WalnLiz
In remembrance, April 2024
There's been a bit of interest by some members regarding doing a family fossicking trip with the idea of chasing a bit of Opal along the way. We spend a lot of time at Tibooburra north of Broken hill chasing gold during the winter months, and on most of our return trips we head home via White Cliffs to do some scratching around on the vast moonscape in an attempt to wind down, relax, and get a little bit of colour for the grandkids.
Typical moonscape at White Cliffs
Directions to get there are very simple and the road is fully sealed, so easy for towing campers and caravans. White Cliffs is 259km east from Broken Hill NSW, which is the main shopping centre for the locals. The nearest town is Wilcannia, which is 94km away. The field was first mined in 1889 and was the first recognised Opal field in the country. Firewood is very scarce in town so if you are staying for a while it's a good idea to get it on the way in. Best months to visit are late Autumn to early Spring, as in the summer months even the goannas stay underground as the heat is extremely inhospitable. The main camping ground is well priced and has all the facilities needed for a comfortable stay including a laundry. The nearby pub is always frequented by some very colourful locals and yarns can last well into the night. The feel of the place is very friendly and the amount of "Noodling" ground is by far the biggest of all the major fields.
Noodled pieces from White Cliffs
Much of the field has signposted tracks and there are several drop dunnies close to most areas accessed by the tourists. Care should always be taken when working amongst the thousands of old shafts as some are deep enough to cause the unwary some significant harm. There is also quite a few registered claims on the field and these must not be entered "under any circumstances" without the claim owners permission. They are well signposted so please keep away from them. Some of the local claim owners are very approachable and starting a conversation with them can often lead to expert knowledge and with the right attitude permission to noodle their discarded mullock. There is also several miners who sell direct to the public and some bargains are always on offer for those who want a present for a friend or partner.
Cabbed piece of White Cliffs Opal ready to be made into a pendant
Tools for Noodling are very basic and all you need is a small scraper, a stiff brush, a pair of tweezers, a spray bottle, a small rake, a geo pick or hammer to break up clusters, a set of knee pads, a small container for your finds, and very keen eyesight is helpful. Going after rain certainly helps as much of the soft dusty soil on the heaps continually erodes away exposing new parts of the mullock not previously seen. Raking down some of the older heaps, especially those with grass growing on them, "well aged", can expose some very nice slithers of opal the old timers missed. On one of our previous trips a nice "Pineapple" opal was discovered by a tourist using this raking method. The time of day can also be beneficial as early morning and late evening the sun is too low to glisten on the "Potch" shards we are looking for. The middle part of the day is when we like to put in our major effort. Cloudy days also work very well as it avoids shadowing.
Once you find a mullock heap that produces potch,"opal with no colour", then raking will more often than not produce more potch for you, and hopefully some with colour to make that memorable broach or ring when you get home. Double check your potch finds with your spray bottle, as water really brings out even the smallest amount of colour. Noodling is a bit like detecting where low and slow are of the utmost importance. Don't just walk over mullock heaps in an upright position as the opal will not just jump out at you. Get onto your hands and knees and scout the ground as though you are looking for a needle in a haystack. Only edges of the opal or potch will be seen, and if you glance too quickly over the ground you will miss more than 50% of what could be on offer.
The great aspect of this kind of fossicking is the whole family can get involved and as we are "Hunting," boredom very seldom sets in even for the kids. The tourists you meet here are quite often detector people heading to and from Tibooburra, so gold is very often part of the campfire conversations. Good luck out there and above all stay safe....Wal.
Typical moonscape at White Cliffs
Directions to get there are very simple and the road is fully sealed, so easy for towing campers and caravans. White Cliffs is 259km east from Broken Hill NSW, which is the main shopping centre for the locals. The nearest town is Wilcannia, which is 94km away. The field was first mined in 1889 and was the first recognised Opal field in the country. Firewood is very scarce in town so if you are staying for a while it's a good idea to get it on the way in. Best months to visit are late Autumn to early Spring, as in the summer months even the goannas stay underground as the heat is extremely inhospitable. The main camping ground is well priced and has all the facilities needed for a comfortable stay including a laundry. The nearby pub is always frequented by some very colourful locals and yarns can last well into the night. The feel of the place is very friendly and the amount of "Noodling" ground is by far the biggest of all the major fields.
Noodled pieces from White Cliffs
Much of the field has signposted tracks and there are several drop dunnies close to most areas accessed by the tourists. Care should always be taken when working amongst the thousands of old shafts as some are deep enough to cause the unwary some significant harm. There is also quite a few registered claims on the field and these must not be entered "under any circumstances" without the claim owners permission. They are well signposted so please keep away from them. Some of the local claim owners are very approachable and starting a conversation with them can often lead to expert knowledge and with the right attitude permission to noodle their discarded mullock. There is also several miners who sell direct to the public and some bargains are always on offer for those who want a present for a friend or partner.
Cabbed piece of White Cliffs Opal ready to be made into a pendant
Tools for Noodling are very basic and all you need is a small scraper, a stiff brush, a pair of tweezers, a spray bottle, a small rake, a geo pick or hammer to break up clusters, a set of knee pads, a small container for your finds, and very keen eyesight is helpful. Going after rain certainly helps as much of the soft dusty soil on the heaps continually erodes away exposing new parts of the mullock not previously seen. Raking down some of the older heaps, especially those with grass growing on them, "well aged", can expose some very nice slithers of opal the old timers missed. On one of our previous trips a nice "Pineapple" opal was discovered by a tourist using this raking method. The time of day can also be beneficial as early morning and late evening the sun is too low to glisten on the "Potch" shards we are looking for. The middle part of the day is when we like to put in our major effort. Cloudy days also work very well as it avoids shadowing.
Once you find a mullock heap that produces potch,"opal with no colour", then raking will more often than not produce more potch for you, and hopefully some with colour to make that memorable broach or ring when you get home. Double check your potch finds with your spray bottle, as water really brings out even the smallest amount of colour. Noodling is a bit like detecting where low and slow are of the utmost importance. Don't just walk over mullock heaps in an upright position as the opal will not just jump out at you. Get onto your hands and knees and scout the ground as though you are looking for a needle in a haystack. Only edges of the opal or potch will be seen, and if you glance too quickly over the ground you will miss more than 50% of what could be on offer.
The great aspect of this kind of fossicking is the whole family can get involved and as we are "Hunting," boredom very seldom sets in even for the kids. The tourists you meet here are quite often detector people heading to and from Tibooburra, so gold is very often part of the campfire conversations. Good luck out there and above all stay safe....Wal.
