Day 240 - Moree to Glen Innes

We continued our journey eastward today for 220 km, passing through Gravesend, Warialda and Inverell before reaching our destination, Glen Innes.  We did a quick drive around Moree before we left to check out the Mehi River.  We did find they had put flags out in the main street to celebrate our visit, or maybe it was for the approaching Christmas.

021214 The Mehi River at Moree

021214 The flags had gone up in the main street of Maree
after our arrival the day before

About 15km out of Moree we passed by Australia's largest pecan nut orchard owned by Stahmann Farm Enterprises.  This is their main orchard but they do have one in Gatton. We never knew the trees were so large.

021214 Pecan nut trees at the Stahmann orchard east of Maree
on the Gwydir Highway

021214 Pecan nut trees in Stahmann's orchard east of Moree

Gravesend is a village housing about 275 people and is near the Gwydir River. Gravesend was the site of a research station breeding Cactoblastis moths later released to eradicate devastating prickly pear infestations.  The Gnome wasn't interested in that.  He was only concerned about not falling off the Gravesend sign.

021214 The Gnome at home?  This is the sign of the now unused railway
station at, you guessed it, Gravesend

021214 The Gwydir River near Gravesend

Warialda is on the Warialda Creek and it is a centre for the local grazing and broadacre farming industries.  Its name means "place of wild honey".  It has a population of about 1100.

Inverell is situated on the Macintyre River. It is also the centre of Inverell Shire and is located on the western slopes of the New England Tableland. The population of Inverell is around 9500.  

021214 Inverell Court House

021214 What a change, mountains and greenery as we approached Inverell

021214 The main street in Inverell

021214 More of Inverell

As we drove down the range to Inverell, nestling in the valley below us, we passed Bindarri Beef's abbatoirs.  It was quite large.  Near Glen Innes we passed a mob of cattle in the "long paddock" and we could only guess they were on their way to the abattoirs.  There was plenty of green fodder in the long paddock and our thoughts turned to the cattle we had seen a few hundred kilometres to the west, barely able to find food to eat.

021214 Bindarri Beef's Inverell abbatoirs

021214 Cattle in the "long paddock" near Glen Innes.
There were hundreds more

We did observe a progressive change in the countryside as we approached Inverell.  Some mountains appeared, there was water in some the creeks and there were patches of green, something of which we hadn't seen much over the last couple of weeks.

021214 Pretty good country near Inverell

021214 Maize in the foreground, wheat in the background near Inverell

021214 Approaching Glen Innes.  Green again

When we saw poplars and weeping willows we knew we had arrived at the New England Tableland and it was not long before we were in Glen Innes.  Glen Innes is about 1100 metres above sea level and it was to our pleasure that the temperature dropped from the mid thirties to 25 degrees by the time we had arrived.  It is quite large, with a population of around 5200 and is a regional centre for the surrounding industries of grazing, sheep and cattle.  Sapphires are mined in creeks and valleys to the west of the town.  It is a picturesque town given that its climate allows poplars, weeping willows, fir, liquid amber, ash, elm, silver birch et al to proliferate.  In springtime the rhododenrons and azaleas are prolific.

021214 Poplars and weeping willows, yes we are on the New England Tableland

We are now in familiar territory so we must be getting close to home.

Day 239 - Lightning Ridge to Moree

Nearly 400 km on a beautiful day made cool by the rain yesterday, was our target for today - from Lightning Ridge to Moree.

The first leg on the Castelreagh Highway took us to Walgett but we passed "Stanley" on the way. He sure catches your eye.  Originally his creator wanted to display him on the Birdsville Track but the only resources forthcoming were from the people of Lightning Ridge, so that's where he ended up. His body is a Volkswagen.

011214 Stanley on the Castlereagh Hwy near Lightning Ridge

011214 Stanley's story

Walgett is named after an aboriginal word which means "the meeting of two rivers", in this case the Barwon and Namoi Rivers.  It is the regional hub for wool, wheat and cotton industries.  It not significant so much for its population of 2300, about half of which is aboriginal, but for the facts that Dr James Oswald Little AO is buried there and Banjo Patterson wrote a poem which mentioned it. 

011214 Main street of Walgett

011214 Plaque for Jimmy Little, who is buried in the Walgett Cemetary.
Remember the song "Royal Telephone" ?

011214 "Been There Before" a poem by Banjo Patterson
which makes reference to Walgett

011214 The Namoi River at Walgett

011214 The Namoi River from the other side of the bridge

Walgett is visibly suffering from the drought and the view at our morning tea stop demonstrated this. 

