Lightning Ridge- The Journey begins!

Our new rig(s)

Those of you that have followed our previous Adventure may notice that both the car and caravan are new. Upgraded to the Jeep for a bit more towing power and higher ball weight capabilities than the Pajero. Very happy with the Jeep so far! The caravan was a bit more complicated. We took our original Retreat caravan in for some additional repairs resulting from our accident in Western Australia upon our return. Imagine our surprise when 7th Street Caravans called to tell us our van was a write off. Turns out the frame was bent from the original accident and was getting progressively worse. We had noticed doors not closing properly and some gaps under our cupboards etc. as we completed our first trip. After a fair amount of frustration with the insurance company we received a brand new replacement Retreat van. Unfortunately, this van continually leaked from the roof over our bed. After 4 major leakages and 3 new mattresses we said enough is enough. The service we received from Retreat Caravans was deplorable and we would highly recommend against anyone purchasing a caravan from this company. Thankfully our dealer, 7th Street Caravans, stepped up to the plate and offered us a replacement van from any of the other manufacturers they sold. After much consideration we chose a Vacationer van made by Opal. Similar floor plan to our original van, but we believe it is a better quality, more solidly built van than the Retreat. So far so good. A couple of small problems that have all been handled quickly and professionally by 7th Street Caravans. We would highly recommend 7th Street Caravans to people considering a new caravan.

We had a nice visit with our girls in Heddon Greta for a few days. Enjoyed a late family celebration of Justine's and my birthday. The girls got their hair cut on Tuesday while I spent part of the day at Viatek catching up. Tuesday afternoon was filled with Grocery shopping, Fuel top up, and general preparations. Said our goodbyes to Justine Tuesday afternoon, and Steph and Tim Wednesday morning.

Narrabri Showground

Wednesday morning saw us get an early start at 8 AM. Had a good drive through the Hunter Valley with stops at Aberdeen and Gunnedah for short breaks/lunch. Arrived in Narrabri just after 2 PM and decided to stay at the Showground. The price was a reasonable $12 for an non powered site with a large open area available for camping. Powered site was an additional $6. Very hot with limited shade. Thankfully there was a bit of a breeze and some shade where we could setup our camp chairs for the late afternoon. Enjoyed a quiet afternoon with a few cold drinks and an easy dinner. The amenity block was a fair walk from where we parked but that didn't bother us. For those interested they were basic but clean. Say 3 Stars out of 5 for those interested!

Burren Junction Baths

Thursday morning saw us up early and on the road by 8 AM again. Enjoyed an uneventful trip to Lightning Ridge from there. The roads were narrow with no shoulders but still posted at 110KM/Hr in most places. Thankfully there wasn't much traffic and I was able to travel at my regular 90-95 without any issues. We stopped at the Artesian Bore pool at Burren Junction for morning tea and a stretch. They had a reasonable looking free camp behind the pools but would have been hot. The pools were closed while we were there for maintenance.

 Just outside Lightning Ridge we were greeted by a large

Stanley

Opal Caravan Park

sculpture called Stanley. We arrived in Lightning Ridge before lunch and checked into the Opal Caravan Park. This is a Top Tourist and slightly more expensive than the other local caravan parks. Was really well rated and it would appear deservedly so. Nice large, pull through caravan sites with some shade. A bit different as all the sites are packed gravel. Easy to get setup and level because of this although pounding in tent pegs is a bit of a challenge. They actually supply a drill at the office to do this if required. We managed to pound ours in without the drill but took a little more work that usual. Quite a large caravan park but we've been advised they are fully booked out for Easter Weekend. Apparently Lightning Ridge is a tourist hotspot. Who would have thought? Once we got setup we enjoyed the lovely pool in the afternoon where we met some fellow travelers. The amenities are beautiful and spotless. Even had hair dryers and flower vases in the Men's Room. Our first 5 Star Amenity award of 2016!!!

Nettleton's First Shaft 1902

Thursday saw us doing some laundry and grocery shopping. Also did a number of car tours around Lightning Ridge. They have 4 self drive tours with different color car doors. We got lost on the first Red door tour but enjoyed the Green door one where we ended up at a lovely lookout and one of the first opal shafts. As you can see from our pictures OH&S hasn't reared it's ugly head in Lighting Ridge. We also enjoyed a visit to John Murray's art gallery. Interesting art work with a bit of Aussie Bush humour mixed in. Worth a visit.

Old Shaft

Sturdy Shaft Ladder???

Friday morning saw us up early and taking part in a bus tour of the local area. Our guide Larry was a local opal miner who drives the tour bus 3 days a week to make ends meet. Very knowledgeable about the local area and provided good incite into what makes people chase the dream of becoming rich by mining Opals. Took us through a number of the opal camps located on the various ridges throughout Lightning Ridge. A real variety of housing standards with an emphasis on the unusual. I've attached a few example below including an original camp house from the early 1900. Hard to imagine people can live here with the extreme heat and no modern conveniences. Note that a couple of them are constructed out of bottles or cans!

 <Amigo's Castle

Fred Bodel Original homestead >







The tour included tea and scones at the tour office where we received further information on the variety and grades of Opals as well as the cutting and polishing of them. This was followed by a visit to an open cut mine and additional opal fields.

We finished off the tour with a visit to "The Chamber of the Black Hand". Sounds ominous, but it is really an old Opal mine where the owner has been busy carving sculptures in the sandstone layers above the Opal level. The artist, Ron Canlin, never succeeded financially with his Opal mining but has a thriving tourist business with his carvings. Hard to describe in writing but not to be missed if you come to Lightning Ridge. I've included some of his work below but really needs to be seen in person.

Enjoyed a quiet late afternoon cooling off in the pool. Enjoyed a few drinks with people we met from Queensland and Victoria. I'll sign off for now as tomorrow sees us on the road to St. George in Queensland.

Just realized I had forgotten to include Sandra's beautiful sunrise photo. This was taken just outside our caravan door on Saturday morning! Wow!