The cultural phase of our trip was about to begin. I had recently visited the Margaret Olley exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane, and now we were headed to the Tweed Regional Gallery to see their recreation of her home, among other things. I had become acquainted with this beautiful facility two-and-a-half years previously when Michael and I were heading for a camping getaway at Iluka. We made it to the rise just past the gallery when everything stopped.
While we were waiting for the RACQ and the NRMA to sort out their border disputes and send a flatbed truck to take us home, I needed to go to the loo in a hurry. And there within walking distance was the art gallery. I gave the facilities four stars, but didn't get to see any of the other delights, except the cute stone sheep and the glorious view.
The sheep are actually an art installation. I didn't photograph the sign that revealed the name of the work and the artist, because I thought I could find that out online. Sadly, my research skills have failed me so far. Anyway, they greeted me like old friends.
We headed for the Margaret Olley Gallery, past a wonderful collection of photographs by Marian Drew, which were really impressive. You view rooms from Margaret's Sydney home through original windows and doors from the house in Duxford Street, Paddington. These include the kitchen, the yellow room and the 'hat factory'. All up, there are over 20,000 items. It is, at the same time, both intimate and overwhelming.
In the same part of the gallery, there was an exhibition of some of Margaret's works alongside those of her life-long friend and fellow still-life specialist Fred Jessup, who spent many years living in Paris. I was particularly impressed with their individual renditions of the same subject matter, namely fishing nets at Brunswick Heads (Margaret's is on the left).
On our way out, we passed an exhibition of lino block prints called Olley Land by Christine Druitt-Preston. These displayed the clutter of Margaret's life in stark black and white, but some were combined with embroidery and old doileys to create a multi-textured effect. Quite intriguing.
We finally had to drag ourselves away, because we had one more non-op-shop stop to go. Onwards and northwards...
I forgot to mention a couple of things about the Hinterland Hotel in Nerang. It had the dimmest lighting in the room that I have ever seen, and I have seen some dim lighting. As the light faded, it was actually easier to do paperwork outside at the little table on the balcony, than it was inside. By contrast, the light in the bathroom was so bright, it burned your retinas! They had kindly given us each a $5 shout voucher, and if you presented your room swipe key, the table received a complementary garlic bread, which was nice.
At Murwillumbah, my mother's birthplace (when the family were living in nearly Uki), we wandered down to the RSL after sunset, where the drinks cost approximately the same as they had with the shout vouchers in Nerang. It was trivia night, so we sat far enough away not to hear the questions, and be tempted. Jan couldn't finish her pizza, so was given a doggy bag. Mmmm...lunch tomorrow, we though, and promptly forgot all about it.
Next morning, I had a proper Weetbix breakfast, and set off geocaching, only a short block away, at the original Murwillumbah cemetery. All of the gravestones have been removed, and a structure erected on the uphill corner, containing plaques listing the names of all who had been buried there. Mount Warning was clear in the morning light, and clouds were rolling over the caldera rim to the north. The park was planted with fruit trees, and a sign invited you to help yourself, and bring any excess to a distribution centre in the middle of town. I had no problem locating the cache, and spent five minutes simply taking on the view.
Outside our room was the smokers' bench, complete with glass ashtray, which I had managed to knock off and break when startled by some unnamed person the previous evening. Our number one task, therefore, was to replace said ashtray. We headed for the palliative care oppy, which opened first, found a park on the roof directly opposite, and in we went. This was the most eccentric shop of the trip; packed to the eyeballs with stuff. Sadly, none of the stuff was priced. Mind you, if you asked, it was cheap. I found a glass ashtray there which was advertising some business in Ballina, so that problem was solved.
There were two more shops to explore up the main street, and it was so busy, we decided not to move the car. The joint was jumping! I couldn't help but compare it to once-bustling Lismore. Last time we were there, it was a sad, quiet shadow of its former self. One flood too many, I reckon. We visited Vinnies and the Salvos, and headed back to the Greek cafe Jo had spotted, for a quick morning tea. Then it was a quick drop-in at the motel, where the proprietor seemed most amused by our replacement ashtray, and off to the Tweed Regional Gallery.
The traffic light's first stop was at the Uniting Church shop in Nerang. Susan, the proprietor, not only guessed our dress theme but insisted on taking notes and posting our photo on their Facebook page. First time that's happened. The shop was small but cosy, and is hoping to soon expand into the vacant space next door.
Because of Susan's enthusiasm, we would later vote this our favourite shop of the day. The girls like the little one at Tingalpa the day before, so the Uniting Church was batting above its weight at this point. For the record, my Day One favourite was Lifeline at Capalaba.
Just down the road was the much bigger Salvos, where the two items of clothing I bought both turned out to be half price, and later comprised my Day Four $5 outfit. Although there are other oppies in Nerang, it was time to move on, avoiding the highway.