011214  A sign designed for better days at Walgett

011214 The pond at the park in Walgett

From Walgett we headed east along the Kamilaroi Highway to Collarenabri.  Collarenabri is a small river town on the Barwon River with a population of about 380. Wheat and cotton is grown nearby and there are sheep and cattle stations as well.  Once again the country showed evidence of the drought.

011214 The main street in Collarenebri

011214 The weir on the Barwon River at Collarenebri

011214 "Look at me, look at me.  Aren't I beautiful?"  "Yes, but it's a shame
 you squawk". This on the banks of the Barwon River

011214 The Barwon River above the weir

While we contemplated and discussed the seriousness of the drought our attention was diverted immediately we started on the road to Moree, 140 km away.  It was diverted to the road. We bucked, rocked, rolled, and crunched the 140 km to Moree.  The only saving grace was that the road was paved. We drew some consolation from the fact we were told the road between Moree and Goondiwindi is worse, - and we are not going that way. We can only wonder at what the road might be like between Moree and Glen Innes, our route for tomorrow.

That aside, Moree is a lovely town and it even has a few traffic lights.  It has a population of around 9300 and is a centre for cotton growing.  It is on the Mehi River.

011214 Coming in to Moree

011214 Traffic lights in main street in Moree

Day 238 - Around Lightning Ridge

We have just realised the right description for Lightning Ridge and its inhabitants is - eccentric.   But then it may be quirky.  Mining is a weird industry and mining for opals seems to attract more than a fair share of eccentric folk.  The town itself demonstrates this.  A lot of the signs are not done professionally and the home painted ones go a long way to making the place - well, different.  Time does not seem of any great consequence and the activity in the place seem to be dictated by the temperature.  Mind you, this is not all bad for the people are most laid back and probably don't suffer from heart attacks or strokes.  Being miners, some are pretty fit as well.  As for the animals, the humans' behaviour is catching.

301114 Who's hot?  Not me

301114 A typical working mine in Lightning Ridge,
eccentric, quirky and .... untidy

301114 Eccentric, quirky or even humorous,? The answer is "2000 in the town,
another 2000 in the region and who knows how many underground"

301114 The entrance to the cactus farm, where else but in Lightning Ridge

Today the uniqueness of the place was demonstrated by the tour we did today, around an open cut mine, the Lunatic Hill Mine, and through the Chambers of the Black Hand.  

301114 A thoroughly unprofessional sign

301114 On the "yellow door" self drive tour

301114 Lunatic Hill open cut

301114 Lunatic Hill open cut

301114  The story about the Lunatic Hill open cut and the biggest
nobby found in it, the "Haley's Comet, valued in 1986 at $6 million

301114 Over burden from a newer open cut, which will be returned
to the pit after mining is completed

The Chambers of the Black Hand, what a quirky name. This is a one hundred year old opal mine, which provided us with a walk through the underground mine itself, but also through many galleries of carvings done in the sandstone in the layer above the opal bearing claystone. There were about 500 carvings in all.  The guy who did the carvings is a miner who owns 50% of the mine, is over 70 years of age and has had no artistic training. The carvings that drew the most comments were those of Australian politicians.  This could reasonably be described as an "ooh-aah" experience.  We have included but a few photographs of the carvings.

301114 Where we visited today

301114  Some young boys showing how mining for opals is done

301114 Down in the mine proper

301114 Sandstone carving in the mine

301114 Sandstone carving in the mine

301114 The last supper

301114 A cherub

301114 Mother Teresa, Ghandi and the Dalai Lama

301114 Gough Whitlam, Malcolm Fraser, Bob Menzies
and Tony Abbott amongst others 

301114 Bob Hawke, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard and Peter Garrett amongst others

301114 Barry Mackenzie (?), Rolf Harris in jail and Steve Irwin

After the mine tour we did some fossicking on the ground around the mine.  While we found lots of "colour" none was of any value.  Gee it is fun though, and one can imagine how easy it would be to get the "bug".  

This afternoon we did the last two of the car door tours - a self drive trip around mines in the area with comments on other features of interest, including the first hole sunk in Lightning Ridge.  

301114 Plaque near the site of the first shaft sunk in Lightning Ridge
by Charles Nettleton in 1902

301114 Thought to be the first shaft dug in Lightning Ridge

While the "car door tours" were at best imaginative in the descriptions of the sights and rough, in that the roads were terrible, they did at least get us out into the area. As a result, we feel that we have given Lightning Ridge a "good shake".   Tomorrow we will move on, happy that we have seen Lightning Ridge.  Maybe we will come back one day and do some fossicking.

Incidentally, storms came up again this afternoon and we did see lightning striking near the ridge just out of town.

The Gnome was right at home here.

301114 Thoroughly at home and ready to go to work with his shovel