It was Charlie Nettleton who first discovered black opals in this area in the early 1900s and established the area as a black opal mining region.
Nettleton was originally searching for gold deposits, but instead of finding any gold, he discovered a mysterious, shiny black stone lying on the surface of the earth, which is said to be the beginning of black opals.
A few minutes out of town, driving along an unpaved road, covered in so much dust that the car turns white, suddenly the horizon and vast land come into view.
This was the original mining area's first hand-dug opal prospecting shaft and is now a lookout point for watching the sunset.
Lightning Ridge for the first time.
I was delighted by the continued vitality and also met the lovely Ruth, making it a very fulfilling day.
Tomorrow I'm heading back to Sydney.
