Lismore to Lightning Ridge

It was a relief to to have this trips departure, free of issues! In fact on the eve of our departure we received the pottery we created at the Pilliga Pottery on our previous trip in June. It is obvious mine have a ‘rustic’ feel to them while Michael’s may have the makings of a post-retirement hobby.

After a comfortable night in the now completed Lismore Lodgings we were away from Lismore with no problems. A fairly ordinary day retracing our steps to Inverell. When the radio reception ran out we filled the time with a Conversation with Richard Fidler and Stan Grant. What an amazing achievement for a young man who had everything against him really.
A short stop for lunch at Deepwater at Michaels favourite bakery before continuing on to Inverell. The recent rain has made an incredible difference to the landscape with some vibrant colours.

After settling in to the campground it was time to stretch the legs around Lake Inverell. The lake has twice as much water as in January and the area is being developed with walkways and picnic areas. A good number of birds...count is up to 28 since arriving here. I was also struck by how much effort was put in to the most utilitarian buildings in early days, as shown by the pumping station.


We completed our day with a red wine to accompany our ricotta and oregano meatballs before I won the first round of Five Crowns! Although it was a comfortable 10 degrees at bedtime I still gave the new hot-water bottles a run.


Saturday
The journey from Inverell to Lightning Ridge passed through a variety of land uses from crops (rapeseed, cotton and pecan nuts), cattle, sheep and goats.
Ty
One stop for a lunch break where we chatted with other travellers about the wonders of New Age...our caravan brand NOT an alternative lifestyle. Today’s podcast was Arthur Stace, Mr Eternity, another person who did it tough in his early years.
Driving in to a 30km/h headwind meant our petrol consumption was double the usual so we were pleased when Lightning Ridge loomed!
Lightning Ridge promotes itself as the home of black opal and has an annual Opal and Gem Festival, which like many events this year has been a victim of COVID-19. I think they have been saved, to a degree, by the hundreds of travellers who spent time waiting for the Qld borders to reopen and now NSW folk who are restricted to our state.
After settling in we explored the streets which have a variety of artworks adorning the walls, some by John Murray, who also has an Art Gallery in town. His style is recognisable from some of the works we saw on our last trip.
 




We were given a heads up on Piccolo Italian Restaurant so ended our day there with a delicious meal. Luckily we had booked on our way as there wasn’t an empty seat in the place.




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