Day 8 - White cliffs

ilseluypaert
Apr 14, 2023
2 min read

14 April 2023

Welcome to White Cliffs. As little as it shows above ground (a mini shop, a bar and a caravan park) , as much is there to discover underneath the surface of the earth.

White Cliffs is famous for the its opal mining and hundreds of tunnels have been created through history. In 1915 a group of people prospecting for gold in the desert, discovered a big opal stone. This resulted in the rush for opal, and ever since Australia has been one of the main producers of opal in the world.

Opal is a precious mineral which shows a play-of-colour: small spheres of silica with water between the spheres, diffract white light, breaking it up into the colours of the spectrum.

Mining is like playing on the lottery but on a bigger level. You spend money but never know when you will win. The hope to find a big opal has attracted many. It is possible for anyone to buy a licence for some m2 and start digging. However mining is hard work and more often people spend months or years digging in the dirt, without finding fortune.

We visit Red Earth Opal, a family mine with a really passionate owner! He combines daily many hours of digging underground with guided tours to tourists sharing his knowledge and love for opal. It must be exhausting. They opened also a little cafe and show room where we could see how the stones are cutted. The tourist bussiness gives some steady income to the family unlike the mining activities. We stay chatting over a coffee and the passion of this man leaves a deep impression on me!