Evans to Brissie

It was a beautiful morning in Evans Head. We three donned our final op shop outfits and breakfasted on the cabin deck: pancakes I had cooked in the frypan purchased at Sawtell.

Jan and I went for a walk to the beach and river estuary while Jo rested her dodgy ankle.  The surfers were out in force and the river was was SO clear.  We discovered that the tradition in Evans Head is to put memorials on the rocks along the breakwater. Some are simply painted on, and others range up to the expensive custom-made plaques with photos.

We found the local tribute to Australia's bicentenary, which was a whole lot more impressive than the one in Guyra.  This was a lump of sandstone that had heads carved on all sides, representing significant local historical events, from aborigines through Captain Cook to fishermen and lifesavers.  Sadly, all had been deprived of their noses.

At the Bowlo, we had been impressed by the security fence surrounding the complex.  I had been given a tag to wave past the sensor at the gate to let us in.  What Jan and I didn't realise when we went out for our walk, was that there is a sensor on the pedestrian gate as well, so when we returned from our stroll, we were locked out and Jo had to rescue us.

With our op shop booty packed in the car for the last time, we said farewell to Evans Head and its plane on a stick and headed for Ballina.  Like all the other stick items we 'collected' on the trip - the tractor etc - this was another we didn't manage to photograph.  We did somewhat better with our collection of lookouts and headlands.

Ballina, Michael's ancestral home, had a surprise in store for us. The poor old Big Prawn, faded and sad atop its abandoned building when we last saw it, has been repainted and reborn as the Bunnings roadside landmark.  What's more, it has become an ENTIRE prawn and lost its building base.  It even looks a bit smug these days.  We could almost count it as a thing on a stick.

I thought I would show the girls the cemetery with the best view in Australia, at East Ballina, so popped in to say hello to Michael's Mum and Dad.  We found all sorts of interesting things as we wandered among the graves, including a man called Clarence Richmond Millard, obviously named after the two local rivers.  I was particularly impressed with the grave that had not only a beer glass on it, but two full bottles of beer!

On to Lennox, and our last headland/lookout, where we watched the hang gliders for a while, then ate lunch at a cafe where Jan managed to smash her plate (and it wasn't a Greek cafe).  In the car park I spotted these family stickers which wouldn't have been out of place in Bellingen either.  A drive along the shores of Lake Ainsworth and then we headed for home.  Op Shop Road Trip No 2 was in the bag.