Thursday April 19th
Another early start as it's a long way to Coober Pedy - 650 km. A day of vast skies, far, far horizons and the road stretching out straight for miles and miles - and not another car in sight.
The train takes the same straight line,
At intervals along the way are signs saying that the road may be used as a runway for the flying doctor service, so presumably it is possible to come face to face with an aeroplane. The verges are much wider in these places....One of the other hazards are the road trains which are huge lorries sometimes pulling three or four enormous containers behind.
On the way from Port Augusta I passed the first of many salt lakes,
and reached Glendambo where the Australian sense of humour is still alive.
It is certainly true of the flies. Since coming to Adelaide I had begun to think that the fly story in Australia was just a myth.The past four days have disproved this in no uncertain terms. The most popular form of headgear looks rather like a beekeeper's hat, with netting hanging down from the brim to about chest height, and is worn by men and women alike. Glendambo is the last service station before Coober Pedy, but it is 243 km away, and very strangely. has two petrol stations. Why not build one 150 km up the road? There is no comparison to service stations on UK motorways. These all seem to be flyblown, ancient establishments run on the whole by rather dodgy biker characters selling mysterious pies at vast profits.....Maccas (local lingo) could do well here.
So, having filled up (with petrol not the pies!) I made it to Coober Pedy and got my first glimpse of somewhere I have wanted to see for ages.
My first text read Have I driven eight hours for this? I was so disappointed as it was not at all as I had imagined. It is basically a mining (opals) town and I had overlooked that small point. A walk round the town did nothing to improve the image,
but a few beers back at the camp site with my fellow travellers helped to put things in perspective. I have now come across many of the "grey haired gypsies", Australians who have taken to the road with a caravan or trailer tent; one of those I spoke to had not been home for four years.
Friday April 20th
Met Rudi, my 77 year old tour guide this morning and embarked on a fascinating tour which made me see the town in a completely different light. Rudi had first come to Coober Pedy as a miner and had worked for years in the opal fields with a partner. (All the claims are private, there is no company involvement.) He had so many memories and experiences to share it was a real privilege to listen to him and I only hope that he has written all his stories down. The first stop was at the Serbian church.
With apologies to those who already know this, I should explain that Coober Pedy is famous for its underground living. No one knows exactly whether the homes were originally built for the temperature (in the summer it can get to 48 degrees, but the temperature in the dugouts is always between 20 and 24 degrees.) or because there was so little with which to build in this treeless environment. They are sometimes simply worked out mines but nowadays some homes are dugout specifically as residences. Dugout is the term used locally, they are cut out of the hills rather than down into the ground. There are dugout hotels, restaurants, as well as churches, and excavating is made easier by the soft sandstone.
We were then taken to an area of the town where anyone can try their hand at finding opals.
After describing the mining process Rudi told us we were free to go fossicking on the heaps of sand to try our luck.Despite the cynical amongst us thinking that if it was so easy all the town would be there, we all had a go. With no fantastic life changing finds we continued on the tour to the desert golf course.
The "greens" are in fact oil mixed with sand and so black and the only bits of green to be seen were the mats at the tees. Not at all attractive, and I should think pretty awful to play on- we were all covered in
the inevitable orange dust from the sand.
The next stop was to an opal mine, complete with miners' quarters,
and the hard sell of the opal jewellers! Rudi obviously loved his town, and enjoyed showing it to visitors. There is a hospital and a primary school but the children go to boarding school in Adelaide (800 kms away) after that. There is also, of course , the oval for Aussie rules, which is the largest green space in town!
In the afternoon I went to see another dugout home,
entrance
and heard the story of it from the current owner.
It was originally the postman's residence until it was bought and renovated by three women who dug out the rooms by hand. It is a curious feeling being underground and am not sure I would like to live in one of the dugouts (not expensive though- I checked!) It would be perfect for the French and their obsession with keeping every bit of sunshine out; no need for shutters here...Two more churches followed, the Catacomb Church with its stick cross and natural furnishings
and the Roman Catholic St Peter and St Paul.
Finally I went up to the viewpoint to get a look at this town which has become more curious by the hour!
The large white rectangle is the open air cinema. My last glimpses of the town were the mine workings on the outskirts,
then back to the desert beyond.
The outback is famous for its red desert, straight roads and flies, and I saw them all on this trip! It is a region which covers 80% of South Australia but has only 1% of the population. There are 50 different nationalities living there and it is a dry area that has the world's sixth largest lake, Lake Eyre. Most of the western area is owned by Aboriginals and special permission is needed to go there. It is a truly remarkable place and I shall never forget the sheer scale of it. Despite my initial reaction I came to really like Coober Pedy and the strength and courage of the people who made it home.
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