A Lady We Met Yesterday

Little towns are full of characters, Anita and I did not have to go far to find our first example on our walk around Rolleston yesterday afternoon. Across the road from our rooms at the hotel sits a little store. Many may pass this by as a boring little country store, hand painted signs and nothing chic to draw you inside. A cow bell sits on the top step and with a sign claiming to sell ‘a bit of this and that’, this may be less than intriguing to most and perhaps overlooked by those that pass through town.

Before entering we read the towns’ information sign outside the store. Here in Rolleston many of the buildings and blocks have historical signs telling the history of the buildings and its owner’s since settlement. This particular sign informed us Rolleston was originally named Brown Town and that a young man, Thomas Eyles, arrived here from England in 1856 and built a general store – this store is now across the road from the pub, our abode for our stay.

Some years later this store was purchased by Harry Moir (1929). He then on sold it to Elsie Hodgson who in turn sold to John and Norma Lowth – Norma as it turns out is the great, great granddaughter of Thomas Eyles. The sign says Norma is the great granddaughter however she is adamant a generation is missing from the dark black text of the outside sign.

Norma Lowth, aged 70 years in her store at Rollestone
Image by Danielle Lancaster

Upon acknowledging our arrival Norma apologised profusely for the spiders and dust however for Anita and I it adds a character and charm, one not found in any corner store within the bright lights of the city. Our cameras were clicking, we were checking histograms, contrast and composition whilst Norma followed us amazed at our intrigue in her little family store. On departing we purchased an ice-cream each , a small deed to show our appreciation for the time spent chatting to us and allowing us to capture an image or two.

Goods for sale.

Image by Anita Bromley

It made us realise when we spoke with our participants at today’s workshop, when some giggled at how intrigued we were at the corner store and it’s owners, how easily it is for all of us to overlook what is around us. The message is simple: Don’t take your back yard for granted and sometimes it simply takes, what to us may be a token purchase, a gratifying gesture that makes someone’s day.

Anita’s Note: This simple effort of making a purchase was something I learnt from Danielle prior to visiting Vanuatu a few years back. Many forget to say thank you for the opportunity to see a snapshot into someone’s lives and leave without acknowledgement. When we come across characters in small towns, or small villages for that matter, it is a way we can show our appreciation. Most often, the simplest and most effective way is to buy a little something from their store or business. Norma was so appreciative for the purchase she refused any offer of a tip and went to lengths to ensure we were handed a proper receipt for our troubles.

Nuts and Bolts
Image by Danielle Lancaster

Lillies, Little Towns and Landslides

Guest blog by Anita Bromley

I would like to think that I’ve seen enough of the world and Australia for that matter to not be surprised about what I’d see heading ‘out west’ with Danielle for the weekend. And no, I haven’t been surprised. A better word would be ‘reassured’. Reassured about this wonderful country we live in, the wonderful people that inhabit it and the wonderful adventures you can have just a few hours from home.

Danielle and I headed off from Brisbane yesterday and our first official ‘let’s take some photos’ stop was at Miles, half way into our day. I have both heard about and seen images of a rare water Lilly now extinct in its natural habitat. After Danielle last headed out this way I was mighty impressed on hearing how Therese braved the creek to get up close to the Lillies. My stance was “I’ll leave the wading up to chest height in unknown waters to Therese thanks Danielle…..I’ll grab my zoom lens!”

Now extinct in the wild, these rare water lillies thrive in
Chinaman's Lagoon on the outskirts of Miles.
Image by Anita Bromley

After snapping off a few shots we continued up to Injune were we were thankful to be invited to stay with good friends of Danielle’s - Puddy & Daggy – on their station. With a day’s worth of travel behind us we arrived just before sunset. Being my first road trip with Danielle I was eager to capture the amazing sunsets I’ve seen from out west, however the clouds had gathered thickly and our sunset shooting was off the agenda for the night. What to do? Settle in and enjoy the hospitality of some amazing people.

Our accommodation for the night is affectionately called The Hilton by many who have stayed there and I have to admit I had a better night’s sleep than I’ve had at many ‘real’ Hiltons, so I think we need to upgrade the nickname! For those that loved Augustine’s frog image last week, there are many, many green frogs up this way also. As an avid frog lover myself, this was one part of the trip I had renewed interest in after seeing that cute image on the blog last week. And hey, what’s a country experience if not having a green frog under your toilet seat :)

The 'Hilton' taken by Anita on an iPhone4

Following the above mentioned good night’ sleep we were roused from our slumber by Daggy, calling out to us from the back deck. Big rain was on the way and we had better get going before the dirt road out got too slippery and we were stuck there for the day (or month). Given the amount of red wine that was in stock Danielle and I exchanged a knowing look. We both agreed getting stuck on this amazing this property with such hospitable hosts would not be such a terrible thing…. However there were places we needed to go and so up we jumped, quickly grabbing our gear and hopped in the Bluedog truck.

Not two minutes later we were sliding and slipping down the road. The best description of the ‘greasy’ road was just that ‘greasy’. Danielle had the steering wheel working overtime until we literally slid sideways into one section of the road. After a few minutes of trying to get out of our little predicament we agreed that we were stuck. What to do next? Well as Danielle headed back up the hill to find mobile coverage to call for help I did what all avid photographers do, grabbed the camera! Thankfully just a few minutes later a knight in a shining ute, also skidding down the hill towards us, hooked us onto a tow chain and pulled us to safety. Thank you Sir Hugh!

Bogged we were! Image by Anita Bromley

Danielle then reassured me that adventure is always on the agenda on a rural trip. So we headed back off on the sturdy non slippery bitumen road for Rolleston – our destination for the weekend. But alas, what good adventure movie have you watched lately that simply ends after the first dramatic scene? Just 20 minutes out of Injune the trusty Bluedog truck lost gear….argh, what’s going on now? We were forced to pull up in the middle of the road and push the car to a safe area off to the side while a helpful passerby stopped for assistance (they breed them well up here). Thankfully the fix was quick and we ventured the remaining distance incident free.

Now for those that don’t know my history with Bluedog, a quick recap on my experiences – whilst in Vanuatu an earthquake occurred and we received a Tsunami warning and needed to head for the hills to safety, ANOTHER Tsunami warning was received the morning we were due to depart on the Stradbroke Island Tour last year and now heavy rain on the Rolleston remote trip……I’m thinking my career with Bluedog is on shaky grounds due to a weird connection I have with bad weather…..surely I don’t have that much power with Mother Nature, do I? I think we’ll just have to wait and see how the weekend pans out. Wish me luck!