Lightning Ridge

This town is built entirely around the hunt for something found almost nowhere else on Earth, black opal pulled straight from the ground in genuine quantity. Dig through the public noodling grounds for stones the miners missed, or descend into the Chambers of the Black Hand, an old mine one miner spent decades hand-carving into an underground gallery of sculpture. Soak afterwards in the Bore Baths, naturally hot artesian water, free and open all night. To get around, follow the self-guided car door tours, painted doors nailed to posts marking routes through the old mining fields.