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00:00On Outback Opal Hunters, the Bushmen battle opal thieves on land and in the
00:09skies. Wild weather again forces the Boulder Boys to dig their way out of
00:18trouble. And as summer heat ends their season, Gav McFarlane puts rookie
00:26son Zach through his paces.
00:30I'm gonna put some fuel in it are you Les? Yeah I'll get it ready for tomorrow.
00:58Do you know there's a car over here? Oh yeah.
01:09Nigel stay! I'm gonna go and see who this is Les.
01:16That's why you sort of pay attention to an unknown car around the field.
01:21I've had a gutful of this. How many times do you have to deal with these bastards?
01:26Rod Manning is chasing down another suspected opal thief.
01:34I'm down here. He's a bit quicker than me, the prick. This season he and partner Les
01:42have lost thousands of dollars to thieves. I got no over catching him. Makes you angry.
01:50Unfortunately on opal fields you're always gonna have ratters. Couldn't catch
01:54him Les. They're just scummy little parasites you know. Not good, we'll have
02:00to keep a bit more of an eye out that's all. Makes you start thinking when you go
02:05to work in the morning what are some mongrel taking now. That's what they do
02:09this time of year see, these fields are starting to clear out. Not as many people
02:13around, not so many eyes watching them. What if we get the dogs on the top of
02:20the hole as our security while we're down there? That's a good idea. At least they'll let us
02:24know if they come back. Yeah. Alright UST, USR on duty alright? You gotta let us know
02:29what's going on. Bondi's we've been you know doing alright there and it's a
02:36race now to get as much out of there as we can. There's only a certain amount of
02:41time we can work there before that heap comes. Once that heap comes you know
02:46there's there's not much you can do. Summer temperatures in the region can
02:52reach well over 45 degrees Celsius making it impossible for miners to work.
02:59The Bushmen have just weeks before they down tools. They're on the hunt for black
03:06opal but are still short of their season target with most of this year's earnings
03:11eaten up by repair costs and debts.
03:16It's a vicious circle. You get a bit and then someone else wants it. It's a bit
03:23bloody rough at the moment. The cupboards are pretty bare because we're buying bulk.
03:27The diesel man won't give me any more diesel till I pay me bills so we've got
03:32to have some money come in very soon.
03:36First job, get their two-ton digger working again. The leg ram here that
03:43pushes her up into the roof to lock her in place. We got a hydraulic leak in the
03:48bottom hose so we just fixed it up. We'll stick the leg back in now, shouldn't take
03:53too long.
03:56Push a bit more.
04:00Now you can let her go. When I have to tip it back this way with this particular digger I've
04:15got to be a little bit careful because if I let it come over too quick she's
04:19gonna bloody just go keep on going and she'll end up laying on this other side
04:22again. All right, let's push.
04:36Everything's going not bad today, so far. We're on fire, mate. Now we're just about to dig out a big lump opal.
04:52Too hot, hence why the ice. Oh God, sweltering.
05:00Seventy kilometres to the northeast, the first hot spell of summer is hitting the
05:06McFarland's hard. Over 40, 42, 43, 44, 45 every single solitary day.
05:15Luxuries in life out here right now. I'm turning my flushing toilet. Why the hell do you
05:22need wire for a toilet? God give me strength. For months a shortage of opal
05:30and cash has put essential home improvements on hold. And I will nag until
05:36the cows come home. I don't care what they say, nagging will get it there for
05:39me. Teagan, get your shoes off those sheets, get out of the bed. Move, go, goodbye.
05:44For Connie and 16 year old daughter Teagan, the uncomfortable has become
05:49unbearable. My pillows are covered in dirt. They're filthy, yes they are. For privacy I only have a
05:56curtain and you can see through it. I'd like a wall and I would like for the
06:02roof to not fall on me while I'm sleeping. This stuff just brings down
06:06dust and dirt. As you can see, dirt just falls and it's just gross. I've got a lot
06:14of pressure on me at the moment to get, I need to make money to get my camp
06:17sorted. Our roof is a priority. It'd be just so nice to be able to get that one
06:23lot of money to be able to go in and order all the materials in one hit and
06:26go there's our roof. Just to make it a home and not a shack. With a target of
06:33$20,000, Gavin has found just $2,200.
06:41The season's getting pretty much to the end. Time's ticking. Time's always ticking
06:48isn't it? With one last dig left of the season, Gavin needs help.
