Lightning Ridge to Bourke

On a day when we were supposed to be flying to Western Australia we found ourselves still in Lightning Ridge. We had finally been notified on Saturday that the flight was cancelled and Virgin are offering credits which can be used up to June 2023. Welcome news as I thought we had said goodbye to that money.

We began our day with a visit the the Chambers of the Black Hand. After masking up we made our way down in to the mine via the stairs...which also turned out to be the way out!The Mine is a labyrinth of tunnels full of carvings. Twenty odd years ago a miner, Ron Canlin, realised he wasn’t going to make his fortune finding opals and began to carve Australian animals in the soft sandstone walls. Over the years his skills and repertoire have expanded greatly and now the carvings cover many religions and other themes.

From here it was a short drive to Lunatic Hill Open Cut which came about after it became so full of tunnels that it was felt to be safer to mine this way. Australian author, Ion Idriess, wrote a book, Lightning Ridge, after mining in this area from 1909-1910. In 1986 a syndicate mined Halley’s Comet, a black opal valued at $6 million.

Some of the area has been rehabilitated and we ventured out on the Old Chum’s Track for a gentle walk, before completing the Yellow car door circuit. Apart from ‘stuff’ everywhere which would inspire some creative people I know, the tin church was purpose-built in 2000 for a movie titled The Goddess of 1967. I don’t think it was a blockbuster.A short stop at a roadside dam on the return to town delivered up a flock of excited Zebra finches, a first sighting for me.

After refuelling at the local cafe we visited the John Murray Gallery. Some of his landscapes are the essence of outback Australia but at $7000+ just a bit out of our price range. His wife Vicki is an artist who uses photographs on glass/metal. I liked one of her works so much I bought a dress with a print on it.

We couldn’t leave town without testing out the Artesian Pools but at 42 degrees, 10minutes was about all we could take.They did have a soothing effect on aches and pains but any longer than that and I would have been feeling very woozy.

We finished our day at the Happy Hour provided at the van park, delicious pizza and shared travel stories.

Tuesday

We farewelled Lightning Ridge to make our way to Bourke, with just one stop at Brewarrina. We had lunch at the Muddy Waters Cafe in Brewarrina, a place which had obviously been visited by John Murray. He sure has spread his paint brush widely in this region. Although there has been some effort made to brighten up the street with a variety of murals it had the feel of yet another dying town. 

Its saving grace was the heritage-listed fishtraps, next to the Aboriginal Culture Museum. We joined an hour-long tour which was both informative and entertaining, led by a local indigenous man, who had grown up on the north side of the river and was fortunate enough to have learned the stories and culture directly from his grandfather. Some of the facts he gave us were a sad indictment on our white ancestors, but imparted without bitterness on his part.

The fishtraps demonstrate the skills of his ancestors but sadly some were destroyed to make way for paddlesteamers in the past. The remaining traps are now protected.

On arriving in Bourke we chose to stay at the Kidman Caravan Park, which is several kms from town but close to the river. Once settled in, we strolled down to the river to check out the riverboat...and just happened to see first sightings of Singing Honeyeater and the Red-tailed Black Cockatoo.