Day 21 - Lightning Ridge

What a surprise Lightning Ridge has turned out to be! A great little town that is now very focussed on tourism as a key industry. Being summer it is now the low season and next month most businesses close due to the heat. But this year has been cooler than normal and the 40 degrees days have not yet come.
So today we embarked on a series of self-drive tours recommended by the Tourist Info Centre. These took us around the opal diggings including down one of the mines; past a stone castle where Peter finally got CK where he wanted her; through a magnificent cactus garden with over 2300 cacti from around the world some of which are more than 100 years old; through some Opal shops (yes CK bought one even though Peter had given her a good one 30 years ago which she has never even mounted or worn!); and through the amazing art gallery of John Murray, the famous artist who has lived in Lightning Ridge for over 40 years. It has been very interesting day full of surprises and has been a very well worth place to visit.
Tonight we are heading off to a lookout for a sunset self-drive tour. Clear skies tonight so the sunset and stars should be fantastic.Meer informatie