06:55Zach finally moved here. They're so excited to see him. The McFarland's 19
07:00year old son Zach has just moved over 600 kilometres from the coast with his
07:05young family. Yeah so I've finally made the move up to the ridge and I'm real
07:11happy we're up here now. Closer to family, it's real good.
07:20Yeah dad's definitely trying to make sure he doesn't let the girls down with
07:24the shack and he wants to make them feel comfortable and happy. That's why I'm
07:29here to help him. You know I'm here to tell him that he can do it. I've got his
07:32back. Yes I'm going to work. I need to go to work. But Zach has never mined before.
07:39I'm here to learn, help out and provide. I'm gonna go help Poppy. There's plenty
07:47of pressures, young parent and whatnot, first kid. Work my ass off seven days a
07:52week, 24-7 if I had to you know. Anything to make him happy. Bye guys. Bye
07:58everybody. Ready to go. Fingers crossed the opal gods are kind to us now. He might
08:06even bring us a bit of luck.
08:11900 kilometres to the north in tropical Queensland. Have a look at that Ron.
08:19Bloody hell.
08:23Wow.
08:26No wonder it's leaking then.
08:30That's a lot of water. I was listening to the radio, it said six to eight mil. We'll be
08:43getting them. We've got 75 and then 15 the next morning.
08:46Almost 90 mil. Oh well, you can't stop the rain. A freak thunderstorm has saturated
08:54the Boulder Boys 27 hectare mine site, including their main pit and the water
08:59level is rising. Hey that's gushing in, look at it. She's actually running in
09:07like a spring. Oh that's a gusher. The source of the rising waters, a flooded
09:14neighbouring open-cut mine, known as Coles Cut. That's all coming from Coles Cut.
09:21That's coming through the fault mate. Look at that, back to square one Ron.
09:25She's got us again. We can pump that out but there's no point pumping that out if
09:31she doesn't keep running through here. Just disheartening. For the Boulder Boys,
09:37the dragonfly claim is nearly all dug out. The pit is their last chance of big
09:44opal. Well I think there's opal up there in the pit. Me dad said that's our best
09:50chance of getting opal. To stop water seeping into the pit, the boys must
09:57somehow lower the water level in Coles Cut. We'll put a trench in here somewhere.
10:06You're gonna have to. Me and Ron are gonna put a trench in from Coles Cut. At
10:11least if we drop 10 foot of water, we won't have this problem here. That's all
10:17we can do, let's do it eh? If we can get a trench all the way down, far enough away and we can then
10:26constantly drain it from there.
10:31It's all costing time and money. Every hour the excavator burns through $50 of
10:39diesel.
10:52Yeah we nearly finished the trench now, so I'll get it from forward and then I'll
10:55break the last bit out. I'm a bit lucky we should get water coming out. The best
11:03thing to come out of a mine at the end of the day is the miner. For Zach McFarlane,
11:07it's day one of mining school. And you'll hear it in our voice and I want
11:13you to move like a gazelle, faster than you can move okay? Yep.
11:17Zach's training ground is his dad's claim, littered with old condemned mines.
11:24First lesson, how to survive a tunnel collapse. Mate we're gonna give you a go,
11:30give you a run at the emergency exit. It's a necessity, this will save your
11:35life. You need to know, because it could happen any time, like get the f*** out of
11:38here. Yep and then go.
11:44You need to know the route, you need to know which way your emergency ladders
11:49are. You've just got to keep going, moving forward. Don't look back, look forward and
11:54go, go, go, go, go. Excellent, well done. That's just to give you an idea that
12:01that's how quick it can happen. Zach has moved to Lightning Ridge with his
12:05young family, to build a new life as an opal miner. At only 19, I'm a dad now,
12:13with a little boy, Levi. I love him to death, he's my whole world, he is my
12:19number one priority really, is to make sure he's happy and healthy. So handsome.
12:24The ultimate price anyone can pay in this game is death, so we're putting as
12:30much safety and precaution as we can, to stop anything like that happening to us.
12:37About to move in and start in on the face. One of the most dangerous and
12:42difficult tasks underground, is moving the one tonne digger. Moving the digger's,
12:48it's hairy stuff. It can happen so quick, it can go over, tip over and then that
12:54tipping it over, you've just got to run away as far as you can, you don't want to
12:58try and stop it from tipping mate, it'll kill you. If I say get, just get, yeah, get
13:04away from it, don't go anywhere near it.
