Red Earth Opal Mine tour in White Cliffs, New South Wales:
The Red Earth opal mine tour in White Cliffs, New South Wales, takes guests 45 feet underground then lets them dig for rare pineapple opals.
One thing Australia does better than anywhere else in the world is producing opal. Opal is the national gemstone of Australia, and it was exceedingly rare worldwide until Australia’s opal mines opened in the 19th century.
The best known source of Australian opal is Coober Pedy, the strange South Australian outback town where most people live underground to escape the ferocious heat.
Pineapple opal in White Cliffs
But Coober Pedy is not the only source of Australian opal, as you’ll discover on an opal mine tour in White Cliffs, New South Wales.
White Cliffs is not the sort of place you end up in by accident. It is deep in the New South Wales outback, a 93km diversion off the Barrier Highway north of Wilcannia. The town has a population of just over 100, and the nearest passable impersonation of the Big Smoke is Broken Hill, 255km to the south-west.
Most of those who live there are hunting for ultra-rare pineapple opals. They’re so-named because the multi-layered stones resemble the top of a pineapple. Geological history has made White Cliffs the best place in the world to find these pineapple opals, as the Dowton family will happily tell you.
The Dowtons have been mining opal in White Cliffs since 1974, and run the Red Earth opal mine. This is a working opal mine, but there’s also an on-site coffee house and opal gallery.
Red Earth opal mine tour in White Cliffs
Most likely to be of interest to visitors, however, is the opal mine tour in White Cliffs. These tours leave at 3pm most days from the Red Earth Coffee House. The White Cliffs opal mine tours start with a talk about the early history of the White Cliffs Opal Field, before heading into the mine.
The mine dates back to the 1890s, and there are now multiple levels of diggings, heading 45 feet underground.
Once down that far, the opal mine tour guide gives a demonstration of the mining equipment. Guests are then given the opportunity to have a little dig themselves. Some previous visitors on the tour have got lucky, discovering an opal. Realistically, though, that’s probably not going to happen.
The Red Earth opal mine tours in White Cliffs cost $25 for adults. Children pay $10 or $15, depending on age.
More out-of-the-way outback Australia
Aboriginal art in the Mutawintji National Park, New South Wales.
The best walks in Robinson Gorge in the Expedition National Park, Queensland.
Darling River and Menindee Lakes cruises in Menindee, New South Wales.
Driving to Lake Eyre in South Australia, Australia’s biggest salt lake.
The swimming holes of Hamersley Gorge in Western Australia’s Karijini National Park.