The captain woke me up this morning with a well placed paw on my face. I took that to mean he needed to go outside to wee. A quick glance at my phone made me realize that he had been really patient because it was close to 8:30 AM. What a dog!

Today is our last day In Lightning Ridge so we need to get everything done that we want to before we leave. This has proven to be a bit tricky, because we really only have half a day before the heat gets too oppressive, and we need to return to the caravan to the shade and the air conditioning, and let Henry rest.

Henry scored Doggy Daycare again today which we knew he wouldn’t mind because whenever we took him for a walk, he was absolutely fagging to get in the Doggy Daycare gate. So we knew he wouldn’t mind going back there for another couple of hours while we explored a little more of the tourist attractions.

We did a load of washing, knowing that they would be dry in about 30 minutes. We hung them out and left for the day, knickers and jocks swinging in the breeze for all travellers to inspect. Yes, take your old clothes on your trip with you, but don’t take your holy underwear!

We had a list of things that we needed and a list of attractions to get to but first, coffee. We rested in the shade of the shop front, not in any hurry to move, the morning hot and steamy and a top temperature of 39 degrees expected. It feels so much hotter than the 30s at home. Whether that is because we are living our lives in a tin can, or whether that is because there is not much grass around and the ground is red dust and pebbles, I don’t know.

We stopped by the post office to mail some things, (Ray exclaiming loudly, “ Wow, it’s nice in here!” Because it was a modern fit out inside), and then went into the John Murray Gallery. What an amazing artist. John’s work features all over town, on the visitor information guide, on tea towels and if you want a piece of his original work, Lightning Ridge is the only place you can buy it. We found two pieces that we wanted to buy and had to leave to think about them so that we didn’t make the wrong decision. The right decision turned out to be neither because we couldn’t quite agree. The gallery is really worth a visit if you are ever in town. Again, I was mesmerized by the abilities of an artist who can create artwork from literally nothing but his talent.

Next on our agenda was the “Walk in Mine”. It was 12:50pm when we walked in the door. We had had a lovely relaxing morning which we instantly regretted when we were told that the mine was closed due to it being too late. They closed the mine at 12:45pm. I pointedly looked at the clock and was told, “we have turned of the video which explains everything so its too late.

Hmm.. the two other cars that pulled in after us would have been told the same thing. One thing that we should have been more aware of was that everything in Lightning Ridge happens in the morning. Very little happens in the afternoon because the heat is just too oppressive or everyone has made their money and returns home to siesta.

Tomorrow will be a big day on the road. We have our sights set on Roma. This means we will cross the border into Queensland. We returned to the van to prepare ourselves and start to pack up, but in reality we didn’t. We relaxed, read and painted toenails. (Me, not Ray). It has been great getting to know Lightning Ridge, very deserved of a visit if ever you are out this way.

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