13:10See, that quick. The arrival of experienced digger operator, Tim Bryant, is a
13:17welcome relief. Oh, I knew a sight for sore eyes. What are you doing you silly old prick?
13:25How are you trying not to roll the digger? Well mate, you know what? It's all yours.
13:30It's alright mate. Thanks buddy, good to see ya.
13:35This is the last dig of the season, and for Zach, his first and last chance to
13:41find Opal. That's what we want, we want colour. Colour.
13:48Dad. What have you got? Look at that. Can you see it?
13:55Down there having a bit of a scratch. Sees himself a bit of trace. I think he might
14:00be bringing us the luck we need. Right there, where your light is. Up, to the left
14:07touch, look at that. Yep. Bet that's knobby. Yeah, that is. Yep, there it is. It is, it's a knobby.
14:16Jesus, let's hope there's some colour in it.
14:26See, another five minutes we should start draining Cole's cart. In remote
14:31Queensland, Aaron and Ron are digging a 60 metre long trench to relieve water
14:37pressure on their last remaining Opal pit.
14:46Take your tank along the trench, Aaron.
15:00What do you reckon? I reckon that'll drop a third of it, that's all we need to.
15:04Well, it's doing the job. Good gutter, eh Ron? It is. The water level in the pit is
15:10dropping, but there's still a problem. We can't tunnel now. Nah, that'd be too
15:15dangerous. The walls of the pit are too wet to tunnel into. We do want a mine in
15:21there, at least get a tunnel in. We don't want a tunnel to fill up with water, which it
15:25will. I think it's a bit disappointing. If they're going to find Opal, the
15:31Boulder Boys will need a new plan. Well, Dragon Fry said 95% of it dug. We can't
15:39dig anywhere around here. There are two bigger jobs. I think I'm gonna start
15:44looking for new ground. We've got another lease out here. Two and a half
15:49kilometres to the east, Aaron has an exploration permit, or EP, covering 1,000
15:56hectares. Let's hope we get it. It allows them to explore for signs of Opal. If
16:05successful, they can take out a lease and start mining. Well, we're hoping to find Opal.
16:11A lead on the EP that we can get some shallower Opal. Bit easier digging. Most
16:17Boulder Opal lies 10 to 15 metres below ground, but clues lie on the surface.
16:22It's good to see we're still getting throwouts of rocks coming up towards the
16:26hill, so we're gonna try it. Throwouts are traces of Opal. Queensland Boulder Opal
16:35is formed when silica-rich water becomes trapped in cavities within hard
16:39ironstone rocks.
16:43This lot, I reckon it's close to blue. Purple anyway, mate. Wherever we've got
16:51purple, we've always got Opal, hey? Yeah, we have. Probably bring the excavator here and
16:55trench right through. Now he's doing a little trench, we'll just trench the whole lot.
16:59Might take a day, but doesn't matter, we'll get a result.
17:04Borrowed from a neighbouring miner is this 35 tonne excavator, but they have
17:11only two days before it must be returned. We haven't got the excavator for long, so
17:17we'll get into it.
17:34Like a half a boulder. Not quite like a right colour. We're gonna have a look at
17:42everything.
17:48All right, that looks like absolute to me. It can turn you into gold though, you know that.
18:03I really like the ground, it's changing. So we might be frigging on to something, mate.
18:14Bloody hope so, it's about time. With summer temperatures on the rise and the end of
18:22the season just weeks away, the Bushmen are pushing hard to end with a big find.
18:27We've just got to get stuck in to start moving dirt and hopefully we'll hit a
18:31little bit. Watch yourself while I'm doing this roof, Laz. Just not sure about this
18:37bloody roof. One of the concerns with this hole is the amount of sand we got
18:42in the roof there. Two foot, three foot up into there, up into the roof, there could
18:47be another thin layer of sand. Where that sand seam is, it'll separate and your
18:53roof will drop. It matters if the roof drops because it'll kill you.
19:00Yeah, the way that's going up in there, it's assaulted buggery.
19:07Yeah, I don't know what's happening, mate.
19:09Is it alive?
19:11You all right? Yeah.
19:13The harder you push, the more chance you've got of something going wrong and getting hurt.
19:22Frigging hell, Laz.
