The Ellis Oz Blog: Crazy Car Doors

Always so handy to have your home with you!

On the Thursday before the Easter weekend we arrived in Lightening Ridge, a town tucked away just below the Queensland border in outback New South Wales. About 5kms from the turnoff to the town we got stopped in a traffic jam. A big truck had rolled its trailer carrying a heap of metal poles and the road was blocked off. It was amusing to see that all of the vehicles in front and behind us were cars with caravans behind them. We passed the time by chatting to a few of the other drivers and comparing travel experiences. The great thing about always having your home with you is that even if you get unexpectedly stopped you can always make a cuppa!

When we arrived at Lightning Ridge the town was buzzing! We called through here last year and it was a sleepy little town with no one around. This time there were people everywhere and the whole town was coming alive for the annual Easter Festival. Carnivals and markets were being set up and everyone was in a party mood.

We stayed at the Lightning Ridge Holiday Resort. I think they use the term ‘resort’ a bit loosely, but it did have a few things going for it. There was a swimming pool, a bistro and a pub in the middle of the property. We spent a lot of time at the pub. There was a playground in the beer garden and live music on the stage every afternoon. It was great to sit down with a cold beer, and listen to all the locals talking about their luck (or not) at opal mining.

The Lightning Ridge area is a world epicentre of the mining of black opals and other opal gemstones. Lightning Ridge has the largest known deposits of black opals in the world.

While we were there we went on a few mine tours and even tried our luck at fossicking. It was hot and dusty work and we didn’t have any luck so Dan bought an opal pendant for me from one of the mine shops.

Will and I spent Easter Monday at the local hospital after he trod on a rusty nail that went straight through his shoe and into the sole of his foot. He was really brave but spent the next few days hopping about with bandages on his foot.

Lightning Ridge is one of the strangest places we have been to on this trip. There is the church built but never used; the medieval castle (the moat is yet to be dug) and there is even a monument to the stars built by a Pole, who was obviously crazy. It is full of crazy people, and looks like a desolate wasteland! Almost like a war zone. The landscape is mostly bare rocky ground covered in small shrubs and leafless trees. In amongst the flora are thousands of rusty barbed wire fences and star pickets marking off metre square sections of land. Within these squares lie the entrances to an underground world! There are thousands of mine shafts all over Lightening Ridge. Some are still used today but most are abandoned.

A house made from bottles and cans!

Most of the abandoned mine shafts lie there almost waiting for someone to fall in them, but a few clever people have tapped into the tourist trade by developing their underground mines into works of art.

The Chamber of the Black Hand is a perfect example of how creative the people of Lighting Ridge are. A guy named Ron Canlin owned a claim called “The Black Hand”. While he was down the walk-in mine, he noticed the beautiful layer of sandstone rock. He decided to try carving the sandstone and after a bit of practice he carved a whole art gallery. The gallery is now open to the public and we spent an awe inspiring afternoon viewing the artwork.

Will wasn't happy, he had to limp around all day!

Dan being a bit 'cheeky'!

In amongst this crazy township is some of the most amazing artwork we have seen. The local artist John Murray is by far the most creative and humorous artist I have seen for a long time. His beautiful paintings contrast serious landscapes with whimsical caricatures of birds and other Australian creatures. If we weren’t living in a caravan, I would have purchased some of his paintings. I had to settle for a couple of his small prints which I have hung on the caravan wall.

As an example of how crazy the locals are; every available vehicle has been modified to be used as some kind of mining machine. All unnecessary parts have been removed to keep the weight down. So what do you do with all the unused car doors and bonnets? Paint them different colours, hang them off trees and they become the street signs around town. There are even coloured “car door tours” you can follow to take you to the local attractions.

We were told by one locals that’s it’s seen as very rude to ask the last names of the residents who live out in the mine fields. In fact most of them don’t even tell people their first names. They are known only by nicknames like Danno, Johno, Micko, Big Al etc. Apparently most of the people who come to Lightning Ridge are there to either make their fortune in opals or they are hiding from something or someone (usually ex-wives we were told!)

They come here and spend as little as possible on leasing a claim of land, make their mining tools from whatever rusted old machinery they can find and live in run down old shelters, shacks or caravans. Whether they are fortunate to strike it lucky, or spend their life looking for the elusive black Opal, everyone in Lighting Ridge has a love for this most unusual of towns.

One of the attractions that bring in the tourists is the Artesian hot baths. Lightning Ridge has abundant hot water from a bore spring into the Great Artesian Basin and offers two hot water pools for bathing. The minerals make the water very healthy for external use and drinking. The water was about 40 degrees when we took a dip. It was too hot to stay in for long but lovely to sit on the steps and soak our legs and feet.

About 5ks out of town is a monument that explains how Lightning Ridge got its name; The name Lightning Ridge is said to have originated when in the 1870s some passers-by found the bodies of a farmer, his dog and 600 sheep which had all been struck by lightning.