Prospecting for Gold and Black Opals in Australia - NSW/VIC/SA
Nothing beats the excitement and thrill of seeing the glint of gold in a pan or unearthing your own natural opals, all while experiencing the beautiful Australian bush at the same time.
Lightning Ridge, located in outback NSW, about 6 km east of the Castlereagh Highway, is famous for the elusive and distinctive Black Opal, not found anywhere else in the world. Take the self guided tour of the Walk In mine at Bald Hill, and even fossick for your own piece of unique opal.
Coober Pedy, still regarded as Australia’s last frontier of the wild outback is Australia’s Opal capital, produces more opal than any other place in the world, and is located half way between Adelaide and Alice Springs. Due to the arid heat, 80 percent of the town’s population live underground, in rose coloured sandstone caves. In fact, everything in Coober Pedy is underground, shops, hotels, motels, churches and a swimming pool, and there is even underground camping.
Take a self guided tour in the Old Timers Mine, a fun and informative tour that includes a museum and underground homes. Or take a tour of Tom’s working opal mine, to see how opal is mined and even fossick for your own piece of opal in the mullock heaps.
Average Climate for Coober Pedy Region
|
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Min C |
18 |
18 |
15 |
11 |
7 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
7 |
10 |
13 |
16 |
| Max C |
34 |
33 |
30 |
25 |
20 |
16 |
16 |
18 |
22 |
26 |
29 |
32 |
| Rain mm |
19 |
21 |
17 |
20 |
31 |
39 |
35 |
33 |
28 |
25 |
22 |
21 |
(all photo's courtesy of SATC)
