We've reached our destination. The opal town of Lightning Ridge. If other opal towns we have visited are anything to go by this will be an odd place. We are going to spend 4 days here before going back home. Let's go see.
Is that a Coolibah tree beside the abandoned house? Every Australian knows about Coolibah trees because the bush ballad Waltzing Matilda is nigh on our unoffical national anthem but most of us live nowhere near the inland where they grow. Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong, Under the shade of a Coolibah tree, And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled, You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me. Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda, You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me, And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.
What is that? It looks like a concrete truck? But why? I have been to Coober Pedy, and THAT was unusual!
ReplyDeleteAccording to the Lightning Ridge info site "Opal dirt' – sandstone and clay mined from the opal level – is taken up to ground level using a hoist or blower, and dumped into the back of a truck.
DeleteThe opal dirt is then washed down by tumbling it for several hours inside a modified cement mixer called an agitator. Finally, the remaining 'tailings' are sorted, with keen eyes searching for any hint or trace of opal colour."
Yeh. I have been to Coober Pedy and Andamooka both very unusual.
Blimey!
DeleteHope you find a big opal. I'm going to Coober Pedy next year, my first opal town.
ReplyDeleteWe were seeking warmth and new places, not opals. You will enjoy Coober Pedy.
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