Travel Action Matilda Country Magazine 2023 - Volume 34

YOWAH
A MATILDA BYWAY
There’s something about life in Yowah that brings an infl ux of winter residents and visitors.
Historically a mining area for opals since 1875 (circa) — the Yowah opal nut in particular —
Yowah has an appealing shanty-town atmosphere. You can do some fossicking for opals, try to
sink a ball on one of the stony browns (well, you can’t call them greens) at the 9-hole golf course,
wind down at the thermal bore baths and then take a drive up to The Bluff to get a great view of
the landscape - especially at sunset (please note that The Bluff is a working farm, please respect
the owner’s land and stock).
There is also a game of bingo going on at the Rural Transaction Centre (RTC) on Friday mornings
during tourist season. The RTC is open seven days a week April to October, from 9:00am to
4:00pm, and is as close to a mall as you will fi nd in Yowah. The Centre has tourist information,
local crafts for sale, a laundromat and is the home of the library, which is open Wednesday
mornings. You can also hire gear here for fossicking. The RTC also houses a café in town
called the Yowah Nut Café. One of the appealing aspects of Yowah is its shopping style. There
are so many little shops hidden in among houses and sheds. You can just wander around town
following signs (or fl ags) to little retail outlets in and among the houses. It’s all a bit higgledy
piggledy which just adds to the fun and sense of adventure. You could spend the whole day
walking around town gift shopping and fi nd yourself in a blue or red bus, the back of a shed,
a room in a house or in a train carriage as you browse among opals, jewellery, carved wood,
paintings and pottery.
For opal enthusiasts and those just wishing to browse, Yowah’s annual opal festival will be
held the third weekend of July. Enjoy the stalls on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with opals,
jewellery and other goods in the local hall. And in true keeping with a festival, there will be live
entertainment on the Friday and Saturday evenings, along with food stalls and a licensed bar
throughout the three days.
Other activities run by YOMCSI (Town Committee) are the opal markets, which are run during
the tourist season on Saturdays at 10:00am, indoor bowls on Wednesday afternoons and a craft
day on Tuesday mornings.
Thanks to the generous donations, new toilets and showers have been installed valued at
approximately $30,000 at the free (donation) camping area for your convenience.
The Yowah Artesian Bore Baths are open every day. Here you can relax and enjoy the two
pools, with one being warmer than the other. A hoist makes the pools accessible to all. There is
no pub in town, however the bar is open at the YOMCSI hall on Wednesday and Saturday nights
with meals available. This is a great place for visitors to enjoy the community hospitality and
The Bluff
yarn with the locals on how to fi nd the big one
at the 17 hectare fossicking area. If you are
interested in learning how to make your own
jewellery, classes are held regularly in town,
from beginners to very experienced. So you
have the opportunity to fi nd an opal then make
it into your own personalised jewellery!
The Yowah General Store and Caravan
Park also has its version of the bore bath
for the exclusive enjoyment of their guests.
Normal baths sit in quaint little roofl ess beach
houses so you can lie back and enjoy a view
of the stars while you soak in the mineral-rich
water.
The park has seven budget rooms, powered
and unpowered sites. The open-air restaurant
is open during the tourist season on Thursday
nights for a two-course meal. A raffl e is drawn
every Thursday night during dinner. Thursday
night is also a duck race night, when 100 little
plastic ducks are released into the bore drain
and ‘raced’ to raise money for the RFDS.
Bath Houses
TRAVEL ACTION MATILDA COUNTRY MAGAZINE // Yowah
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