The Animal Welfare shop is in Worongary Town Centre complex, which reminded me of the Chermside drive-in decades ago, with one big shop at one end, next to an open courtyard. We were a bit confused when Google Maps navigated us into an underground carpark, but it was quite right. This was another cramped little shop, where I found a crime novel and couple of pieces of our camping cutlery set. They were in a $1 bundle, so I bought it and donated the rest back. Coffee and cake was next, in the coffee shop the Animal Welfare staff recommended.
Continuing southwards, we left the highway at Currumbin Waters, where there are two shops virtually side by side. What isn't there is any parking. Jan went down side streets and did Ueys, gave the navigator (me) a near heart attack doing one of these, before we finally found somewhere to stop.
The first and bigger one was another Animal Welfare store, about five times the size of the one in Worongary. By now we were starting to look seriously for our Day Three themed clothing, namely T-shirts with writing on the front. I had high hopes here, but struck out. The only thing I found was a novelty Christmas gift for a member of the 4WD club (who shall remain nameless).
Shop two was our first-ever Lighthouse one, with a rack of T-shirts out the front. This was my second "YES!" shriek for the trip (the first was my friend the penguin). Jo found her shirt in the same shop, and Jan bought a third, which she later decided not to wear because she found a better one. Meanwhile, she was starting to have some success with her quest to find a 1920s outfit for her daughter Shannon, one piece at a time.
We still had a lot to do over the border, including lunch, so off we went again. We had just passed the big red Lego border marker when I said "Shit! Daylight saving." None of us has factored it into our calculations. We stopped at Tweed Heads South, where the first shop was called You Have A Friend. It didn't have anything I wanted, but I was impressed by their innovative signage. Also that they labelled their plus-sized clothing rack "Real Women".
We were in an industrial area, and in the same complex was a giant Seventh Day Adventist store with heaps of clothing, especially for kids, that was the best organised I have ever seen. I was still looking for embroidery rings for Tash and what did I spy but a sealed bag of sewing stuff that included three of them! And enough needles, press studs, hooks & eyes etc to last her till the next millennium. All for $5. For my friend Emma, I have been on the hunt for "paua shell tack", so far without any luck. Now here before me was a beautiful paua shell for the princely sum of $2. Sold!
We were now both late and hungry, and the only nearby cafe was already closed, so we improvised, raiding the esky and having a back-of-the-car picnic. The shop we had planned to visit in Kingscliff appeared to have moved to Tweed Heads, but somewhere parking might be difficult. We did, however, discover there was a Vinnies at The Cliff, so dashed there before they closed at 4.30. They were supposed to be in a shopping complex that had appeared out of nowhere since the last time any of us were in town; and half of whose carpark was under excavation, which didn't help. We couldn't find them, but there was a Salvation Army shop in the same complex. It was there that I found a pair of casual trousers for Michael costing $5, that later turned out to have $4.10 in a pocket.
We asked about the Vinnies shop, which turned out to be well-hidden, almost backing onto the Salvos. We arrived at the door at precisely 4.22 but they were already closed. Most disappointing.
It was now too late do anything else, so we headed for the Murwillumbah Motor Inn, which promised views of Mount Warning. It did not fail to deliver. It also contained a full set of cutlery, crockery, a microwave oven and a toaster. Hurrah!
The Hinterland Hotel sits opposite a busy intersection just off the highway at Nerang. I navigated us to the correct exit but then blew it and we ended up in the middle of Nerang village. This was not all bad, as we noted the op shop there, for the morrow.
We parked in front of the Reception sign (no one there), and Jan booked us in at the hotel proper. Then we had to find room 10. The helpful signage was not helpful; all we found was another lost soul seeking room 2. Eventually a man outside told us to walk down the driveway. It turns out that the hotel has four levels: the main bar/restaurant level, the first accommodation level, the basement level and the subterranean depths. We were in the latter, which appears to be only accessible from the driveway. In the photo, our room is on the bottom left. At least the view over the river was nice.
It was time for a pre-dinner drinkie and some cheese and bikkies. The crockery provided consisted of four coffee mugs and four glasses. The cutlery provided consisted of one teaspoon, and there was a sign warning that we would be fined $900 if we were caught cooking in the unit. We adapted. As there were no plates, nor knives, we left the brie on its wrapping, and cut it with my old library card.
The entertainment was provided by Jo, who had bought a set of knotted finger puppets somewhere. We headed up the driveway for dinner, where we begged the waitress for a knife and some spoons, so we could have breakfast and she obliged; however, our brilliant plan came unstuck the next morning, when we realised we didn't have any bowls for the Weetbix. Bread and butter and Vegemite saved the day.
