Still South of the Clarence

We drove up the old highway beside the Mighty Clarence River to Maclean, detouring through the narrow streets of Ulmarra. I was distraught to discover the Southgate ferry is now permanently closed, so there will be no more watching it from the lovely shaded lawn behind the Ulmarra Hotel.

We were early enough to catch a couple of Maclean oppies before they closed, including my favourite, REServe.  We told the woman there we had come from Grafton. "Did you find a park?" she said.   The Salvos was still open but we weren't quick enough for the Anglican up the road.  Still no skateboards or street directories for the girls' bingo cards.

The Uniting was also closed but we recreated the photo taken there years ago of Jo (Buchanan) next to the Buchanan tartan power pole, right outside their front door.  Maclean, "The Scottish Town in Australia", is famous for these, and the tourist info centre can give you a map of all the locations.  Ancient Leslie is still hard to find, trust me.

Off to our cabin at Maclean Riverside Caravan Park we went.  The manager is a bit of a comedian, but the cabin was fine, and we had the very front one, complete with riverside view, as much as you can see over the flood levees anyway. 

Jan decided her dinner cooking contribution would be takeaway pizza, so she ordered and I drove her down the main street, where parking can be difficult, but we lucked the last spot. It was peak hour at the pizzeria and they had forgotten the garlic bread, so it was just as well I brought my crossword with me.

Not long after we ate, we heard the rumble of thunder, and the BOM map showed a big storm rolling north to the east of us.  We thought we had missed it until we heard hail falling and I dashed outside (in my nightie) to move my car under cover at the garage next door. Not quick enough! About eight cars appeared from nowhere in seconds.  Fortunately, the hail was small, and I wasn't too wet.

Speaking of wet, our clothing theme for next day was The Colour of Water.  Jo had decided to open a couple of windows for air circulation in the night and a second storm while we were asleep meant wet floor and curtains.  We cleaned up as best we could.  She had decided to enhance her outfit with a raincoat (just because it was there), so posed in it for a photo before we headed out for the day. Then she took it off because it was too hot.

We quickly completed the
Maclean op shop collection via Vinnies, Uniting and Anglican op shops, after first driving across the highway to Maclean's more downmarket twin town, Townsend.  I had picked up a map of Maclean's oppies the day before (you can do this in Ballina and Toowoomba too), and discovered there was one in Townsend. I had visited the town more times than you can count on our annual 4wd club strips to Brooms Head and had no idea the shop was there.

It is a nice oppy, with a serve-yourself tea and coffee bar. I have never seen this before in an op shop.  Strange noises were coming from the hall next door where the local private school was starting their weekly do-it-yourself church service, but it just added to the atmosphere. I found a mug here which I later regretted not buying as a contender in the 'best mug' comp.  How would you wash it? The dishwasher would be a definite no-no.

From Maclean/Townsend, it is a short drive east to beautiful Yamba, which has three op shops.  The Helicopter Shop in town is close to one of the town's multiple cafes, so we patronised both, and Jo bought a pair of shoes at a proper shoe shop.  After that, we drove up onto the headland to check out the two lighthouses, the main swimming beach and the mouth of the Clarence.

The Uniting Church shop on the Angourie road is cheap and cheerful, and it was here that we found a volunteer to take our Colour of Water photo.