The road to White Cliff was an adventure in and of itself. Shortly after leaving Wilcannia, the tar seal ended, and the road reverted to graded red dirt. For the next 50km, we slowly weaved around ruts, potholes and through pools of muddy water. More than once, I wondered if we’d soon find ourselves bogged in the middle of the desert.
Despite a few hair-raising moments we made it safely to White Cliff as the sun kissed the horizon. What a sunset! On the edge of town, we climbed a ridge of opal tailings and soaked up an iridescent landscape of jumbled red dirt. The image below simply doesn’t do it justice.
I booked us into an Underground B&B. Like many homes in this opal mining town, our accommodation was built into a hillside alongside a miner’s active claim. Although, much to our host’s surprise, we rocked up a day ahead of schedule. Hours before we’d walked into a hotel we’d booked in Cobar, disliked it and kept driving.
As luck would have it, our unsuspecting B&B hosts had arrived home minutes before after being away for several days. Edna and I shamelessly played dumb and insisted we’d booked the correct date. Our hosts graciously agreed to accommodate us ahead of schedule. They also apologized for offering a simple pasta meal as they hadn’t restocked their pantry. Then after dinner, they took us on a tour of their home’s private opal mine.
Many White Cliff locals live underground “dugouts” year-round. It’s the coolest place in the Outback where outdoor temperatures can soar above 40 C for weeks on end in Summer. This was the first time I’d ever slept in an underground home. A feat that wasn’t repeated until Garry and I spent two nights underground in Cooper Pedy in 2019.
I’d wanted to visit White Cliff after watching contestants from the TV reality show, The Amazing Race, playing golf on its barren nine-hole course. We simply had to play a game so the following morning our hosts helped us track down the local “greenskeeper”. We hired a set of clubs and some balls and set about playing nine holes on the oddest course I’ve ever encountered. I’m not too proud to admit that we both lost balls. However, I still finished with the best score.
The golf course is the ultimate outback experience. No grass at all, narrow fairways, lots of saltbush, plenty of out-of-bound zones and a few hazards including gravel, dry creek beds and burrow holes. To protect your club from damage, you’re given a small mat of artificial turf that you carry with you. The local rules allow you to move your ball one club length onto your portable mat for each shot, while the greens are simply rolled, fine gravel, occasionally damped down with oil. 
White Cliffs is also home to the world’s first commercial solar power station, built in 1980. On the outskirts of town, 14 shiny concave dishes focus the sun’s energy to generate superheated steam. We saw it from a distance as we drove into town, returning the next day for a closer look. It’s easy to forget that two decades ago, solar power was still in its infancy. While preparing this post, I learned that the White Cliff station ceased operation in 2005, two years after my visit.
I booked us into an Underground B&B. Like many homes in this opal mining town, our accommodation was built into a hillside alongside a miner’s active claim. Although, much to our host’s surprise, we rocked up a day ahead of schedule. Hours before we’d walked into a hotel we’d booked in Cobar, disliked it and kept driving.
As luck would have it, our unsuspecting B&B hosts had arrived home minutes before after being away for several days. Edna and I shamelessly played dumb and insisted we’d booked the correct date. Our hosts graciously agreed to accommodate us ahead of schedule. They also apologized for offering a simple pasta meal as they hadn’t restocked their pantry. Then after dinner, they took us on a tour of their home’s private opal mine.
Many White Cliff locals live underground “dugouts” year-round. It’s the coolest place in the Outback where outdoor temperatures can soar above 40 C for weeks on end in Summer. This was the first time I’d ever slept in an underground home. A feat that wasn’t repeated until Garry and I spent two nights underground in Cooper Pedy in 2019.
I’d wanted to visit White Cliff after watching contestants from the TV reality show, The Amazing Race, playing golf on its barren nine-hole course. We simply had to play a game so the following morning our hosts helped us track down the local “greenskeeper”. We hired a set of clubs and some balls and set about playing nine holes on the oddest course I’ve ever encountered. I’m not too proud to admit that we both lost balls. However, I still finished with the best score.
The golf course is the ultimate outback experience. No grass at all, narrow fairways, lots of saltbush, plenty of out-of-bound zones and a few hazards including gravel, dry creek beds and burrow holes. To protect your club from damage, you’re given a small mat of artificial turf that you carry with you. The local rules allow you to move your ball one club length onto your portable mat for each shot, while the greens are simply rolled, fine gravel, occasionally damped down with oil.
Follow this link for more outback adventures as we explore Broken Hill and the Murray River.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment