On the road to Lightning Ridge

The road to Lightning Ridge is long – or at the very least – our recent drive into the outback certainly was. We left Tamworth mid-morning after a brief drive up to the Oxley Scenic Lookout overlooking Tamworth, followed by a quick stop at the city’s iconic Golden Guitar. The view from the outlook was well worth the stop. Tamworth is bigger than you think (click on the panorama below and you’ll see what I mean).

Our drive inland took us first to Gunnedah. Here we stopped briefly at Porcupine Lookout to enjoy a picturesque view over the township. We then turned north and made our way to Narrabri and the CISIRO’s Paul Wild Observatory. This facility houses the Australia Telescope Compact Array, the perfect backdrop for a Hollywood science fiction blockbuster. 

 
The array is a radio telescope consisting of six identical 22-metre diameter dishes. Five of these can be moved along a 3km railway track while the sixth antenna is permanently fixed 3 km beyond the end of the track. A perpendicular spur tracks north for almost half a kilometre. Depending on the array’s final configuration, astronomers can set up an observation base line up to six kilometres long, or focus it over as little as 15 metres.

Our visit was timed perfectly. All of the mobile dishes were configured in close proximity making for some dramatic images. We spent an hour exploring the CSIRO’s informative visitor’s centre, and wandering the array trackway, before enjoying a late picnic lunch in the shadow of the array itself.

After lunch, we took to the road again and continued driving towards Lightning Ridge. We were surprised to see how lush and green the interior looks after its recent drought-busting rain. Our final hour of driving was a little hair-raising as our arrival in Lightning Ridge occurred 30 minutes after sunset. Australia’s native fauna is particularly active at dusk. As a result, driving on country roads in the early evening is rather risky. I’m pleased to report that we arrived safely without incident.