The two oppies nearby didn't open till 9, so this meant I had time to do a spot of geocaching nearby. At the bottom of the hill is a complex of parks and in Arthur Earle Park is the most beautiful, spreading tree. As soon as I saw it, I knew the cache would be there. However, the leaves on the ground were so thick and deep that I immediately thought "snakes!" Then the cavities between the roots were so deep that I thought both "spiders" and "broken ankles".
Geocaches 1 Lesley 0.
Op Shop Road Trip Number Six began for real on Monday 14th October 2019, as soon as peak hour had passed. Jan and Jo had arrived the night before from their homes in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland; then the first dinner cooked on our barbecue in its new location on the new deck was consumed. Jan was the planner and driver this year, in the roomy Ford Ranger, so we had plenty of space to play with.
We headed over the Gateway Bridge, destination the Tingalpa Uniting Church oppy in Belmont Road. It is a big, crammed-but-cheerful shed, with two little sheds alongside, one containing furniture and the other, toys and games. Both little sheds were stifling inside. I hate to think what they would be like in February. One of the volunteers decided to adopt me, and followed me around while I shopped, telling me the story of the floor coverings! I didn't find anything to buy here, but the others did.
Next stop Wynnum, where there are six op shops in one block. We parked in the Coles carpark, and headed for Link Vision. We all had a long list of items were we looking for, not only for ourselves, as well as the necessary clothes for the following days. We decided our clothing theme for Day Two would be TRAFFIC LIGHT, so whoever found the appropriate colour first, bagsed that one. I found a red top fairly quickly, so red was therefore taken.
The first four Wynnum shops are a bit of a blur already, as Save the Children, Lifeline and the Salvos followed in quick succession. I know I acquired a hat for one dollar from the latter. The shell earrings were in there somewhere too.
Jo began collecting the first of the 75 books she acquired on the trip, and had to lug them back to the car at lunchtime, before we could move around the corner to Vinnies and the Red Cross. Lunch was at Olives, the Greek cafe that has been in Wynnum for many a year. Vinnies is big, and Red Cross is
expensive. The former had a table of books outside, several with great titles, so Jo bought up big there. Here's just one example. By now, Wynnum had taken up too much of our time, so we skipped the Anglican shop a couple of blocks away and headed for Silky Oaks at Manly.
One of Brisbane's better-kept op shop secrets, it is back from the road on the northern fenceline of Manly West State School. The silky oaks were in bloom, the view out to the Bay was gorgeous, the bric-a-brac collection was huge, and all clothing was $1.
Our last city stop was Capalaba, where we started at the Lifeline Superstore. Last year, we had a competition for the best book title. When we arrived back, Michael had to judge our anonymous entries and Jan won. She had brought the perpetual trophy with her, and the new challenge was "a quirky objet d'art". It was at Lifeline that I found a large wooden penguin wearing bovver boots, and simply had to buy it. A few minutes later, I found my second entry, a strange little handmade plastic rocking goofy dog. Meanwhile, Jan had acquired both a green top AND bottom.
One of my tasks was to look out for embroidery rings for my daughter-in-law, and I have been - for weeks - without success. However, at Lifeline I found this combined ring and stand, and Tash is happy.
My other favourite oppy at Capalaba is Footprints, and there I found the shirt I had been looking for, for the 4wd club Christmas party. Jo did even better. Having read that she could fill a shopping basket with books for $10, she took it to the counter to be told that it was nowhere near full enough. So back she went. We helped out too. It probably worked at at no more than 50c per book. Somewhere she also managed to find a comfortable pair of yellow pants, so that was the "amber"part of the traffic light.
It was now too late to visit the interesting-sounding shop at Coomera before it closed, so instead we turned onto the M1, headed for Beenleigh. Sadly, the Endeavour at Beenleigh closed in June, but no-one told the internet. At least we were opposite Beenleigh Marketplace, so we did the shopping and banking.
Next stop, our hotel in Nerang, and it was here that things got interesting...
The cultural phase of our trip was about to begin. I had recently visited the Margaret Olley exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane, and now we were headed to the Tweed Regional Gallery to see their recreation of her home, among other things. I had become acquainted with this beautiful facility two-and-a-half years previously when Michael and I were heading for a camping getaway at Iluka. We made it to the rise just past the gallery when everything stopped. 
While we were waiting for the RACQ and the NRMA to sort out their border disputes and send a flatbed truck to take us home, I needed to go to the loo in a hurry. And there within walking distance was the art gallery. I gave the facilities four stars, but didn't get to see any of the other delights, except the cute stone sheep and the glorious view.
The sheep are actually an art installation. I didn't photograph the sign that revealed the name of the work and the artist, because I thought I could find that out online. Sadly, my research skills have failed me so far. Anyway, they greeted me like old friends.
