Bitten by the opal bug.

[dezman]

That time of year has come around again and I'm packed up and ready to go fossicking.
Last year I headed out to lightning ridge for a trip down memory lane as I was an opal miner there many years ago in the 90's.
The bug never really left me and I always wanted to hunt down some more lovely gems.
But being on a tight budget and a little weary of the commitment I left after two weeks before I got in to deep, and went looking for gold and sapphires instead. Which was great fun and very enjoyable playing in the creeks and high banking.

But no real money in it and just a hobby for me, so after 4 months of freedom I came back to work with the idea of hitting the ridge next winter if I was still keen. Well like a rock rolling down a hill I can't stop myself and just have to go back for a look.
There is a block of ground that has been on my mind from the first time I mined the field back in the 90's. I had a good look around it last year by going down my old holes and some newer ones since iv been gone.
And It's begging me to dig it!
So if my ladders are still hanging down into that vacant hole and it feels right then I'm going to peg a claim and do the mining course.
Iv got up to October to dig and that should be plenty of time to secure the claim, set up some gear and dig a few feet to my fortune.
I hope you will enjoy this thread and my attempt at some mining, but I have no idea what could happen.
I leave tomorrow.

 

[Danielkrupski]

Damn quick I say. Wish you all the best hope to see some pics

 

[Greg&Nat]

Goodluck!!!

 

[DanielGOLD]

Go for it mate. If you didn't do it then you would kick yourself in years to come.

Dan

 

[Sandta]

Good luck mate , i bet the place has changed a lot since i was there as a youngster.We( our family) had a claim out at 'old town' for about 10 years , sold about 30 years ago.

 

[Heatho]

Good luck Dezman, your shout for a beer if you strike it rich, lol.

 

[dezman]

The rig and my home for the next 10weeks, what a palace on wheels compared to my little box last year. The jeep is ok except for a little over heating on the hills, the new heavy springs are laughing at the weight iv put in.

Must admit iv got butterfly's and I only made it as far as Walca. Billabong blue sounds like heaven up the road and so tempting.
The Ridge will be dry and tough, $1000's to dig a few feet and dangerous too, hmmm.
I'm sleeping on it as I have a choice of left or right in the morning, but I know the real money is out there deep under ground. The Sapphires may look pretty but are hard to sell.

Is it just about the money?
And all these years of wondering what if !

 

[Syndyne]

Good luck dezman! You'll never know if you never go

Dry doesn't begin to describe the place at the moment. All the bushland is brown and dying. Been a rough old dry spell out this way.

All the best on your endeavors, which ever path you take!
Shauno.

 

[Digging Hard]

Hey Dezman,

the setup you have is awesome and you will live like a King out in the dry lands!If you don't have a go at it,then you always wonder what you missed!If you never try,then you don't live life in my eyes but we all have different ideas of a dream!Some people are happy to have a job from mon-fri and have a few schooners at the weekends + some fun with the family!

Others,like myself and plenty of others in this forum have what I believe,been contaminated by the freedom and a dream to find the motherload!The freedom to be your own boss is high priority for most of us!This will be great to follow!I'll promise to come over with a few cold ones when I get there and you still hang around the ridge!

Good Fortune - Digging Hard

 

[malou]

gday seems ive been bitten by the bug too. Was in the ridge for the first time recently and loved it. seeing as i have spare time on my hands every so often have decided to do the courses in oct and look to get a used claim to scratch around on around grawin. has anyone an idea on cost of hoists and or any words of advice

 

[dezman]

Well I'm still not there!
I went to billabong blue for a dig and camp, but could settle there either.
I left after one night and a little dig in the creek, got a couple of small stones but was not really impressed.
The car needs repaires and I need to sit still somewhere for parts, but it still going and could make it out to the ridge.
I only drove 10kms and stopped beside a creek as the wind is coming in from the west and I'm losing momentum in many ways!

Malou there is some info here amougest the stories and Grawin sounds ok too.

 

[Rugbyroy]

I'm with you Malou. After a holiday in the Ridge I've been bitten by the opal bug too. This is a fantastic forum I am so glad i found it. I'm just trying to gather as much info and put a plan together to join you guys following your dreams.

Cheers Roy

 

[KarlS]