19:24Leaking oil again.
19:26The weld.
19:28That lead's welded it up, it's cracked again.
19:30It wouldn't have been my weld that let go, it would have been another pop in the air.
19:34Of course it wasn't your bloody weld.
19:36An air pop hole from a level bloody welder before.
19:38You didn't have your frigging glasses on.
19:40You don't find oval on the end of a spanner.
19:44And I'm sick of fixing things so if we can get it to last, we'll pull it out at the end of the day and we'll fix it up tonight.
19:51It'll be ready for the morning.
19:54It's hard, bad juice, it's hard.
19:58The whole digger's struggling.
20:02That heart stops getting bigger, Laz.
20:04Yes.
20:06We might have a bit of oil here.
20:09Man.
20:15We've got trace, so it would be a shame to stop going this way.
20:22But there's no way I can get through that, that's hard.
20:32It'd be good to get a payday before the end of the year.
20:35But we've just got to keep trenching, that's how Opal is.
20:38Starting to trench there, then we're going to trench right through.
20:42Flooding has forced the Boulder Boys to abandon work at their productive Dragonfly claim.
20:49Two and a half kilometres away, they're now pinning their hopes on their exploration lease delivering signs of Opal.
20:58It's the name of the game, in this job you've got to find new leads to go to mine.
21:04They have less than two days before they must return the borrowed excavator.
21:10Where do you want to go now?
21:12Right straight through the gates.
21:14There's the next one, then the next one.
21:16Right.
21:19They're looking for hard ironstone rocks embedded in the sandstone.
21:27But trench after trench, nothing.
21:32I can't go any slower on that.
21:34Yes you can.
21:35That yellow ain't, to me, ain't a level, mate.
21:37Well there's a level thing.
21:38We're going broke here in this cloak paddock.
21:40I'm not impressed with it.
21:42Come on, give me your opinion, mate.
21:46Violet crumble gone wrong.
21:50I'm sorry, mate.
21:51I'm sorry.
21:52I'm sorry.
21:53I'm sorry.
21:54I'm sorry.
21:55I'm sorry.
21:56I'm sorry.
21:57I'm sorry.
21:58I'm sorry.
21:59I'm sorry.
22:00I'm sick of looking at pots, Ron.
22:02I know.
22:03We used to own loads of fuel here and all we've seen is yellow and pots.
22:07Yep.
22:08Every trench we've put in, every level's been flat, Ron.
22:11Nothing to write home about, is there?
22:13No.
22:14You wouldn't be able to afford a postage stamp.
22:16Want to go over here and have a look at this side?
22:18Yeah, let's do that.
22:19We'll keep going, Ron.
22:21Well, we will.
22:24He won't believe this, Ron.
22:26I pulled up right here.
22:27I'm seeing a bit of blue on the ground.
22:29We've got a surface trace.
22:30Look and have a look here.
22:32That's good, Trace.
22:34Hey, look at this.
22:35Green.
22:36Oh, that is too.
22:37That's a very good sign.
22:39Blue, green.
22:41Wow.
22:42Well, that's the best sign we've seen for a few weeks, mate.
22:45It is.
22:46I think we just have a good look around and decide where to put a trench.
22:51I think you want to get a screwdriver
22:53and come and dig this out, mate.
22:55A little bit at a time, mate.
22:57Yep.
22:58There's no rush.
22:59It's been sitting there waiting for millions of years.
23:01A few more minutes ain't going to hurt it.
23:03On his first ever opal dig,
23:06Zach McFarlane is hoping to be the good luck charm
23:09his dad so desperately needs.
23:12Oh, here we go.
23:14Here we go.
23:16There it is.
23:17There it is.
23:18Here we go.
23:19There it is.
23:20There it is.
23:21There you go, Tim.
23:22Pick him up into some real light and have a look.
23:25That's one hell of a big knobby.
23:27Oh, look at that.
23:28Look at that.
23:29Look at that green there and the purple.
23:34In the last dig of the season,
23:36a good find now could save the McFarlanes.
23:44Oh, yes.
23:46Yeah.
23:49Some greens.
23:51Some blues.
23:52Purples, yep.
23:53Same purple too.
23:54Look at that in there.
23:55Yeah.
23:56Beautiful knobby.
23:57Fingers crossed it's got some colour in there
23:59and there's going to be a bit of pay for us.
