Janet here from Ulmarra. We are progressing very slowly up the Clarence River, stopping off where ever there is a pub.... together with Alan and Patricia Lucas on Soleares and Chris and Gilli on Westwind.... After Maclean we made our way to Lawrence for a night, then onto Brushgrove, which has a charming pub. Locals with long beards mingle with ex-city dwellers who have moved there for the charm and prettiness of the area. We were anchored literally 20m from the bank tho swimming is a no no as apparently bull sharks swim up the river to feed and breed. From Brushgrove we moved onto Ulmarra, which has arty shops, great hotel/pub and not much else - not possible to even buy a potato. Last night we cooked the 3kg roll of beef that Ian won in the Friday night bar raffle. My first roast and Soleares and Westwind were willing guinea pigs, with Patricia bringing a delicious fruit crumble and Gilli her chocolates.... Tonight we have all been invited ashore Soleares' friends, so off to eat again.

After the endless rain we have had, the sun has been shining for over a week and we have managed to get five coats of varnish onto the rail.... only five more to go! Hopefully it will then last for at least three years.