Day 14, 23/5/2016, Monday, Walgett to Lightning Ridge, Hot 27

After a peaceful night it is wonderful to wake up and see the river outside the window. It has to be the best thing about free camping. VeeWee has forsaken the view for Foxtel!

A mere 60kms of bouncy road and we’re in Lightning Ridge. VeeWee is muttering about how much the town has grown. We’ve fallen in love with the crazy colourful joint at first glance. Maybe it is because the climate is different, it has a desert feel to it. Hot and dry.

The Opal Caravan Park is friendly, efficient and as good as you’d find anywhere. When mates told us that they’d booked five weeks here we thought that they’d gone mad. But within an hour of setting up we changed our booking from 3 nights to 7 nights. There is one peculiarity about this park, the ground is so compacted that you can’t put in your tent pegs without an electric drill, a big bugger with two handles that looks like it should be used by the miners.

Woody strips the car out looking for the water leak but to no avail. In frustration he rings our mechanic who suggests that it is probably a heater hose leak or blockage which will need repair in Townsville. 

The temperature drops suddenly at 4:00pm so we walked across the road to the artesian pools or as the locals call them ‘the bores’, for a dip. We sooth away every ache and pain with 39 degrees of silky mineralised water.

The sun sets with a pink and blue glow across both the west and eastern sky as we lug our chairs to the Pavilion. Yes, this park has a Pavilion, don’t they all? The entertainment for the winter is Mel and Susie, however we’ll be missing out on Susie as she’s shifting house they’re moving to Lightning Ridge! I told you this place is captivating. Anyway, back to the story, Mel is a bush poet and comedian with a difference who has us all crying with laughter. She does a different show every night so I’m guessing that we’ll all be cot cases by the time we leave here.

Towing Kms: 60kms