Wilcannia to White Cliffs - 10 July 2014

The road from Wilcannia to White Cliffs was sealed all the way but with lots of road kill. There are lots of signs along the road advising that black cattle are free grazing. They are very hard to see. We have heard of them being hit but haven't seen any of the black ones as road kill, only a Hereford on the road beside the Darling. It is only 90 odd kms from Wilcannia to White Cliffs so didn't take long.

Our first stop was the Red Earth Opal Café for morning tea.

There was some beautiful opal jewellery for sale and some interesting opals on display. There was even a piece of opalised wood. The pineapple opal cluster (I think that is the term) is a feature of the White Cliffs Opal area and looks like a starburst.

He had a few of these and they can be worth a bit of money. The fellow who owns the café is the only professional opal miner in White Cliffs. He runs a tour each afternoon so we booked on his tour.

Graham (I think that is his name) has had the mine for 22 years, and before that he used to come up twice a year as a kid with his family. He has a few mines. Each claim measures 50m x 50m and you can have 2 in each name, but since the 1990's if you have a claim (in NSW at least), you must have done a mine course. The days of putting the claims in your pet's names have gone. Each claim costs $100 to register. Graham has made his annual income since March, but I imagine that doesn't always happen, and doesn't happen to everyone. He lives here all year and his wife and kids come up a few times a year - I imagine school holidays. They live on the Central Coast at Umina and left this morning to go home. School holidays finish this week.

He took us on a tour of his mines and it was very interesting. He can fill a dump truck in 2 hours by means of a large bucket machine he built which goes down a shaft, is filled and comes up into the truck. I had a dig for opal but I don't think I would enjoy it as a career.

Opal was discovered in Ethiopia a few years ago and the Australian opal market, which is the largest in the world, suffered as it was selling more cheaply. However, it has since been found that it is a lower grade opal. It absorbs water and over time this strips the colour. The Australian opal market is bouncing back as a result of these findings.

There have been no mining fatalities in White Cliffs since it was first discovered. There is also very little crime in the place.

We are staying at the caravan park in White Cliffs. It is only small but got everything we need, mainly power for the very cold nights. However there are signs advising that the water is not fit for human consumption. Luckily, we have our own water.