First attraction on the agenda was the "Chambers of the Black Hand".
Put simply some Pommy bought an old opal mine and upon discovering it had very little in the way of hydrated amorphous silica (i.e., opals) he decided to use a butter knife to carve an astonishing array of figures in the underground walls of the mine.
Paradoxically, the Pommy now makes a lot more money running tours of his cutlery carvings than he does from fossicking for opals!
After signing waiver forms acknowledging the possibility "of serious injury or death" the Prop and Mrs P were permitted to descend the hand-hewn stairway leading to the Black Hand mine.
Redemption?
Mother Teresa, Mahatma and the Dalai Lama
David - bad eczema or under repair?
Ned Kelly - such is life!
After the Chambers of the Black Hand, the Prop made the somewhat questionable decision to drive nearly 70 kilometres to the "Glengarry Hilton", an outback hotel located somewhere near the Grawin Opal Fields.(It's not even an official Tourist Drive!)
The 140k round trip would not have been so bad were it not for the fact that the quality of the road deteriorated with each passing kilometre.
At length, we reached the "Glengarry Hilton". Not quite what we had imagined as an outback pub. It looks like a collection of shipping containers covered by, and connected with, corrugated iron pavilions.
Nevertheless, the Prop enjoyed the best "hamburger with the lot" he has had since the Toddle-Inn at Bega in 1985 (fondly remembered as "the Bega Burger").
Fried onions, bacon, beetroot, pineapple, egg, mayonnaise, lettuce, a tasty beef patty all compiled between a lightly toasted burger bun. Perfick!
(Mrs P intended to photograph the burger as served but the Prop was too ravenous and far too quick for her.)
Then back to the Ridge for a dip in the local Artesian Bore Baths.
At a warmer-than- strictly-necessary 40 degrees Celsius this Artesian aquifer takes a bit of getting used to.
The water has resided in the Great Artesian Basin for 2 million years or so until, having been geothermally heated, it finally emerges under pressure through the earth's crust for us all to enjoy.
4 comments:
FifeTaff is eager to hear from The Prop wether any ‘nuts’ were encountered at the Glengarry Hilton given the warning given on the hotel sign?
In answer to Fife Taff, it appeared to the Prop that most of the locals- presumably Opal miners- who should have been hard at work looking for opals, were at the pub and settling in for a session. Whether this makes them "nuts" or men with a favourable lifestyle balance is a topic for debate.
Cars with brakes must give right of way to locals in Grawin I remember.
According to an impromptu traffic sign all tourists must give way to locals. The problem for tourists is working out who are the locals - but to be fair, it's not that difficult!
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