Iluka, New South Wales

Iluka (coord|29|26|S|153|21|E|type:city_region:AU-NSW) is a small village at the mouth of the Clarence River in New South Wales, Australia. It is situated directly across the river from the resort town of Yamba.

It has long beaches on the ocean side of the river. It is reached by turning off the Pacific Highway approximately 20 kilometres north of Maclean.

Iluka has a population of about 2500 but as it is a popular tourist destination it increases slightly in the holiday season with many Gold Coasters in the summer and Victorians in the winter.

Iluka also has a world heritage listed littoral rainforest. It is one of the last remaining littoral rainforests in the Southern Hemisphere. It contains many different plant species ranging from coastal dune species to tropical rainforest species. The Iluka rainforest has a vast range of native animal species ranging from wallabies and kangaroos to wombats and echidnas. Iluka is famous for the extremely rare coastal emu.

Iluka is a fishing community with many commercial fishing industries, ranging from the ocean going prawn and whiting trawlers to the river netters and trawlers. The river and beach netters can be seen hauling in mullet during the end of autumn. Iluka is also a very popular recreational fishing destination. Iluka boasts many fishing opportunities ranging from the estuary to the headlands and beaches to deepsea fishing.

Iluka has a strong sporting history. It contains many cricket teams competing in local competitions, a rugby union side "The Cossacks" competing with teams from up and down the coast and many dominant soccer sides which achieve greatly throughout the Clarence Comp.

Iluka also has a Birthing Colony featuring the Grey-Headed Flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) and the Black Flying-Fox (Pteropus alecto) both are listed as being VULNERABLE TO EXTINCTION. At night in October - January mother's can be seen flying out to feed at night with their baby's.