Amigo's Castle, Lightning Ridge

In 1981, Vittorio Stefanato, known as Amigo, got tired of opal mining and decided to build this castle from ironstone, inspired by some Roman ruins in Nth Italy, where he came from. It is still going ahead, slowly, but he doesn't live in it any longer as he needed more privacy.

Lightning Ridge and More Opals Part 1

June 18th 2014
No sleeping in this morning as we had to be at the Tourist Information Centre by 8.50 am to be picked up by the Outback Opal Tour bus. There was only one other couple doing the tour so we could sit anywhere on the minibus. Our guide Peter, wearing a T-shirt saying “Grumpy Old Man” on it, told us the basics about opal formation and had a few samples of the various rocks, clay and potch to pass ... read more

Oceania » Australia » New South Wales

Aboriginal settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia about 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession in the name... ... read more

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