24:01So hopefully that's a sign of what's coming up in front of us.
24:08So he knows what's in that pile of dirt.
24:10We'll know when we wash it and tail her out.
24:14Last bucket.
24:15Last bucket going up.
24:16Well, that's a full truck.
24:17Yep.
24:19We'll go up, shut her all down, lock her all up,
24:23take her over to the agi.
24:25Sure.
24:26Put her in the agi.
24:30Well, we've got a loaded truck.
24:32We're about to head off over to Pete Cook's agi.
24:35He's doing some washing for us.
24:38The agi, or agitator, is a converted cement mixer
24:42that washes rocks to expose any opal.
24:46I'll show you how we load the agi, buddy.
24:48It's just like rowing a boat.
24:51Every now and then you give it a kick.
24:54Yeah, don't worry about scratching anything.
24:59Got the first load in the agi.
25:01She's turning over, making mud, washing down nicely.
25:05It's Zac's first and last chance this season to make opal pay.
25:10Fingers crossed.
25:12Lots of rainbows.
25:14Called opal.
25:23Radders are, you know, they're a scourge, but they're smart buggers.
25:28They're listening, they're watching all the time.
25:34Opal thieves, repairs and now impenetrable rock
25:38are keeping the bushmen from mining the best ground they've seen in weeks.
25:44All part opal mining.
25:48This is why probably 95% of the guys that come out here
25:51to go opal mining fail.
25:5395% that go home have got a few brains
25:56and the 5% of us that stay here have got frigging none at all.
26:00Yeah, I can't dig that anymore, Les.
26:02It's too hard. This digger won't dig that.
26:04Seem to have more bloody days not mining than mining
26:07because of things that go wrong.
26:10What you doing, mate? It's a nudge.
26:14Amanda's tried to call me a couple of times, four times.
26:17Right, what's the problem? There's been four missed calls from you.
26:21Oh.
26:23Les.
26:24Yeah?
26:25We've got to go home.
26:31Can't see what the problem is, Les.
26:33Yeah.
26:34What's happened, girl?
26:35We've run out of water.
26:37Yeah.
26:39I was able to do the washing up and then...
26:41Ooh.
26:42Yeah.
26:43Yes, we have run out of water.
26:45We'll have to go and get a load, Les.
26:47Yep.
26:48And then go back to work.
26:51With temperatures now over 40 degrees Celsius,
26:54a constant supply of water is critical.
26:5870 kilometres from the nearest town,
27:01249 people live out in the opal field.
27:06Let her rip, Les.
27:07For them, the only source of water is this 1,500-metre-deep well.
27:18Got him? Yep.
27:28Amanda.
27:29Yeah?
27:30Try that, though.
27:32Oh, I can, I suppose.
27:33Oh, please.
27:34Whoa-ho.
27:36Oh.
27:38It's a bit dirty looking, isn't it?
27:39It's a little bit.
27:41It should clear.
27:42No.
27:48Yuck.
27:50Oh, you get a feed and a drink.
27:53Drought's broken.
27:54It has.
27:55Yeah, well, we're going to go to work, OK?
27:57All right, then.
27:58See you later.
27:59See ya.
28:01Oh, my God.
28:02Mwah.
28:04Go away.
28:06Water's flowing, so we'd better get back to work.
28:09Yep.
28:10What's that up there?
28:11Is that a drone?
28:12Yeah.
28:13Looks like someone's following us.
28:15Why would a frigging drone be following us, Les?
28:18Don't know.
28:20Yeah, I'll slow down.
28:28It's slowing down with us.
28:30Yeah.
28:31Somebody's spying on us.
28:33That's a bit dodgy.
28:34If it's us, it is.
28:36It's flying off there now, look.
28:38Yep.
28:40We might have some bloody high-tech radders.
28:49Yeah, that's a bit of a worry, Les.
28:51It is.
28:52What do you do?
28:53Bring the rifle over.
28:55Bring the rifle over.
28:57The 45-70 should be able to reach him, shouldn't it?
29:00I reckon it would.
29:03I'd like to find out who's flying the bastard first.
29:06The radders have been active in a couple of places.
29:09We'll just have to keep an eye on it, and if they get caught,
29:13well, they're going to have to suffer the consequences.
29:20That might have a bit of pots in it.
29:23That's a very good sign.
29:29The Boulder Boys are on their final day of an exploration dig
29:33with a borrowed excavator.