Hi Denman
I don't really know if this is an encouragement for your adventure or opposite. In early seventies I went to Lightining Ridge to mine opals. After few weeks there I decided that I don't like it there and continued my trip around Australia. About a year or so later I finished in Coober Pedy where I mined opal for about two years.
The life there and indeed even in the cities was very different to what it is now. There were no speed limits outside of build up area ( normal speed to go somewhere in the country was 100 mph) and no RBT. If you could walk in reasonably straight line, you were deemed fit to drive. In about seventy one I have purchased .22 Winchester rifle from the Disposal shop near Central Station. I carry it home on the bus without any passages rising eyebrows.
But back to Coober Pedy. I was traveling there from Cape Lambert in WA in 63 Ford Falcon. I'm a Holden kind of guy, but this one come up cheap $250 so against my principles I bought it. The journey from WA to SA was adventure by its own, when I encounter couple of elephants on Nullarbor and coped spear in the boot of Falcon just past the Esperance. I forgot to mention that I managed to bog down my car in the Centre of Perth when I pull on grass strip between the road and footpath. As i was aproching SA, just before place called Snow Town I skided on the mud left by some trucks on the road, hit the road sign and broke windscreen . Believe it or not, few minutes after I punched my shattered windscreen out, it started snowing. I just made it to Snow Town to have windscreen replaced and the dent in roof fixed. Just as well I did not went through there some time later, I may finished up in one of the barrels. I have arrived in Adelaide in middle of winter dressed in shorts, singlet and pair of tongs. It was bloody cold there compared to Northwest I have left just couple weeks ago. So I parked car in some huge car park and went shopping for some warmer attire. After couple hours of shopping I have returned to the spot where I left my car only to find out that my car is gone. I was really pissed off and called police. I complained bitterly that I have just arrived in their city and my car was stolen. Their response was calm down sir, give as your number plate numbers and we are confident to recover your car. Number plate? Hell I don't know, I just bought bloody car few weeks ago. As I'm walking through the car park, fuming, I almost tripp over blue Falcon thar was mine. I just went to wrong car park
After couple weeks in Adelaide I got finally on the way to bloody Coober Pedy . on the way from Port August , eating clouds of dust stirred by lonly Land Rover I decided to overtake it. Bad decision. Just as I was in level with him he decided to avoid rather large pothole in the road and hit me squre on my off side. After few hundred meters rough ride off the road I come back of the goat track they call the road. The guy in Land Rover apologized for hitting me and added that he would never expected to overtaken on this road . No big harm done, the cars in those times were build pretty solid . Road to Coober Pedy is quite long so it is no surprise that before I got there I felt asleep behind the wheel. When I wake up the car was bucking wildly in the scrub, some couple hundred meters off the road. I decided then it is the time to boil the billy and get some rest.
Sorry can't finish, have to go.
Karl
H

 

[dezman]

Wow Karl, that's some round about story so far, looking forward to the rest of it.

Yeah I can't sleep everyone and its 12.10 and some light rain is falling, I thought of driving in the dark as the wind will be up again in the morning. But iv no brakes on the van and the wet roads would make it a little scary.

YES, I'm trying to push myself out there!

Kicking and screaming like a little boy who is afraid, oh nothing worth doing is easy I know.
Unbelievable that I meet a couple yesterday from Sweden and he was out at the ridge 29 years ago and knew the same guy I knew there. The miner we both knew had lent me a jack hammer to test the area I want to dig, but only found potch at the time. But since then I always thought I stopped to soon, but I couldn't afford a new hole in the deeper level under the fault.
What a sign to keep going and make it out there.

I know I'm complaining when I should be over the moon with excitement about it, I'm so lucky to be able to have another go at it.
So I guess this thread could go anywhere and I really do hope to share the adventure here, I'm 48 and feeling every bit my age so it's now or never.

Thanks everyone for the words of encouragement.

 

[Heatho]

What left you un-impressed about BB Dezman? No big deal, just interested. I've only ever had great experiences there. Rotten weather for it though.

 

[KarlS]

Mate, I do understand and sympathize with your feelings. But as you will see from my memories of what have been and done some 45 years ago, it's not any more. The adventures and the experience you having to day cannot be done in 10 or 20 years time. The restrictions that limits you freedom to be yourself and to do what you want, will only get worse as time goes by. Sad, but it is called progress.

When I finally reached Coober Pedy I had car that most of times refused to start( it has to be push started), some camping stuff and about 900 dollars. I made inquiry about the location of my partner's dugout as I have no hope finding it in the maze of tracks that crisis cross the town. The inquiry was made in local PUB of course as it was the hub of local knowledge, same as any bush town. Old timer named Tony and by some coincidence countryman of mine, come to rescue and offer to take me thre for glass of red. So I finally arrived to my destination and settled in small plywood caravan parked in the front of my partner dugout,
Karl

 

[dezman]

Well I'm here and it's not dusty as 10mm fell the other day, but give it a week and I'll be picking my nose :|
I picked up the paperwork and mud map to get myself into the right mind set, they are helpful in the mines dept. I have to wait three weeks for the next safety course, which means I can't really dig. But I can survey the claim etc. but I guess the mines guy would come pass at sometime keeping an eye on things and cut short any work I could be doing.
I must commit myself on Monday with the course and then there is no going back! I'm yet to walk the field and chat with the other claim holders, check to see if my ladders are still there. I'm in two minds as I know how much work is involved.
It's nothing like a little dig around for gold or sapphires, and I do miss digging at sapphire bend and nundle as it's easy camping and enjoyable work.
Here a fortune can be found and lost too, the winter here is beautiful and I'm a little late this year. However if I do setup a claim then next year would be easy in coming out.
What would be a great idea is a ProspectingAustralia campsite and compound to leave our gear in!
Somewhere that acts like a base to work from, but if only it was half the distance from Sydney, hmmm.

 

[Jaros]

Good luck Dezman. I hope all your preparation pays off.
Cheers

 

[dezman]

There are many old holes around and some have fallen in!
Miners hide holes by covering it with timber and tin then drop a pile of dirt on top.
Years later the timber rots and gives way, I think these are a good prospect as they were hidden but never returned to for many reasons. They could easily just fenced it once in the old days.
The fields are more dangerous now as the star pickets are rusting off at the base, soon someone will fall in and there will be an uproar!
It would be easy to pay someone some of the bond money kept over the years to go around and check these old claims. I'll do it

 

[dezman]

Iv just parked on top of the 4 mile ridge and really there is Km's of empty ground to peg and some areas don't even have a hole drilled!
You are allowed to park a van on site and build some sheds etc. and at about $150 a year it's yours.