Bangers by the Burrum

In my rush to finish Episode Two, I forgot to mention several things.  First, the Tinana Lifeline has non-sexist children's clothes.  They are not divided into "boys" and "girls". That made things much simpler for this Grandma who often finds clothes for her granddaughter in the "boys" section.  As well, Jan's staff card from the Cooroy shop earned her a 30% discount (this doesn't work all over Queensland).

I also forgot to mention that Maryborough Vinnies had the largest and best organised kitchenware section I have ever seen in any oppy.  This photo only shows half of it.  They didn't have an egg beater, though.  And don't go looking for Le Bric a Brac in Adelaide street opposite Lifeline (which I completely forget to mention).  It apparently closed in August 2019.  Someone should tell the internet.

Anyway, back onto the road, where we headed north again and into rural Torbanlea.  Jo had booked, through Airbnb, a cottage by the Burrum River, and it was delightful.  We were met by curious goats at the fence, and we realised why when we found the goat food in a cupboard.  Jan braved the goat feeding first, then me, but Jo stayed right out of it. Things got a bit rough when the biggest goat tried to assert
his dominance, and Molly, the owner's dog, got in for her share too.

Next we spotted black-faced sheep, including lambs, one of which was less than a week old.  There was lots of bird life, and we could see the river peeping through the trees.  There were kayaks available, but we didn't have the energy, so once we had lugged the first day's haul inside, we settled down to booze and cheese on the deck. 

Jo had offered us the choice of self-catering or the nearby Howard pub for dinner, and it was lucky we chose the former, because the property owner informed us that the pub is closed on Monday nights.  We decided that we would each cook for one night and have dinner at the pub on our last night.  Jo's Torbanlea menu was sausages and veg, followed by 70s quiz questions from a book she had bought during the day.  Example: At what airport were 26 people killed in a terrorist attack in 1972?

In the morning, I woke to glorious bird song, and tippied-toed out early for a walk down by the river. I was worried I might be bowled over by goats, but there was no sign of them.  The river was calm and beautiful and I did not fall in. I came back up to the cottage to find rainbow lorikeets at the bird feeder, a doggy grave (Cassie, presumably Molly's predecessor) under a tree and a hopeful kookaburra.

The others were now awake, so we had breakfast and were on the move again at 8.50, first stop Howard.

For the record, the answer to the quiz question was Tel Aviv. I said Entebbe which was a couple of years later.  I had completely forgotten the Lod Airport attack and had to look it up.

Tin Can to Tinana

The road to Tin Can Bay was lined with yellow coriopsis daisies on one side and west-bound caravans on the other.  Jan and Jo as locals had never seen such traffic on that road.  It was just after booking out time at the campgrounds, though.

The Baptist Church op shop there is hidden away in a back street, so I don't know how many random visitors would find it.  We made it well before noon and eased our groaning bodies out of the car.

It is in two sections: the bigger things and the books (half price) are in a shed out the back, guarded by an elderly woman who takes cash only.  You are not allowed to used the back steps to get into the hall, but having paid for your outside goodies, must then enter via the front door.  To try on clothes, you must squeeze through the staff-only area (the stage) to get to the change room.  It is a great little shop, suitably mildly disorganised, where everything is SO cheap.  I bought five things there (they do have eftpos inside) for a total of $5.50, including my first possible entry in the annual quirky objects competition. It is a glass advertising a Turkish soft drink.  The slogan translated reads "ten hundred thousand million bubbles".

Now it was time for early lunch. The obvious place to try was Barnacles at the marina, but everything on the menu was greasy.  Jo did find a friend there, however.  We then found The Snack Shack, where we bought delicious rolls and ate them at the picnic table opposite, by the water - sorry - mud flats. On our way out, we found a double tree next to the loos next to the lovely old RSL Hall.  Then Jo complained about the beautiful new concrete bikeway all the way from Cooloola Cove (where there is no cove) to Tin Can Bay, because she has been lobbying for a very short one near Imbil, without success.

Our next stop was Maryborough, via the eastern road past Tinnanbar, Poona and Boonooroo..  Roadside signs  warned of horses, and we did spot a couple. They would make a nice mess of your car.

The first shop was Vinnies, which we had visited many years ago on our first trip. I was sure I remembered a large statue of St Vincent de Paul standing tall above the centre of the shop, but he had vanished.  This is another really good shop, which we rated highly last time, but I didn't find much there.  My best score was a pair of reading glasses for $2.  If you ask really nicely, they will escort you to the loo out the back, and wait, I guess in case you get lost.  

While I was waiting for the others to be served, I found poor old Vincent, relegated to a little side window.

We next revisited the Salvos, a much smaller shop, where once again books were half price.  Jan was the only purchaser here.  It didn't impress me last time, nor this time.  Our final Maryborough stop was the big Lifeline at Tinana, definitely worth a visit.  I finally managed to find the missing piece of my outfit for day two, just in time.  Jo had a loyalty card, which meant if she spent $30, she wouldn't have to pay anything. Her $27-worth and my $3 purchase meant a freebie for both of us, thank you very much.

