Monday, 15 April 2019.
9am, out of the van park and the promise to stop at the John Murray Art gallery. The artwork by John and his wife Vicki is stunning, amusing, and beautiful. Of course we had to purchase a couple of "souvenirs" of our visit to the Ridge and will be taking home two beautiful pieces of art.
Leaving L.R. we drove to another area of the opal fields where there are three pubs in the scrub and an entire community of opal miners.
First stop, and our camp spot for two nights, was the Grawin Club in the Scrub and the Royal Grawin Golf Course.
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| Golf Course |
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| Steve outside the 'Club' |
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| Glass of wine beside the fire |
Oh my goodness. What a fun spot this is with some wonderful local characters and great food at Rickshaws Bistro. Free camp here with plenty of firewood and access to toilets and shower. So much nicer than those expensive town van parks - give me bush camping any day!
Tuesday, 16th April 2019.
A day exploring the opal fields. Our self-drive tour took us over the route to the Hilton pub and Sweeney's craft shop.
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| Glengarry Hilton |
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| The Loo |
Fascinating story behind the establishment of the craft store here. Lovely to see an outlet for the ladies on the opal field when not mining.
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| The "bra" tree |
From the Hilton we followed the 'road' through to the Sheepyard Inn - the 3rd pub in the scrub. Some interesting signage here! And a "bra" tree in the car park.
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| Sheepyard Inn |
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| Road Sign |
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| War Memorial |
Not far from this pub is the War Memorial dedicated to the men who fought and lost their lives in the Vietnam War. A very peaceful and serene spot in the mining fields. Many of the miners in this area are ex-military and they have up to 5000 people attending the Anzac Day service held at this Memorial.
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| War Memorial |
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| Diana at the War Memorial |
After a rather dusty morning driving around the fields we enjoyed a quiet drink at the Club, then spent the afternoon planning the next stage of our adventure.
We enjoyed a pleasant evening meal at Rickshaws with a couple from Woollongong - Graeme and Ann.
Tomorrow we move onto Brewarrina and Bourke with a planned one nighter in Bourke before heading out towards Camerons Corner.
Our stay in the opal fields has certainly been an adventure for me!
How lovely. We liked camping in the forest and the deserts and the canyons, too, most often in free campgrounds. We also had favorite cheap ones for laundry and other things that needed doing. It looks like you are seeing so many wonderful things in your country. Isn't it amazing all the things you never experienced before?
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