Light rain overnight and a pleasant temperature greeted us on our first day in one place. Perfect, not driving today, but no sunshine either. Having made it to the black opal capital of Australia, Lightning Ridge where there is plenty to do and see, we embarked on an opal mine tour. A great tip from Mike and Chantelle was to take the ‘Walk in mine’ tour. Not put off by the rain we were there shortly after 9am to see the opal cutting demonstration and take the self-guided tour. It was perfect for the kids and adults alike, a short self guided tour down an old mine, now the ‘Walk in Mine’. We all selected a hard hat and took the easy walk down to the tunnels supported by cypress pine logs. There was loads of information about how opals are formed by silicon seeping through the sand stone and filling in the cracks in the clay layer and the addictive nature of the opal mining experience.
Everyone found it interesting and the underground video room was much warmer than the outside air. It was a very educational visit and we could have come home with some very nice stones. We didn’t tell the kids that they could go fossicking in the pile of mud beside the mine, to avoid loading three muddy wet children back into the car.
An easy way to see some of the sights of Lightning Ridge are the car door tours, four different coloured car doors mark out points of interest around town, following a fact sheet from the Visitors Information Centre. There are streets with mine shafts every few metres and some crazy locals, one of whom built a castle.
A visit to the shops and an art gallery saw us done for the day, so it was back to the van in the rain to feed the kids, play a board game or two and make some rocky road.
After a good night’s sleep, even if the van was buffeted by the rain and wind, it was time to pack up and move on to Moree. I quick check of the map showed two ways to Moree, back down the 60kms and then 70kms up to Collarenebri or the scenic back road which is only 90km. It’s a no brainer right, the short scenic way for shore.
Oh, did I mention that it was dirt, which should be ok as we have driven loads of dirt roads before. Ok, so it had rained overnight, quite a bit really, still should be ok, just take it slow, we’re not in any rush. Well, anyone who knows north west NSW would know some of these roads are dry weather only roads, and for a very good reason.
Well this certainly was a dry weather road. We unfortunately worked that outabout 100m after the bitumen ended as our 40 foot, 6 ton rig fishtailed back and forth on the slippery muddy surface. This was a bad decision, all four wheels on the Landcruiser were spinning. After what seemed like kilometres, but probably only a few hundred metres the wheels started to grip and I stopped to engage low range and assess the situation. We could not go on, but how to turn around on a wet, muddy country road where the shoulder was soggy mud. Fortunately Thea found a grassy section where we could reverse the van and do a three point turn of sorts. A tense few seconds as the Landcruiser slid through 90 degrees while being pushed off the road by the van. We had made it around so stopped for a quick photo. While our heart rates came down there were shouts from the kids, ‘Can we do that again?’.
Back on the bitumen, back through Lightning Ridge and around the long way. A bit more excitement on the wet road with a puddle pushing the van around and Thea experiencing some torrential rain but on the whole a nice drive through to Moree. We had a challenging time getting our oversized van down Scott & Claire’s driveway. The hospitality has been fantastic. The kids have loved having other kids to run around like crazy with and we enjoyed a great BBQ, thanks guys. I will try not to destroy anything getting out the driveway.
Until next time when we hope to report on some fine weather.
Tig (Phil)
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