Opal Fields of Australia

The opal fields of Australia are one of the last remaining frontiers in the world, a place where you can be completely alone, apart from Kangaroos, emus and the occasional lizard or snake.

The yellow-orange colors of the Australian Outback roads, particularly in Western Queensland, are typical of places where opal is found in the in the opal fields The small white hills you see in the foreground are called ‘Mullock Heaps’ which are a form of clay which is the material where opal is found.

Miners from the opal fields have sunk shafts looking for this precious stone, sometimes up to 90 feet deep., There are often a number of different levels and if opal is not discovered in the first level, the miner may continue digging in the shaft to the next level in the hope of finding precious opal.

Some information about the opal fields of Australia

This area is home to lots of Kangaroos and Emus. The Emu is a large bird similar to the African Ostrich. It is often quite a friendly creature. If you make the right noise and hold your arm in a position with approximates the look of an emu neck and beak, they will often come right up to you out of curiosity.

At present, this year 2015 the Lighting Ridge area is suffering from a major drought. It’s so dry that the Kangaroos come right into town and often at night time (kangaroos are a nocturnal animal) you will see them on people’s front laws gnawing at the grass. Often they will even come up onto the verandas.

A trip to the opal fields of Australia

and these outback areas is fascinating but tourists have to be careful that they are well equipped with spare tires and lots of food and water because, even though this area looks very dry, at times it can rain more than at the coast and it’s easy to get bogged and lost.

If you intend to take a trip to see the opal fields, be sure to let us know on this blog. We at opalmine.com would be happy to give you some suggestions. take a look at some history of our site as it relates to the opal fields.