Central & Outback NSW 2021

april 2021

Making memories one road trip at a time - Cowra, Parkes, Bourke, Lightning Ridge & Coonabarabran (Warrumbungles NP) Læs mere

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Rejsende Central & Outback NSW 2021
- Vis rejse
- Tilføj til træskolisteFjern fra træskoliste
- Del
- 12. apr. 2021
- 🌙 20 °C
- Højde: 132 m
- Australien State of New South Wales Walgett -29.679649, 147.63133429°40’47” S 147°37’53” E
Dag 9
Orange Car Door Tour
12. april 2021, Australien ⋅ 🌙 20 °C
Today we conquered the Orange Car Door Tour which took us an hour's drive west of town to the famous Grawin, Glengary and Sheepyard opal fields. If you thought Lightning Ridge was in the middle of nowhere, you haven't been to Grawin!

Unlike the native bush environment around Lightning Ridge, the landscape across this region is rugged, comparable to the surface of the moon, dusty and barren, just waiting to be unearthed. Here, most opals are discovered wedged between layers of opal bearing clay and stone, known as seam opals.

First stop - Club in the Scrub, a fantastically quirky and authentic Miners Sports Bar, complete with 'Beer & Bullsh*t' area. Who would believe it's an actual RSL club, and you’ve got to sign in!

Next up, the Glengarry Hilton. Apparently, the outback pub was built to satisfy the thirsty needs of those who came to try their luck on the ever-popular opal fields in the 1970s. With very low expectations we braved lunch from the shipping-container kitchen, only to be served up perhaps the most succulently delicious burgers ever - even if there's a high possibility the patties were mouse meat!

Moving on the boys indulged their noodling fever in the many piles of white dirt alongside buildings and the sides of roads. Unfortunately, the giant mullock heaps that have been known to present surprise pieces are now off-limits to the general public for safety reasons.

Last on the tourist trail was Sheepyard Inn (jokingly referred to as ‘the best baaaaa in the outback’) with its eclectic collection of historical memorabilia, including an old train carriage that came from Sydney’s Taronga Zoo. And who could forget the impressive 'bra-tree'. I'll leave to the imagination as to whether I made a donation ;)

Finally, we stopped at the War Memorial, built by local miners, many of whom are Vietnam Veterans.

This was definitely a highlight and worth the day-trip for a glimpse of how Lightning Ridge itself probably would have been in the early days.Læs mere
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Rejsende Central & Outback NSW 2021
- Vis rejse
- Tilføj til træskolisteFjern fra træskoliste
- Del
- 13. apr. 2021 12.00
- 🌙 22 °C
- Højde: 144 m
- Australien State of New South Wales Walgett Lightning Ridge -29.429439, 147.97726129°25’46” S 147°58’38” E
Dag 10
Blue & Red Car Door Tours
13. april 2021, Australien ⋅ 🌙 22 °C
Today we completed the Blue and Red Car Door Tours.

First up - Blue Tour. We headed out through the opal mine fields, locally known as 'the suburbs', before stopping briefly to explore Bevan's Cactus Garden with over 2,500 cactus varieties and 48 Bougainvillea varieties. Interesting, but not really our thing.

Next up was the Walk-in Mine Tour. This was pretty cool and being self-guided meant we could move at our own pace.

Being one of the shorter Car Door Tours, we quickly moved on to the Red Door Tour. We passed the plaque sharing information on the first settlement in 1906 called Wallangulla or Old Town, which is where the first Opal Rush boomed. We then stopped to marvel at the Stone & Bottle House - an interestingly constructed private home made entirely of, would you believe, stones and bottles, and filled with collectables!

Just a bit further along the road we stopped to explore the Ridge Castle - a unique castle nestled in Lighting Ridge. It was in fact an AirB&B property but as with most things in Lightning Ridge, it wasn't your typical lodging.

Moving on, we noted some other interesting sights along the way including Sim’s Hill - the highest point in the district (170m above sea level), astronomers' monument - a very cool homemade observatory, and KFC Drive-thru (although it never seems to be open).

But the highlight of this tour was definitely Amigos Castle - a unique and fascinating private home. The castle was built by Vittorio Stefanato, also known as Amigo, who was born in Italy and moved to Australia in 1970. The castle is built with stones and planks, and Amigo has been expanding it since 1982. The castle sits atop dinosaur bones that are millions of years old - not officially catalogued but locally known as 'Amigosaurus'. The underground tunnels and secrets of the Castle were closed the day we were there as it turns out Amigo had been sentenced to at least 13 years and seven months in jail for murdering a local woman, near his castle in January 2020. He shot her point blank with a rifle after she asked him for money, and then hid her body in the bushland. He pleaded guilty to the murder in October 2021. I think I'm glad we missed his 'private' tour!Læs mere
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Rejsende Central & Outback NSW 2021
- Vis rejse
- Tilføj til træskolisteFjern fra træskoliste
- Del
- 13. apr. 2021 16.00
- 🌙 24 °C
- Højde: 135 m
- Australien State of New South Wales Walgett Lightning Ridge Llanillo Bore No 2 -29.406712, 147.986629°24’24” S 147°59’12” E
Dag 10
Green Car Door Tour
13. april 2021, Australien ⋅ 🌙 24 °C
Nebia Hill, Wild Orange Tree, Opal Tree, Nettleton’s First Shaft Lookout, Stone Labyrinth, Beer Can House.

Nebia Hill - Gravel pit that supplies the district, including Petrified Wood, Jasper, Quartz, Agates, Carnelian and Clear Topaz.

Wild Orange Tree - 25m root system. Some miners use them as surface indicators of where to dig.

Opal Tree - Tree covered in opal (hand crafted).

Make visiting Richard and the Opal Tree a must on the Green Car Door Tour! He’s a very quirky man with fascinating stories behind his Opal Tree and other creative pieces.

Nettleton’s First Shaft Lookout - Informative Monument.

Stone Labyrinth - Made by four people in six hours.

Beer Can House - Unique structure. You can sign the Guest Book in the fridge inside.Læs mere
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Rejsende Central & Outback NSW 2021
- Vis rejse
- Tilføj til træskolisteFjern fra træskoliste
- Del
- 14. apr. 2021
- ☁️ 23 °C
- Højde: 505 m
- Australien State of New South Wales Warrumbungle Shire Coonabarabran David Bell Park -31.276821, 149.27443831°16’37” S 149°16’28” E
Dag 11
Coonabarabran
14. april 2021, Australien ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
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Rejsende Central & Outback NSW 2021
- Vis rejse
- Tilføj til træskolisteFjern fra træskoliste
- Del
- 15. apr. 2021 12.39
- 🌙 25 °C
- Højde: 57 m
- Australien State of New South Wales The Hills Shire Kellyville Kellyville Park -33.714743, 150.9561633°42’53” S 150°57’22” E
Dag 12
Siding Springs Observatory
15. april 2021, Australien ⋅ 🌙 25 °C
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Rejsende Central & Outback NSW 2021
- Vis rejse
- Tilføj til træskolisteFjern fra træskoliste
- Del
- 16. apr. 2021
- ☁️ 17 °C
- Højde: 875 m
- Australien State of New South Wales Orange Municipality Bletchington -33.276889, 149.08660333°16’37” S 149°5’12” E
Dag 13
Orange
16. april 2021, Australien ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
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Central & Outback NSW 2021

Orange Car Door Tour

Blue & Red Car Door Tours

Green Car Door Tour

Coonabarabran

Siding Springs Observatory

Orange