Saturday, 13th April - Sunday, 14th April 2019
Nindigully- Dirranbandi -- Hebel -- Lightning Ridge from God's country into Cockroach country!!
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| Hebel Hotel |
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| Balonne Shire Info |
As there are no "free camps" or cheap camping near the Ridge we booked into the Opal van park for two nights. The most expensive stopover ever at $98 for two nights -- and that was the discounted rate!!. It was a nice van park but not worth that price!!
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| Mining Equipment |
With only one full day here we had to make the most of our exploring time.
First stop, the information center to pick up some self drive maps. These self drives are called car door drives and each one is marked with a different colour car door. Five in total and unique to the Ridge and an excellent way to explore the area -- we still got lost!!
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| Mullock Hills |
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| Old Mine |
The best drive was the Yellow door which led us through the 3 Mile mining area and the main historical area. We took the time to explore Chums walking track,
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| Track Sign |
about 45 minutes walking time. It meanders through a variety of areas including opal mullocks,
old machinery, mines, a beautiful revegetated area, and finally up to Lunatic lookout that overlooks the first open cut mine in the Ridge.
Plenty of photographic opportunities here.
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| The lookout |
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| Lunatic Hill Mine Info |
On our way back to the van park we stopped by the community arts and craft center. Here we were cheerfully greeted by William who took the time to explain to us the story of the beautiful handcrafted wall hangings on permanent display. For a meagre gold coin donation it was well worth the stop and chat.
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| Sculptures |
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| Sculptures |
Around 2.30pm we boarded a courtesy bus out to the Chambers of the Black Hand. Our driver Dave provided some local knowledge and more than a few miners yarns. The Chambers is a fabulous underground sculpture gallery created by one man with a butter knife! Oh my! What talent lies beneath the earth. There are over 800 carvings ranging from angels, Disney characters, famous faces, wildlife, and historical beings.
Truly a unique attraction and certainly worth the $30 entrance fee. We added on a guided underground mine tour to add to the experience and our driver, Dave, was our guide. He shared many more yarns of his 49 years mining on the opal fields which added value to the experience.
When we returned to the van park around 5.30pm I was totally exhausted but had thoroughly enjoyed a day mixed with history, culture, and adventure.
This was my first experience of an opal mining area and it has been quite an awesome adventure.
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