rations included nearly half a kilo of sugar for each child, weekly.
At Maclean we were lucky to get a spot on the public pontoon just as another yacht was leaving. It felt like we were very close to the 14m yacht in front of us, but there was nearly a metre between us!
This is a great public pontoon because you can use power and top up with fresh water. It’s also a 5-minute walk to the supermarket and pub! During our day here we met Peter, the new owner of Aquabelle (another Ocean Alexander). It was great to hear about his life aboard, some of the changes he’s made and to share stories.
Maclean to Ulmarra (3 Feb)
On the morning we were leaving Maclean, a pod of dolphins swam close to our boat. Fortunately I had my phone camera on hand this time!
It’s 16NM from Maclean to Ulmarra and took 2 hours. Again we were able to dock at the public pontoon although there’s no water or power here. However, the Ulmarra Hotel is just across the grass and we enjoyed lunch there and a couple of drinks with a friend who now lives in Grafton.
I have to say, the Ulmarra Food Co. sell the best sausage rolls (Robert and I shared one) and I believe the pies are equally delicious.
During the afternoon, a cute steamboat (no, not ‘Steamboat Willie‘) with a number of passengers arrived at the dock. They’d cruised downstream from Grafton and were stopping for a few drinks at the pub.
By the time they left the wind had picked up, as it did most afternoons, so conditions were quite choppy. It was interesting to see the six guys, couple of bags of ice and a few cartons take off from the dock, all in good spirits.
Turn up the sound when watching this video to hear their cute toot toot!
Ulmarra to Grafton (4 & 5 Feb)
Seven nautical miles upstream is Grafton and this leg took an hour. We anchored here for two nights and it was very quiet but also very hot.
We’d been researching information about the height of the old Grafton Bridge to see if we could go underneath. One reference indicated it was clearance of 8.5m at high water springs, but the sign on the bridge indicated 6.1m at mean high water springs. This is the long-term mean of the heights of 2 successive high waters during those periods of 24 hours (approximately once a fortnight) when the range of tide is greatest, during full and new moon. We decided we didn’t want to risk it as our air height is about 7m.
As recommended by Alan Lucas in his book Cruising the NSW Coast, we took the tender under the bridge to go further upstream and have lunch at Robinson’s Crown Hotel and left the “mothership” anchored downstream!
After lunch we tied up at Pound St jetty to visit the National Trust Classified fig trees.
Grafton to Brushgrove (6 Feb)
We went downstream to Brushgrove, 11NM from Grafton and taking close to 2 hours as we were going against the tide. There’s another public pontoon at Cowper, opposite Brushgrove, but it was occupied by a yacht that looks like it’s exceeded the 24-hour usage! However, we were quite happy to anchor in the bay and take the tender over to the dock then walk to the pub. Unfortunately the bistro is closed on Mondays! But we enjoyed a cold drink and had lunch back on board.
One good thing about being on anchor is the cats can spend the daylight hours on the boat deck enjoying the breeze, without us worrying they’ll jump onto the dock! However, we were inundated by bugs, attracted to our inside lights!
Brushgrove to Maclean via Lawrence (7 Feb)
Lawrence was a short trip from Brushgrove, 4.5NM and taking 30 minutes. We anchored off Munro Island and took the tender to shore. There’s a dock you can tie up to and walk over the new (new in 2018) bridge to the pub, as well as other options along the shore for leaving a tender.
Robert and I both agreed that the Lawrence Hotel provided the best lunch we’d had! This time we chose rib-eye fillet, which were tender and properly cooked (medium rare). Of course, we were eating different meals at the pubs, so it’s hard to properly compare!
After lunch we raised the anchor headed to Maclean, a further 7NM downstream and taking us an hour. Here we were able to get on to the pontoon and reprovision. However unlike three days earlier, power wasn’t working on the dock so we ran the generator to keep the batteries charged.
Where to next?
At the time of writing this blog, Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle has formed off the east coast of Australia causing higher waves/swell so we’re waiting for the right weather conditions for us before heading south to Coffs Harbour, where we’ll stay for about a month. This screenshot, from the Windy ap, shows the ferocity of the winds.
6 Responses
Awesome read – thanks Pam! Looking forward to our trip up the Clarence ❤️❤️❤️
Love that steamboat! 😀
Thanks Pam and Regan. I loved the photo of your bike as a cat-rest, and also the river-side views of pubs, houses, bridges, and of course the sugar factory. The smell of molasses is right there.
Great tour of the Clarence. Thanks for sharing Pam. Hope Gabrielle doesn’t rock the boat!
Love your video Pam, a great job thank you.
👍🏼 Sounds like a great pub crawl. Having spent some time on Poseidon, the stories are so much more real. Stay safe. x P and D