Lightning Ridge Road Trip Adventure

The Hyundai i20 may be small but she is powerful - as we tested for ourselves on our 2020 outback adventure. With international and interstate travel a thing of the past, we decided to check out our own backyard in NSW with an outback road trip. Lightning ridge seemed like a flashy destination and completely unknown to us, so we marked it on the map and set off.

Sydney -> Lightning Ridge

We decided to travel through the blue mountains through Bilpin and picked up a case of mixed ciders at Bilpin Cider Co. This was a delicious staple drink for the remainder of our trip and we recommend swinging by their cellar door on 2369 Bells Line of Road https://bilpincider.com

The devastation from the 2019/20 bushfires made for a very different drive through the normally lush Blue Mountains but we were lucky to see rain on our visit. We even spotted a rainbow! We then made our way to Dubbo and the following day spent a fun day cycling and meeting giraffes at the Dubbo Zoo. Although the cycling rental man was sick, we still managed to pick up some rogue bikes and rent them out at front desk. Just fyi, in case he catches something when you are next at Dubbo for a visit. Spending the night at some local accomodation, we had a pub dinner and chilled out with some cool ciders.

Reenergised by the cute meerkats and with some sore cycling butts, we started our drive from Dubbo to Lightning Ridge bright and early. By bright and early I mean 10am, after our obligatory full cafe breakfast.. Check out Short Street Store for tasty coffee! https://shortstreetstore.com.au/

We then visited some country town classics including my personal favourite the quaint Gilgandra and also Gulargambone, Coonamble and Walgett. We almost made it to Come By Chance but we wouldn't recommend adding it to your itinerary for obvious reasons. Look out for some spectacular painted siloes along this drive! Please also remember to fill up especially if you have a fuel guzzler as there is often quite a gap between towns. Please also prepare a downloaded playlist for the long roads to stay awake and avoid multiple hours of 'exciting' country radio. Don't forget to look out for emus!

You will know you are almost at your destination when you spot the giant emu.. that's all I'm going to say. When you arrive you have to promise me you will go to town information centre. It will make the ladies who work there very happy. Also they will provide you with an essential map as the best spots in town are all found off road in the mining regions. Just trust us and give them a visit! They may also give you some tips about opal fossicking if you want to strike it lucky.. we did ;)

If you arrive in Lightning Ridge around sunset, I must insist you drop everything and begin the frantic drive to the biggest destination in town at this time: Nettleton's First Shaft Lookout. Please follow signs for the 'Green Car Door Tour' which is one of multiple exciting tours of the town's mining regions. Crack open a beer or cider, pack a pie and enjoy the view! Look out for the house made of bottles and beer cans and don't forget to sign the guest book while you're there..

What to do in Lighting Ridge?

Car door tours

Each car door tour shows you around a seperate section of Lightning Ridge's mining town and shafts. However, don't expect a boring drive! Information and routes for these tours can be obtained from the Lightning Ridge information centre. Expect the unexpected and eclectic and pick and choose from the small businesses, galleries, cactus gardens and even castles found on each winding tour. We personally visited and loved the Opal mine adventure walk in mine and Bevan's cactus nursery. Some of the attractions were closed or required bookings so research ahead if there is something you are eager to experience.

John Murray Gallery

John Murray is a Lightning Ridge local artist and you can spot a mural of his on every other surface. I'm a huge fan of his work and picked up a small print of my own from his gallery. We spotted him painting new murals during our stay with the help of local young people in the town. Essential spot to visit!

Lightning Ridge Bore Baths

These naturally heated springs are a popular destination and were quite busy when we visited. Expect to cozy up with some grey nomads during the day but we personally suggest visiting at night for a quieter crowd. Not to mention the baths are a little drive from the main drag, so as visit at night gives the perfect opportunity for some silence and darkness for star gazing in comfort.

Lightning Ridge -> Sydney

We took a different route for the home stretch to check out some different spots in regional NSW. We took a more North route through the Liverpool plains and passed towns including Wee Waa, Baan Baa and Gunnedah. We booked accomodation at a gorgeous farm stay bed and breakfast Wallabadah Art Shack where we enjoyed a stunning sunset, perused the farm art gallery and met the resident alpacas and two llamas. Tania and Rodney were extremely accomodating and provided fresh bread and local jams for breakfast. We can't recommend them enough! https://www.artshackwilgabah.com/

The art shack marked the end of our road trip adventure and the following day we drove home to Sydney, stopping in Aberdeen for lunch. Hope you enjoyed this road trip recap and follow us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/greener_please/ for updates on our future adventures and blog posts!