Today was The Captain’s lucky day. He was going to go to the Doggie Daycare at the caravan park where we were staying. It cost $10 for half a day and $20 for a full day. Cheap as chips!
We booked him in for a full day, knowing we’d be back early but not wanting to be stressed about the time.
Henry loves meeting other dogs and gets along with most other dogs we meet. He is submissive so if there are any problems he is rarely the aggressor.
We met a border collie, Chester, on our “wee walk” this morning and he was also spending the morning at Doggie Day care. That made
Henry happy and alleviated some of my worries about him being alone.
We dropped Henry off and drove out (following the yellow car doors this time) to the “Chambers of the Black Hand Mine.”
Ten of us on the tour donned hard hats and descended 63 steps which had been carved into what was once a working opal mine. The owner of the mine didn’t receive much in Opal output from his mine and so started giving tourists tours. While waiting for groups of tourists to come down the stairs one day (they were late) he started whittling away at the sandstone walls with a bone handled butter knife. He created amazing sandstone carvings that just have to be seen to be believed. Truly breathtaking.
He is a talented artist and still adds to his artwork in the mine, even at 82 years old, he spends a few days a week working at his craft.
The characters that were represented were numerous and some had colour added to them. There were hundreds! Originally the eyes of the characters used to be inlaid opal but tourists would dig them out and ruin the artwork in the process. He now uses rusty nails because no one wants to pinch those!
Also, yes there was a black hand there on display, but we don’t know what the significance of it was. The mine had it in its name though. It was behind a fence so couldn’t be touched whereas everything else was easily touched, although they asked you not too. Sandstone just crumbles easily.
After 63 steep stairs back to the top, bent over so that we didn’t hit our head on the roof (a couple of rests along the way) we thought we deserved a coffee. After a refuel we wandered the shops.
There were lots of shops that had a bit of everything and interesting names. Like “That Shop”, “Duncan’s Clothes” and “The Best Opal Cave”.
We bought a couple of souvenirs with artwork on them by John Murray the local artist who did the huge murals we saw yesterday.
We then ventured into “The Best Opal Cave.” It promised the best prices, economy beating savings and had a great looking entrance.
Every street had one or two or more Opal shops on it so picking just one to go into was pure luck.
We went inside. There was a dirt floor and Ray said to the girl, “well you wouldn’t have to vacuum the floor in here!” She laughed and said, “no but we do have to water and rake it!”
We looked around and started chatting. We always wonder how people end up in the Outback. Julieta told us she was originally from Melbourne when she asked where we were from. She knew the suburbs we mentioned because she had lived there once too! Actually she and I both went to Fairhills Primary School and Fairhills High School and we would have been there at the same time! She is 5 years younger than me so I wouldn’t have known her. What a small world!
Considering we could have walked into any Opal store, this was amazing.
Anyway, as I stood marveling at this news, I realized I was standing in front of a glass counter that was filled with stunning opal rings. Well…we were in a store…they sold Opal rings…I should try some on. Julieta told us that Opals actually choose you, you don’t choose them. She started pulling some out that would fit my fingers and two caught my eye in particular.
I was trying to decide which one should come home with us, when I remembered what Julieta said. One of the Opals had an amazing range of colors. Black, blue and red like the outback sunset. It really was calling to me. I knew I couldn’t leave it there. Ray knew it too. He whipped out a card from his wallet and handed it over. “Happy Birthday!” he said. Wow! This is the birthday that just keeps on giving.
We needed to buy water. We have been resisting doing this and recall that the last time we were in the Australian Outback, we bought water also.
The water here is drinkable but it has a definite taste to it. In the shower, when the water runs out (especially in the confined space), it smells like a mix of someone passing wind after eating eggs and perm solution. Henry also sniffs the water before drinking it and he hasn’t been drinking as much as we thought he would in this hot weather, so maybe purchasing water will help. We bought 15 litres.
Henry was happy to come home when we picked him up. We went back to the caravan and he flopped in the shade and promptly fell asleep. The air conditioner went on in the caravan and when it had cooled down enough, he moved from outside to inside and continued to sleep.
Doggie Daycare for the win!
We decided to have another go at the local Italian for dinner on the way to watching the sunset at the First Shaft Lookout. Last time we had takeaway from here (when Ray forgot to order my salad). This time we ate in, or outside, because Henry was with us. We sat in what must have been about 31° with limited shade. Most of the patrons made their way inside into the air-conditioned interior, but we had to stay outside because…well…because…Henry. The food, when it came was unbelievable. We suddenly knew why there were so many people coming for dinner in this teeny tiny town. We ate until we could eat no more.
Driving out to First Shaft Lookout took us out past many small mines deep into the outback. We came upon a ridge and a fenced off shaft with a plaque that explained why this lookout was called First Shaft Lookout. Apparently a bloke cold Nettleton sunk the first shaft on this site in 1902. He didn’t find anything but he did a year later (elsewhere) and so started the Black Opal Industry of Lightning Ridge. The one and only Black Opal Industry in the world which is dependable and forthcoming.
We watched the sunset, took photos of the rock maze, the rock monuments, and the house made of bottles and cans. If there is something we have learnt about this town is that it is very random. Something surprising exists around every corner. Something that someone has thought would be a good opportunity to entertain the tourists and make a buck, or equally, something to while away the hours and create something. Either way it all goes together to make our amazing Australian Outback what it is. It is absolutely amazing!
Travel Australia Caravan Tips 
We need a photo of the opal ring that chose you! 😊
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