This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 40-year-old bookmark (give or take a few years) and I proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).
Today’s travel notes
Me and the TC spent the last few days in the Australian Outback. Although it was a short trip (six days in total), it was the experience of a life time. This post tells of our stay in White Cliffs, a small and remote opal mining settlement in far western New South Wales.
The book I’m in
The Book of Eve, by Meg Clothier. Ancient intrigue and engaging characters. I’m now nestled near the end of the book. It’s been quite a ride.
Travel tips
Take spare fuel, in case the fuel station at White Cliffs is closed or doesn’t have the right fuel for your vehicle.
Recommended accommodation
White Cliffs Underground Motel. The experience is unique. The rooms are entirely underground, as are many of the homes in the area, dug out to provide cool shelter from the extreme heat in summer. Some of the dugouts are converted opal mine shafts and tunnels.
The photos
Me and Peg in our dugout at the White Cliffs Underground Motel, catching the breeze from a ventilation shaft:
White Cliffs is in the middle of nowhere (by some definition of nowhere), at 1,025 km west of Sydney and 781 km north-east of Adelaide. The last part of the route is Opal Miners Way, picturesque especially in the late afternoon with the colours blowing across the landscape:
Janet the Jeep waits while the TC snaps the sundown shots. Janet herself is picturesque at sundown too:
The entrance to the Underground Motel is long and low, with the rooms built into the hill behind:
Being a bookmark, yours truly is comfortable with snug spaces. Other folks might worry that the underground corridors and rooms will feel small and close. However, inside the Underground Motel, the walls are painted white, good for giving an impression of cheer and space:
In search of our dugout:
Passing the stairs that lead up to the roof:
Our dugout:
We arrived quite late, and so missed the famed sunset. The TC, bless her cotton socks, sprang up before dawn and led us up to the roof to catch the sunrise:
The rectangular low blocks are covered air shafts for the rooms below. In the car park in the distance, Janet the Jeep waits patiently.
After breakfast, we explored the opal mines. Mounds of white dirt encircle the mine shafts. Take care, dear traveller, not to misstep and fall down a hole:
Pieces of equipment stand around, some in use, some not:
Inventive methods are used to cover open shafts, like these old bed frames:
Underneath the bed frames:
Swallows perch on old metal drums, which are also used to warn of open mine shafts:
Old working vehicles rest in peace, like this Commer truck:
Your trusty bookmark cosied up to Commer the Truck:
Janet the Jeep needed fuel, but we discovered that the fuel station at White Cliffs opens late on Sundays. Janet was keen to be on the road again, so the TC Once Removed (he’s the TC’s other travelling companion) topped up from our spare tank:
Bonus tip from the TC Once Removed: Cover your sleeves and wear gloves if you can, otherwise you’ll smell of fuel for the rest of the trip.
Stay tuned for more of our Outback adventures. Until my next post…
That’s all for today, folks.
Travelling Worm 
Talk to the Travelling Worm!