BOURKE ’N’ BACK

Spurred on by curiosity some time ago, I rode from my home in Newcastle (NSW), which is a coal-mining town, and headed to Cobar, Broken Hill and Silverton to see how other mining towns were doing in often-difficult times. I also got to tour the old Daydream Mine, which was established in 1882, and I recommend that tour to anyone as it blew my mind. Those old miners had it tough beyond explanation. You have to see it for yourself and that whole area is a crucial history lesson for any Aussie.

So I only like doing this sort of stuff on a bike. I’m almost always alone (got no friends) and just checking things out a long way from home. I’ve travelled a lot overseas but I never get enough of seeing different parts of Australia so, in keeping with my mining theme of the last ride, I thought I’d head out to Lightning Ridge to see what opal mining is all about. On the way there I planned to go through the Pilliga and then after a couple of days at Lightning Ridge head to Bourke via Talawanta and then home again.

Ducati fitted the bike with panniers designed by Touratech and I filled them with some clothes and camera gear, strapped my tripod to the rear rack and I was good to go. I left my street at 4:30am and headed towards Coonabarabran and then on to the Pilliga.

I’VE TRAVELLED A LOT OVERSEAS BUT