So ended our shopping for Day One, and we headed for our digs for the night.

Lucky Number Seven

We are lucky to live in Queensland because that meant we could head off on Op Shop Road Trip Number Seven, despite these COVID times.

I was nervous about driving so far between cataract surgeries, but had a good trip up the Bruce Highway, which I left at the Big Pineapple exit, and I headed north on back roads from there.  A glass of wine as the sun went down and all was good.

[Technical point: This blog has always used Trebuchet font, until now.  The Blogger site has now developed some sort of problem where Trebuchet now thinks it is Times New Roman, which is too condensed to use here. So I have changed to Open Sans, which is the closest I can get.]

Jo arrived to pick us up at 8.20, which was perfect timing, as we arrived at our first oppy, the Salvos at Gympie, at 8.58. They were open and busy already.  We had visited this shop on a previous trip and it is a good one.  Jo had revealed all our dress challenges for the trip, one of which was Skirting the Truth. I found a skirt there, but the girls wouldn't let me buy it.

For the first shop, I did well, buying two tops, one skirt, a gift for my friend Emma, a utensil holder with suction cups and a bottle of Pomona honey. Honey is my usual trip souvenir.  The women on the till were taking so long to serve that Jan eventually walked out, leaving her goodies behind.

Next we headed for Neighbours Aid, where Jan had never been, but which I had checked out fairly recently.  It is a good shop, but they overprice their so-called "collectibles" A vintage electric jug was marked down from $250 to $180.  This is an op shop, people!  They did have nice presentation, though. I was impressed with their High Seas book display.

I came into the trip with a rib injury, which  x-rays showed not to be a fracture, but it is still painful. I bought a wheat bag the day before we left, at great expense, then found one here for $2.  I didn't buy it, buy later wished I had, as Jo had hurt her knee and Jan had shoulder problems. My wheat bag became the communal wheat bag.  I did find more clothes though, plus a couple of jigsaws.

We had "done" Gympie on an earlier trip, so it was time to move on.  Jo had been quite mysterious about where we were heading, except to say that we would be going north, then east, three times. Gympie was north. East turned out to be Tin Can Bay and the shop there closed at 12.

Lucky Last Day

My friend Jan collects ducks. Not real ones. It's a long story. Anyway, Boonah has a shop called Duck Junction. She screeched to a halt in front of the window, mesmerised by the wonders within. Five minutes later, she had a fine wooden duck to add to her collection.

There are three op shops in Boonah. Vinnies is in the main street and is neat and tidy. Not much for me there, though.  Lifeline is around the corner and is bigger with an upstairs and downstairs. Next door is a camping equipment store, where I found a wonderful folding solar light which is just what we needed for over the sink in our camper.  I sent a photo of it to Michael, but he didn't respond, so I didn't buy it. At $31.95 it was expensive. Back home I found one for a lot less at Brendale. Sorry, Boonah economy.

The Salvos store is over the other side of the highway, and opens later than the other two.  We had a chat to the pedestrian crossing supervisor, then wandered through the impressive war memorial park, until nine o'clock.  Well this shop is a treasure.  Packed with wonderful goodies and oh, so cheap.  Jan had been looking for a putter for John for the whole trip, without success. In their big section out the back, she found three! She bought the wackiest looking one.

I found a fabulous 3D English thatched cottage scene, all made of plant materials, and was soooo tempted. But where would I put it?  Then I uttered my third YES! shout for the journey. Jo said she heard me out the back.  I already own a pair of Tardis earrings but these were way better. And all earrings were $2!  This was definitely the winning shop of the day.

We headed back over the pedestrian crossing, this time forcing the lollipop lady to pose for a photo, which she only did on condition it never appear on social media.  She was delightful, and I wish I could use her photo in this blog.

I had promised the girls an op shop in Kalbar, so we headed there next, only to discover my memories were wrong. And the fabulous Emporium has closed. But there is a lovely coffee shop on the corner, so we consoled ourselves there with morning tea.  The cactus growing out of a coffee mug on the wall of the Ladies there is memorable too.

We had only one oppy to go. Jan had decided we should explore Springfield, which none of us had ever done. The last time I was there, it was bushland where my son went for his Scout jamboree. We managed to wind our way through narrow streets and roadworks and ended up at a lovely Vinnies.  It was a little expensive but had great stuff, although I was fairly stunned that they were trying to sell mismatched cup, saucer and plate trios for $8.  I bought a pair of prints of Brisbane's sadly demolished Bellevue Hotel and St Martin's Hospital.  These now hang in the hall. 

The trip was now over except for the judging of the 'quirky objet dárt' competition.  Once again, Michael was the lucky judge, once we reached my home, and he was presented with an impressive eight choices, without knowing who had bought what, of course. I am pleased to report that my penguin in boots from Capalaba won the day!  He was worth the $10. Jo took him with her to give to her sister who appreciates such things.  The seashell map of Australia went to my friend Emma, who squealed with delight!