29:36We've found a sandstone.
29:38We just need to hit the level where the sandstone ends
29:42and the clay begins.
29:45Oh, Rod, look at that.
29:48It's all right.
29:50Well, look at that.
29:52What have you got, Rod?
29:53You're on a bit too, are you?
29:55Yeah, that's a pair of earrings.
29:57Oh, have a look at this.
29:59Oi, we've got a colour here.
30:01Wow.
30:02Well, that's nice.
30:03That's a good feeling.
30:04We might get on to what we've been looking for,
30:06a bit of shallow oval.
30:07True.
30:08It's about time, too.
30:09Very good.
30:10It'd be empty if you don't do it.
30:12Very good.
30:13If it's empty, we don't have a little bit of success.
30:16We've just got to be a bit patient and work through it.
30:29Oi!
30:30What, mate?
30:31Bring it back down.
30:32Aye.
30:34Oh!
30:35Oh, you mongrel!
30:42Luckily, Ron got on to me.
30:43You can blow a hose on these.
30:44You can drop 200 litres of oil pretty quick, actually.
30:47Today, she just went, and I got a shower.
30:51A major loss of hydraulic oil
30:53will cripple the excavator and the mission.
30:56See how it's all dirty?
30:57It's been leaking for days.
31:00See how it's all dirty?
31:01It's been leaking for a while.
31:02It's a simple fix, replacing the O-ring.
31:05What have we done, an O-ring, mate?
31:06We've got the O-rings.
31:07That's one.
31:08Now I've just got to get one of these to fit.
31:11That one there.
31:13No, we don't have the right size.
31:15I've got every other spare in the motor ship.
31:17I've got bugger all the allen keys.
31:19With no excavator, the dig is over.
31:24Well, we've done an O-ring.
31:25It's not that bad, but we haven't got the gear to fix it.
31:28We're just starting to get a bit of trace too, Ron.
31:30Well, you know, the Opal guys will put everything in front of you
31:33when there's colour there.
31:34The more you chase it, the less you find it, eh?
31:37You stumble across it sometimes.
31:39Sometimes you do, mate.
31:40And then you blow an O-ring.
31:48Back at camp.
31:51Time to assess if the Opal trace
31:54holds enough promise to lay claim for next season.
31:59There's potential there, Ron, eh?
32:00There is.
32:02It's a good sign, Ron, eh?
32:04What about that?
32:05It's got a flash to it.
32:06Yeah.
32:07That one goes into red.
32:08Look at that.
32:09Why not?
32:11Aaron and Ron's Opal is Boulder Opal.
32:14It's in the rough.
32:16Blue-green in colour and weighs 3kg.
32:21What do you reckon it's worth, Ron?
32:24Two grand?
32:25No, 1,500.
32:261,500.
32:28The signs are good for the boys to return here next season.
32:34No worries, Ron.
32:36Finish off on a good note, but see what happens.
32:39Bit of luck.
32:40We've got a bit of luck going with us.
32:42Well, you never know.
32:43This Opal mine's a funny game.
32:46When you think you know it, you've got no idea.
32:58This is what all the hard work underground leads up to.
33:01This is the washing and then the tail-out.
33:04The tail-out's the exciting bit.
33:06For the McFarlanes, it's their last tail-out of the season
33:10and son Zach's only chance of an Opal payday.
33:13This is the first time where I've helped them with the dirt
33:16that's going in the edges, so that's pretty exciting.
33:18Fingers are crossed that it's going to be a big Christmas tree,
33:21full of colour.
33:22All right, you ready, boys?
33:24Yeah, mate.
33:25Yeah, mate.
33:27Righto.
33:31Yeah, this is the pointy end of the business.
33:34We want a tail-out
33:35and hopefully find ourselves some beautiful gems.
33:39Oh, yeah, it'd be amazing if I could go home to the missus
33:42and me boy with a good handful of knobbies and colour.
33:46That'd be great.
33:50It's Trace mainly at the moment, mate.
33:52Mainly Trace.
33:53They're just bits of potch and amber and what we call Trace.
33:59Yeah, it wasn't looking too good at the start.
34:01You know, I think we were all starting with a little hope.
34:06See?
34:08There you are.
34:09Hey-ya.
34:10Hey-ya, boys.
34:11Hey!
34:12I found something too.
34:14What have you got?
