Season 11 of Outback Opal Hunters premiered last night on Discovery for the first of 8 new episodes.
Last season, as a new generation of miners rallied, cataclysmic weather put dedication to the ultimate test as once-in-a-generation flooding drowned the Australian Outback. Mines and partnerships disintegrated, and ambitious targets sunk beneath the waters.
This season, brutal government shutdowns and opal scarcity force miners to work deadly ground, risking it all to revive a dying industry. In the face of extinction, the opal hunters must adapt or perish, gambling on untested partnerships, equipment, and techniques to pry from the earth the queen of all gems.
Returning Teams:
The Blacklighters, The Bushmen, The Cheals, The Misfits, and The Mooka Boys
New Teams:
Slim Pickings: In their inaugural season of Outback Opal Hunters, Lee Hobden, brother of the legendary opal queen Kelly Tishler, and Roger Williams, father of six and proud Gomeroi man, have teamed up to pioneer a brand-new method of opal mining.
Dan and Renee: Dan Measey has two passions in life: opal and new girlfriend Renee. In their first season of Outback Opal Hunters, Dan and Renee’s goal is simple: to live together happily ever after in Coober Pedy. The goal may be simple but the path to eternal bliss is riddled with pitfalls. Renee, a professional dressage coach and horse trainer, lives nine hundred kilometres away in the lush green hills of Highland Valley.
Sam Mehan (joins The Bushmen): Young, able, and a third-generation miner with killer marketing skills, Sam’s joining the Bushmen, bringing youthful vigour and enthusiasm to drag Rod and Les into the twenty first century. For Sam, working with two of the opal industry’s living legends is a dream come true.
Cody Polglase (joins The Misfits): What Cody lacks in experience he makes up in enthusiasm and a background in marine engineering. But with wife Mel, a jewellery designer, and two young children, trading the ocean waves for the desert dunes to ride the rainbow gem to riches will test even Cody’s ever optimistic demeanour.
Thursdays at 7:30pm on Discovery.
links to content on ABC
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