Lightning Ridge NSW

Lightning Ridge and the surrounding opal fields are a must see if you can get to north western New South Wales. The car door drives around town are fantastic and the drive to the pubs in the scrub in the opal fields about 80km from town is a must do. The Melbourne street artist John Murray went to lightning ridge and stayed, his gallery is there and this town and most western NSW towns all feature his quirky humorous art works. Emu Airlines is the car he lived in during the early days, now its heading for a landing in the pub. 4WD is not necessary to tour around, yes, some of the roads are dirt but no problem. You can take your caravan if you wish and freecamp at the club in the scrub golf course, the Glengarry Hilton and the Sheepyard inn. The opal miners have a great sense of humour, of course it's all over the top now, done for the tourists, but you will see the typical Aussie bush sense of humour.