Lightning Ridge

Had to have today off work, just exhausted. Went yesterday but didn't get home till nearly 10pm night before, then up again at 6am for work. Just couldn't get up this morning. Slept on and off till nearly midday.

Been going through some of the pics. Digital cameras are so great as you can just take as many pics as you like then chose the best ones. It's so different out there. S lives on a place out in the bush where they mine opals. He doesn't it's just as good place to live he reckons. Not connected to anything from town; no town water, electricity, gas, anything. Electricity is via solar panels and a generator when needed, gas stove via gas bottles, water from 3 rainwater tanks. 

Needless to say a huge difference from eastern Sydney. He was having problems with his solar panels too so for much of the time we were without even electricity except when turning on the generator. At night the place was pitch black, and he had a wind up torch that didn't need batteries, which I used to find the toilet at night instead of breaking my neck in the dark! Cold nights but very pleasant days. A pot belly stove in the lounge room at night which was great to get going burning very hot, warming the whole place.

We got on very well. His turn to come here next in a couple of months I guess. Neither of us are expecting anything monogamous or such like, but it is rather a dilemma of where the fuck we should go from here. Would be great to live together permanently but I wouldn't expect him to give up his life out there and live with me here in Sydney. I as well have a life here in Sydney, although I guess it might be an idea to start thinking about what I might do if or when my job becomes too much for me. Moving out there with him in such a case would certainly seem attractive (although I'd have to get the bloody internet on, fuck I missed that!). 

The odd pic here, I might put some permanently on a separate page later. But for now: *BTW click to enlarge*

Lightning Ridge is 3 hours drive from Moree airport. Most of the way is through country like this. The land is farmed but there's huge amounts of it just left wild and used for grazing when needed. Native wildlife lives there, and you often see kangaroos and emus. These two shots are just from the side of the road.

 A couple of general shots of town:

Due to the water supply being from tanks, the garden consisted of cactus, quite interesting.

Outside his house:
 

The road to town:

The famous bore baths. They're very hot from water 1 kilometre down. Much used by all:

From the back yard, used the zoom on the camera, this is an opal mining operation. There's the runway for a small airport in the foreground but which is only used by the Flying Doctors and emergency services (in the rains the whole place can be cut off):