Australian Opal Town - Lightning Ridge
Opal Jewellery and Mine Tours Attract Many Visitors to 'The Ridge'
Jan 28, 2009
Opal Jewellery
Lightning Ridge is built on opal – possibly literally. Who knows what seams run under the town. There are plenty of shops in town that sell exquisite opal jewellery. Doublets (a piece of opal on a black potch ground) and triplets (a paper-thin sliver of opal on potch with a domed quartz top) look good and are only 1/10 the price of solid opals. But there’s more to Lightning Ridge than pieces of sparkly rock.
Australian Tourism
Of all Australian tours, a trip to Lightning Ridge is a most satisfying experience. Without going too far from civilization (The Ridge is only 3 hours from Moree on excellent sealed highway), the tourist can have a genuine outback travel experience. The locals are quintessentially Aussie and there are real characters to see everywhere.
The harsh, barren landscape, pocked with large mining mullock heaps and littered with strange home-made mining equipment and rusting car bodies, is a photographer’s paradise. And, who knows, even a tourist can strike it lucky. There are a number of old mine tailing heaps where visitors are permitted to ‘noodle’ – that is, rake through the rubble for a flash of color.
It’s usually possible to find something – usually not saleable, but it serves as a personalised souvenir of The Ridge, nevertheless. And there are a few who come across a good opal - occasionally, a tourist walks away with a $30,000. It's easy to see why some might get opal fever and stay on to stake a mine claim. Details here.
Lightning Ridge Attractions
Apart from just breathing in the real Aussie bush, visitors can take a tour of the mines in an air-conditioned mini-bus. Most tours take in the wacky collection of humpies (self-built shacks) that serve as homes on the diggings, and often visit the hut of one of the original miners, set up as he left it. Tours also take in the ‘sights’, such as they are, and go to a walk-in mine, where the visitor can traverse the tunnels, see equipment and watch a video in the blissful constant 22 degree (centigrade) cool, regardless of blazing temperatures up top. The tour will usually take the group to see opals being cut and polished – an opportunity, of course, to buy a souvenir or spend a million.
Lightning Ridge Bore Baths
The bore baths are an added free attraction at The Ridge. Artesian mineral-rich waters come to the surface at 50 degrees centigrade and spill into a cooling tank –cum--swimming pool, where weary tourists and miners alike immerse themselves in 42 degree C (107F).
As might be expect ed in a rough and ready, law-resistant place like Lightning Ridge, the pool is not fenced, there is no admission charge and it is open 24 hours. Imagine the serenity of lying back in the steaming water at 2 am, watching the clearest star show twinkling on a black velvet sky.
Lightning Ridge Goat Races
The Ridge-ites create their own brand of fun. At Easter, the town becomes very festive with the great annual Goat Races. The goats pull carts driven by the local kids, and a deal of money is wagered on the side. Easter also sees the Battle of the Buskers, the Picnic Races (horses) and an arts and craft exhibition. It’s an excellent time to visit The Ridge – but, of course, accommodation gets scarce.
Lightning Ridge Accommodation
It might sit on the edge of the Outback but Lightning Ridge accommodation is quite reasonable. Of several motels available, the Lightning Ridge Hotel-Motel is good value. It has a log cabin look, is air-conditioned, has a pool, an excellent restaurant, and the added advantage that you can have a glass of beer with the miners in their navy singlets and clay-caked boots before wandering off to bed.
There are also 2 caravan parks, catering for the ‘grey nomad’ fraternity and offering a few cabins for those without their home on wheels. The town also sports some B and Bs.
Getting to the Ridge
Lightning Ridge is in north-west New South Wales, Australia, just 6 kms off the excellent and sparsely-used Castlereagh Highway, 767 from Sydney, and 709 from Brisbane. It is also 223 from the major town of Moree, from where it is possible to take an all day bus tour to the Ridge. Lightning Ridge is not an immediate choice for overseas tourists, who tend to favour the capital cities, Gold Coast, Kakadu or Cairns. Nevertheless, if someone has some weeks to spend in Oz, Lightning Ridge should be high on their list.
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