34:15Oh, ho-ho.
34:16Yeah.
34:17I think this might be yours, mate.
34:19I think so.
34:20Maybe not in size, but definitely in colour.
34:23Oh, far out.
34:25Beautiful.
34:26Can't stop kissing it.
34:28No, I can't.
34:31That's what it's all about, buddy.
34:33That's what you're looking for?
34:34That's what we're looking for.
34:35It's really cool.
34:36I'm pretty keen, happy about it, not going to lie.
34:39Look, see that?
34:40Yeah.
34:41Isn't that sensational?
34:43I saw that and I was like, oh, yeah.
34:45Yeah, this is cool.
34:47I like this.
34:48He's gone, man.
34:49Yeah, that's it.
34:50He's hooked.
34:51He nearly licked it.
34:52You know what they say?
34:53It's worse than heroin.
34:54One lick and you're hooked.
34:57What do you reckon?
34:58Guess to me.
34:59Two, maybe three grand.
35:01Beautiful.
35:02Bye, Mum, mate.
35:03Bye, Dad.
35:06Woo-hoo!
35:13Not a beautiful day in paradise, eh?
35:16They've battled ratters, repairs and rocketing temperatures.
35:20Now the bushmen are facing cement-like rock.
35:24Big solid wall that comes in there that we couldn't dig through.
35:28Too bloody solid.
35:30And it's running right across there,
35:32so we've changed direction a little bit.
35:46Oh, oh!
35:49Green diamonds.
35:51All the way out of the way?
35:52Yep.
35:53Where's me prayer mat?
35:55Oh, we're getting the prayer mat?
35:57Bloody hell, it is serious.
36:00Oh-ho!
36:02It's big and it's cheesy.
36:05It's about two inches long, isn't it?
36:07Yeah, and there's a fair bit on the ground too, Les.
36:09Yeah.
36:10We've hit some nice colour.
36:12It's big, it's thick.
36:13There's a fair bit on the ground.
36:16We've got colour in the wall.
36:18Got to be happy with that, Les.
36:20Yes.
36:21We're on it again, maybe, Les.
36:23This hole might be all right for us, Les.
36:25We're doing all right down here.
36:27Just hope money doesn't go to me head.
36:29Well, I wouldn't know how that'd work,
36:31because I've never had money to go to me head in the first place.
36:34We'll have a look at it, eh?
36:37That's a nice little piece.
36:39It's not bad colour, really, is it?
36:41It's bright.
36:43We just need more of it, Les.
36:45I think we'll take this up and chuck her in the tumbler, Les,
36:48and see what it does for tomorrow, eh?
36:51Yeah.
36:52All right, I'll see you on the topside.
36:58Back at Rod's camp, the Bushmen need this find to stack up.
37:03Yeah, we're fast running out of time.
37:05The heat's coming, you know, and nothing's going to stop it.
37:08We'll give this a bit of a wash, mate, and see what's in it, eh?
37:11Yep, yep.
37:13OK.
37:17Can you hear that?
37:19No, I can't hear anything, mate.
37:21Yeah, well, I bloody can.
37:25Fred, this claims one thing, but not its bloody camp.
37:39Where'd it go?
37:42I sort of reacted before I thought too much.
37:45He looked out and seen it, and then he ducked straight inside
37:49and got the artillery out.
37:51Claims one thing, your camp's something different, you know?
37:54This is where I live, this is where me missus is.
37:57I can't see it from this side.
37:59They can't go spying on your camp,
38:01so you've got to take real action when that happens.
38:05Yeah, we're going to stick it in the tumbler,
38:07and all the tumbler is is a couple of rotating little drums.
38:11You stick them in there and they rotate around on themselves
38:14with a bit of water.
38:16Knocks all the bloody dirt and clay and stuff off them
38:19just so you can see them a bit better.
38:22All right, lads, we'll let this spin around for a little while, eh?
38:25Yeah.
38:30Let's just have a look what we've got here, eh?
38:32All right.
38:36Well, that didn't clean up too bad, sir.
38:38Look at that.
38:41Looks better than the other dirt, sir, would it?
38:43That one's all right.
38:45Oh, yeah, it's got some nice bloody blues in that, doesn't it?
38:48Look at that.
38:50Yeah, that came up better, didn't it?
38:52On black too, mate.
38:54A bit of purple.
38:57Oh, yeah.
