Meet the Balchins
As the saying goes, Brent and Sue Balchin have been coming to the Lakes " forever ".They hail from Fish Creek and recently sold their farm there and now live in the local bank, a magnificent old building which has become their home.
Brent, an ex navy man, and Sue have recently restored their 44 ft wooden boat. Her names is Whiporie. She is named after the old logging town in the northern rivers of NSW where her timbers were cut.
It has always been the Balchin's ambition to live on their boat for a while and this they have done for the last couple of months.
The time is now coming to an end so Brent and Sue are once again becoming land lubbers.
But not before he has given us permission to publish some photographs he took during his " living on the Lakes "
Well Sue and I have been back from our last holiday on the canals of England and Wales for about 6 weeks. Many different canals and a great time. It was the third time we have travelled canals of Wales and the Midlands and love it once again. I remember offering to give you a few pics to post on the RI site in case some of your many subscribers are thinking of taking a narrowboat holiday. We are very happy to share our experiences with anyone intending to go on a narrowboat if it helps in planning. Please give our email address to anyone interested.
Regards Brent and Sue
Brent, an ex navy man, and Sue have recently restored their 44 ft wooden boat. Her names is Whiporie. She is named after the old logging town in the northern rivers of NSW where her timbers were cut.
It has always been the Balchin's ambition to live on their boat for a while and this they have done for the last couple of months.
The time is now coming to an end so Brent and Sue are once again becoming land lubbers.
But not before he has given us permission to publish some photographs he took during his " living on the Lakes "
Well Sue and I have been back from our last holiday on the canals of England and Wales for about 6 weeks. Many different canals and a great time. It was the third time we have travelled canals of Wales and the Midlands and love it once again. I remember offering to give you a few pics to post on the RI site in case some of your many subscribers are thinking of taking a narrowboat holiday. We are very happy to share our experiences with anyone intending to go on a narrowboat if it helps in planning. Please give our email address to anyone interested.
Regards Brent and Sue
Hi Islanders
email Click here
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Who says there are very few swans on the Lakes ?
Thanks to Brent Balchin we know there are plenty in Bunga Arm
Oct.2010.
Thanks to Brent Balchin we know there are plenty in Bunga Arm
Oct.2010.
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Click on photos
Not many know the lakes with it's wildlife as well as those two and they do so in style.
When on the lakes they live on Whiporie a comfortable old wooden boat. When asked to tell us about her, here is their
reply:
" The boats timbers were cut in the Northern Rivers Area of NSW in 1938. Near the town of Whiporie of course. Built
during WW2 and we believe did some service as a “Radio Surveillance” vessel during the war. Lots of uninteresting
history until we bought her in 2001. We wanted a boat that is comfortable to live on so spent lots of money to achieve
this. She is 12.8m long, weighs 15 ton, has a 120hp Ford (doesn’t every other boat on the Lakes) and has comfortable
accommodation for 4 ageing sailors.
Regards Brent and Sue "
March 2012
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Over time Brent and Sue Balchin have regularly contributed to the website. Something for which we are grateful
Again ! This time in Tom's Creek !
Let the two photos talk for themselves
"We spent a couple of nights in the remote Toms Creek area. Sue took this from the Zodiac in the early morning light" BB
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| Early-morning-at-Toms-Creek | Sea Eagle |
We thank Brent and Sue for producing such a wonderful slideshow of local birdlife May 2012