Coober Pedy!
Travel by the one and only bitumen road in or if you are prepared and have a full set up you can travel via one of several dirt desert tracks that lead to The Opal Capital of the World.
With the beautiful clear blue sky’s above and below the red dusty dirt of the outback – As you drive in, to the left are mountainous mounds of dug up rock left over from those who have come in search of their fortune and to the right is, you guessed it more mountainous mounds of dug up earth and rock – in some areas for as far as the eye can see. Rich in not only the amazing colours of the landscape, but also rich in history, tourism and plenty of unique characters, we take a good look at South Australia’s outback world famous town, Coober Pedy.
Coober Pedy was originally built on the feverish addiction of opal mining back in 1915 but nowadays it is the Opals and Tourism that keep the heart of this town pumping. 846 kms north of the South Australian capital Adelaide, Coober Pedy has to be experienced personally or in a lot of cases to be believed. When you arrive via The Stuart Highway and as you drive into the centre of town it is one of the places you know you will never find anywhere else on earth. Towards the end of town you start passing the opal mines, then you start passing the local dug outs (local name for underground homes), houses that are nothing but a front door on the side of a mound of dirt but in fact it’s someone’s home and more often than not they are very luxurious and it is not until then that you start to realize this is a very special place.
The locals homes, or dugouts, are fully underground to escape the high temperatures often experienced in the outback. Inside these homes are incredible, exactly like an everyday home, power, water, tv signal, telephone everything a normal house has except windows. They do however have a lot of natural light thru sky lighting. Being underground they have the even temperature of 23 degrees all year round with no need for heating or airconditioning! Thus making them very cheap not only to build but also to maintain. There is something very unique about doing a home extension with a shovel, wheel barrow and a stick of dynamite!
Our first stop is at a local opal shop which includes a tour of their Opal mat Umoona Opals with a lovely gentleman by the name of Yani. Jumping out of the air-conditioning and comfort of the car onto a red hot dusty carpark within seconds sweat starts to bead down my forehead and run down my back. You get a real feel for the intense weather the Outback can and does deliver day after day. The Opal mines in Coober Pedy are full of stories of the winners and sinners of the area throughout the decades. It is full of characters, full of stories, packed with history and has color and everyone and I mean everyone has an exciting story or 9 to tell you and Yani at Umoona Opals is no different. He is one gentleman you will not forget in a hurry. After doing the tour of his amazing underground setup, he took my lead in insisting Peter buy me a pair of Opal earings, with Opals extracted and discovered by him personally and then crafted into a stunning pair of earings, one of a kind!
A short drive just 33 kilometers out of town down another dusty dirt road are The Breakaways, having received its name simply because they are a set of low lying hills which have broken away from the main Stuart Ranges. These large impressive rock formations are said to have developed over centuries of wind and were once a part of the very large inland sea. The drive out to The Breakaways is well worth it as you have access to drive in and around these massive formations, from the big white camel to two dogs and papa all locally named rock formations as well as the lookouts Salt & Pepper and Castle.
As you drive and appreciate the history of The Breakaways you will run into another important time and part of Australian history, the worlds longest fence the famous Dingo Fence or dog fence as it’s known today.
Spanning 5614 kilometres running from Jimbour in the Darling Downs near Dalby Qld and ending west of the Eyre Peninsula on the Nullabor Plain just above the Great Australian Bight in SA, it was built back in the 1880s to keep the dingos away from the sheep and without it we wouldn’t be having our lovely lamb roasts every Sunday.
While out and about driving the dusty dirt tracks a trip to Crocodile Harrys is a fun couple of hours when talking to the local characters. Originally a crocodile hunter in the northern territory Harry come to Coober Pedy like everyone else in the hope of striking it rich with a find of our unique opal. But soon crocodile Harry needed another income so what others see as junk Harry saw as character and built his whole dugout on unwanted goods. Why this dugout is so special is the 1000’s of messages from people all over the word, messages of thanks, some poems, there are phone numbers, life Motos, addresses, jokes and jibes but each individual message is on a personal piece of underwear left behind from the travelers themselves. Even a signed bra from legendary signer Tina Turner which was given to Harry while Tina Turner was in town filming Mad Max beyond thunder dome. Coober Pedy is not only famous for its Opals, it is also world famous due to some of Hollywoods biggest blockbusters being filmed here – Mad Max Beyond The Thunderdome, Ground Zero, Fire in the Stone, Stark, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Siam Sunset, The Drovers Boy, Red Planet and Kangaroo Jack to name just a few. And these movies are regularly shown at the towns unique Drive In movie theatre.
Another great way to enjoy Coober Pedy (and yet just one of many very intriguing attractions here) is by playing a round of golf at the Coober Pedy Golf Course a sister course to one of the worlds most prestigious courses St Andrews in Scotland! The 18-hole grassless course isn’t for the faint hearted and best played in the earlier hours of day to escape the blistering heat. A course with no trees nor grass you would expect a few pars but playing by placing a bit of artificial turf under your ball short cut turf for a fairway shot long rough turf for the rough, makes the course more challenging. With the lack of grass the greens are long but dusty. One tip is to ensure you take a hat, plenty of water, sun block and plenty of patience!
Coober Pedy to me is a must see for anyone who wants to experience the real Australia. Make this a compulsory part of your next travel itinerary. (Just don’t take white clothing!)
COOBER PEDY FACTS:
Nearly 80% of Coober Pedys population live in underground homes called dugouts, to escape the harsh outback weather.
4000 residents from more than 40 countries live in Coober Pedy.
Coober Pedy produces most of the world’s opals and is the largest opal mining area in the world.
Its opal fields, discovered in 1913 by 14-year-old Willie Hutchison, cover an area of 4,954 square kilometres and consist of 70 individual fields.
The name “Coober Pedy” comes from the local Aboriginal term kupa-piti, which means “white man’s hole”.
ACCOMMODATION:Coober Pedy offers 2 holiday parks, 7 motels, a backpackers & a guest house.