38:59We've probably got a few dollars here, Les.
39:02There's not a lot, but there's a few nice cutters.
39:05That's going to make a decent stone.
39:07Yeah, there's a few nice pieces in there.
39:11The Bushmen have uncovered crystal opal.
39:14It's in the rough.
39:16Mostly blue-green in colour.
39:19All right, Les, what are you guessing?
39:21Oh, 1,500, a couple of green.
39:23If we sell it, we'd ask for two, but take 15.
39:261,500 it is, mate.
39:281,500 it is.
39:31Getting closer all the time, Les.
39:34With an estimated value of $1,500,
39:38the Bushmen are inching ever closer to their season target.
39:42But the way these radders are, mate,
39:45I reckon we ought to put this away and get a bigger batch,
39:48a bigger parcel.
39:50Yeah.
39:52A couple of dollars more than we had yesterday,
39:54that's got to be good.
39:56Yeah.
39:57You know, even if you only just find the diesel money,
39:59it keeps you going.
40:01Yeah.
40:02Well, it keeps the diesel fella happy, anyway.
40:13Woo-hoo!
40:15This is what it's all about, this beautiful thing here.
40:18And to get something like that out of the pointy end of the business
40:21makes it all worthwhile.
40:23Doesn't always happen, but when it does happen,
40:26elation, it makes you feel damn good inside, I can assure you.
40:30In his first ever opal dig,
40:32Zach McFarlane has discovered opal valued conservatively at $2,000.
40:39Pulling the stone out, finding the colour.
40:42I'm through the roof happy.
40:44Through the roof.
40:46Well done.
40:47For the McFarlanes, the season is over.
40:51With a total of $4,200,
40:54they've fallen well short of their $20,000 target.
40:58But for Gav, there are some things more important than opal.
41:02Biggest highlight, I think, for the season for me
41:05is having the family unit back together
41:07and having my son working side by side with me underground,
41:10watching him pick up the little things, you know,
41:12getting in there and getting his hands dirty and doing it, you know.
41:16Beautiful.
41:18You still get a few things done around the camp for the girls.
41:22One of the main ones for Connie, I guess,
41:24would be the ability to flush a toilet.
41:31But Teggy, you know, she wants a little bit more privacy in her room.
41:35So there's just those little things.
41:38G'day, g'day.
41:39Hey, Pete. How are you, mate?
41:41You ready to go to work?
41:43Got a few of the lads coming around, bit of a working bee,
41:45and I told them I'd put a barbecue on, a few beers.
41:48I'd like to put one of them panels there, the refrigeration panels.
41:52We'll get that up today, mate, real quick.
41:54Bring it under the table.
41:56Here.
41:58Oh, yeah, 2-3.
41:592-3-30.
42:01That should stand up there, Tim.
42:03We stand here, Mark.
42:05Like that.
42:06Mate, that's perfect.
42:16Hello, lovely.
42:17Hello, everyone.
42:18It's the big boss.
42:19How are you, Connie?
42:20So what do you reckon?
42:22We haven't got the peephole happening any more.
42:24She's got a door closed.
42:25She's got to be happy about that.
42:27I love it, darling.
42:28I love it.
42:29Dad's done a pretty good job, actually.
42:31Not half bad.
42:32It's actually so good.
42:34You've got a wall.
42:35I've got a wall.
42:36It's pretty good.
42:37I've got a wall.
42:38Thank you, Dad.
42:39That's all right.
42:40I've got a wall.
42:41I've got a wall.
42:42Thank you, Dad.
42:43Thank you, Dad.
42:44That's all right.
42:47Look, look.
42:48Watch, watch.
42:49No, I won't do it.
42:50Do it, Mum.
42:52It flushes!
42:53How cool is that?
42:55It works.
42:56I'm so proud of you.
42:58Gold stars.
43:00Thank you.
43:01You're welcome, my gorgeous.
43:03So who would like a beer?
43:05It was cool.
43:06It was an experience.
43:08I'm really enjoying it.
43:09I'm keen to keep going.
43:11That's for sure.
43:13Thanks for the season.
43:14Great season.
43:15Great to have my boys with me.
43:17I couldn't have done it without yous all.
43:19My girls are happy.
43:20I'm happy.
43:21Everybody's together now.
43:23I just want to say cheers and thank you.
43:25Here's to you guys.
43:26Cheers.
43:40Cheers.