The bad and the beautiful_Lightning Ridge

We've been exploring Lightning Ridge today. We've never been here before and I must admit to being pleasantly surprised because the last opal town we visited was White Cliffs and there aren't too many trees there. The township itself is surprisingly vibrant but then tourism is big here, and it's a mecca for gem collectors.

Being a mining town has the inevitable effects on the environment, and the amount of discarded machinery around the town is astonishing.

It would be good to stay awhile to explore the natural world. I'm sure it has a lot to offer but unfortunately we have to move on. We'll be back, but not in summer when it must be near boiling here. As a taster, a different species of mistletoe is flowering, and so are some of the cactus in the cactus gardens.