A quick cuppa and the girls headed back to the Sunshine Coast, with plans for next year already swirling around in Jo's head.  Op Shop Road Trip No 6 was over.

A Haunted Hotel and a Cracker of a Clock

I knew there were two hotels in Boonah, and hoped that Jan had booked us into the nice old-fashioned one, not the modernised one. It turns out there are three. The Commercial is the pretty one, but it no longer does accommodation; and there is also the tavern. The third option is the Australian, which opened in 1888, but has seen better days. It certainly has character. 

Our family room was at the top of the traditional two thousand steps that are compulsory in all two-story hotels of that vintage.  It was basic, with only fans to cope with the stifling heat, but one of the best equipped hotel kitchens we had ever encountered.  I hope you are reading this, Hinterland Hotel, Nerang.  We were especially impressed with the salt and pepper shakers, which were little Sirromet wine bottles, a red for the pepper and a white for the salt!

The hotel is rumoured to have not one ghost, but many, with one website describing it as "one of the most haunted sites in Australia". Apparently several people have died while staying there.  Creaking stairs, yes; ghosts no, in our experience. Dinner, also no, as they only serve lunch.  There's very little night dining choice in Boonah, actually, so off to the Commercial Hotel we went.  It has been recently refurbished, and there we relaxed over a delightful dinner.


We had only just stepped outside, when we heard some sort of commotion and saw a group of outlandishly dressed people cross the road and head into the IGA. They carried on loud conversations, danced around a bit, and then headed raucously off down Boonah's quiet night-time main street.  Jan popped into the shop to ask what was going on. Apparently they were doing some sort of course which teaches you to "step out of your comfort zone'. Not a lot to do at night in Boonah!

At least our room had cooled down to bearably hot when we returned so we settled down to a ghost-free night.  The next morning I went to prepare my daily Weetbix, but couldn't find a bowl, and had to be inventive. Only after I had finished did I discover the well-stocked cupboards UNDER the sink. I had previously only spotted the ones up top.  

My research indicated that there was a geocache just down the road near the Blumbergville Clock.  What?  Off I went and found the town 's newest tourist attraction.  Blumbergville is Boonah's previous name, and the Scenic Rim Council commissioned artist Christopher Trotter to create the clock, which he made from various bits of local farm equipment.  The result is a sort of steam punk wonder.  At seven o'clock, it started wheezing and whistling, bits started turning and it eventually chimed the hour.

Abandoning all hope of finding the cache because of (a) the number of people around watching the clock and (b) the serious refurbishment to the town square which was happening right next to it, I raced back to tell the girls.  We made sure we were packed and out of the hotel before it chimed eight o'clock.  Then it was time for a leisurely wander around town till the oppies opened.

Chillin'

We reluctantly left all things Margaret Olley and other gallery delights and headed for the Queensland border, via beautiful Numinbah Road, first stop Chillingham. One of Jo's many Buchanan cousins own Buck's Farm there, where Michael and I always stop when we are travelling that way.  They sell all sorts of delicious locally grown produce, and the only munchies for miles around.

We hadn't told them we were coming, so Jo was a bit of a surprise for Mr and Mrs Buck! They were actually getting ready for a family wedding that coming weekend. After some preliminary chit-chat, we bought some pies and were soon munching away under Gerard's and Ann's gazebo out the back of the shop.

Our dress theme for the day was message t-shirts, and this proved quite a challenge the day before.  Jan and I were both despairing when we each found the perfect shirt in the same shop at Currumbin Waters.  In the end, we all managed to find one that matched our personalities perfectly.  If you can't read the red writing on Jan's shirt, it says "DID NOT HAPPEN". Ann kindly photographed us in the shop, before we bought up big and headed off again.

We stopped at the border for the traditional border view photo, and then wound our way through the Numinbah Valley and around the back roads towards Canungra. There were two attractions to be found there: one op shop and a shop where Jan had bought some wonderful shoes in the past.  Both she and I were keen to get at the footwear, so we found a park midway between the two.  I headed off to the shoe shop at speed, only to discover that they no longer sold the shoes we wanted. It was most disappointing.

The op shop made up for the shoe shop.  Cheerful and charming, bigger than it looks from the outside, with low prices to match. I found a brilliant book about guitars for my nephew Tom, a great little summer dress for my granddaughter and I forget what else. We all bought multiple items.

Our destination for the evening was Boonah, still a fair distance away. so we dragged ourselves away from pretty Canungra, through areas bushfires had recently gutted (the ones that destroyed Binna Burra Lodge, where Michael and I spent our honeymoon), to our final stop, Beaudesert.  

We had "done" Beaudesert on a past trip, but revisited two of our past haunts anyway. One that we had really liked had closed, but we found the Uniting Church one this time. It is little, but air-conditioned, which was welcome as it was unseasonally hot. Despite its small size it delivered up not one, but two of the books I had been searching for.  It is also conveniently close to a drive-in shopping centre, where we had a long overdue coffee.

Girls at the Gallery

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...