Once scenes like this would have been a rare occurrence, but with visitor numbers increasingit is becoming more and more common.

"We've been out here for three years," Ted said, "And every year it gets better."

It is not just the Sheepyards experiencing a boom in popularity, but the whole shire.

The Lightning Ridge Visitor Information Centre has been recording visitor numbers for a little over two years and even in that short time they has seen rapid growth.

In June 2003 there were 1082 registered visitors, in June 2004 there were 1709 and this June there 2311, an increase of 113 per cent in just two years.

At other times of the year the growth has been even more dramatic.

In March last year there were only 517 registered visitors, a figure which more than tripled to 1680 this March.

And it has shown no sign yet of slowing down.

So far this month is shaping up to be the most successful, with an average of 98 visitors per day for the first half of July.

Visitor Information Centre manager Richard Hoffman, said the increased tourism was a credit to the whole town.

"Nearly every person who lives here benefits from tourism, whether it is directly or indirectly," Mr Hoffman said.

This is a sentiment Margaret Schofield readily agrees with.

She is the proprietor of the Bluey Motel and every year, from Easter through to October, all her rooms are almost permanently booked out.

It is not just first-time visitors who fill her motel, but people who return year after year.

"The Ridge is well-known for being able to keep people here, or draw them back," she said, "Once you come to the Ridge, you'll always keep coming back."

Brian and Vibeke, a young Danish couple touring Australia, are the perfect example of this.

They heard about Lightning Ridge while in the Whitsundays and decided to check it out.

They only planned to stay for a night or two, but were still comfortably ensconced at the Sheepyard Inn a fortnight later.

When asked what it was they liked about the area they didn't hesitate to answer, "The people. Everybody here is so friendly."