The surreal white cliffs of NSW

ECCENTRIC outback characters, a surreal landscape and underground homes and shops greet Brian Johnston in the opal mining town.

white cliffs NSW escape

THERE'S a grave of a man who died of thirst in White Cliffs. It's a local tourist attraction, along with a house built of beer bottles and a rusting tipper by the roadside.

A wedge-tailed eagle pecking at a carcass in the middle of the tarmac is the only other immediate sight of note.

There isn't much else to see, since everyone lives in holes in the ground, including an old fellow called Jock, whose house is filled with dust-coated piles of ancient typewriters, prams and chamberpots.

"In and out of jail and mental institutions, the people around here. They're all mad. Soon as I get a dollar, I'll go," he shouts. "Even the dogs go mad, it's catching."

Jock has been here for 40 years, so clearly his dollar hasn't turned up yet. About 150 other folk live in White Cliffs, all hoping to dig up opals and get rich on the proceeds.

It's the surreal location and eccentric outback characters of this isolated place, 225km northeast of Broken Hill, that make a visit rewarding. The landscape is studded with hillocks of pale earth left from the thousands of tunnels burrowed into the ground since the mining boom of the 1880s.

It isn't only opals but relief from 50C summer heat that people are after. Underground, the temperature remains a constant 22C year round.

"In a dugout, you never have to use a heater or airconditioner," says motel owner Richard Beach. "It's perfectly dry and well ventilated, too the ultimate eco-dwelling."

There are about 140 dugout homes in town and only 20-odd above-ground buildings, including a general store and pub.

Underground is where it's all happening. Pop into the photography gallery of Otto Rogge for some splendid prints of the Outback.

Then plunder opal shops such as soaring Cathedral Gallery run by Brett "The Bishop" Brown, who claims the climate has vastly improved his osteo-arthritis. He's a relative newcomer here, but proud of his town and his ever-growing, pickaxed house.

"You dig yourself an extension and start pulling up opals, so quite often it pays for itself," he comments happily.

Graeme Dowton is another resident who can't resist fossicking around his own home.

"After I shaped this house out, I spent a year sinking holes in the floors. It's a habit, you get a bit carried away." He pauses, eyes gleaming. "There's a fault line right there by that display cabinet. I reckon that's where I could find opals."

Graeme operates Red Earth Opal while his wife, Sacha Sullivan, runs the cafe, dishing up terrific homemade kangaroo pies and improbably fresh salads.

Graeme takes visitors on a tour into his mine. As he explains his work, his hands fidget over the walls and he talks of "tickling out" opals with his fingers.

That night, as I retire to the Underground Motel, I feel a giddy sense of adventure just being in this strange place. I wish I'd brought a pickaxe so I could have a go at the walls in the night. Who knows, I might just tickle out an opal.

 The writer was a guest of Tri State Safaris and Destination NSW.

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WHITE CLIFFS

- Getting there

Rex Airlines operates flights from Sydney to Broken Hill, 225km from White Cliffs. Visit regionalexpress.com.au, ph 13 17 13.

- Getting around

Tri State Safaris is based in Broken Hill and operates tours ranging from one to 19 days in the NSW Outback. Its two-day Opal Dreaming Tour to White Cliffs costs $760 a person, twin share, including all meals and one night's accommodation. Visit tristate.com.au, ph [phone].

- Staying there

White Cliffs Underground Motel has double rooms with shared bathrooms and can also supply cooked breakfasts and three-course evening meals. Visit undergroundmotel .com.au, ph [phone].

More: visitbrokenhill.com.au, ph [phone].