To Coober Pedy SA

Sometimes the only thing to do is to drive many kilometres to get somewhere…and that was us for the last couple of days. On Sunday morning we drove the 12km along the bumpy rough track out from Lambert Centre after a lovely peaceful night with only one lot of other campers (funny enough they were our neighbours the night before at Dalhousie Springs). 

Then it was a long 126km on reasonably graded dirt road to the Kulgera Roadhouse on the Stuart Highway. 

We point Buster South back into South Australia and decide to stop early at Agnes Creek Rest Area which offered plenty of camping spots under trees which was very attractive on the 37° day.  

The next morning we set off early to tackle the 320km to Coober Pedy. We are back on the bitumen so it’s easier going. Mark likes to do some truck spotting. 

We also saw the Ghan train travelling north. 

30km north of Coobery Pedy we start seeing the Opal Fields. With over 70 fields it is the worlds largest opal mining area. It all began in 1915 and suffered boom and bust effected by drought, WWI and WWII, the depression. But since the 1960’s numbers soared to thousands with mechanisation and cheap fuel. We arm ourselves with information and set off to explore the town. Even though we have previously visited Coober Pedy and other opal mining towns it’s always nice to have a look around again. 

It’s another sweltering day so we seek some underground sites. 50% of the population here live underground as it’s so bloody hot! We venture in to have a look at the Umoona Opal Mine Museum. They have a very comprehensive display about the history of the area, mining techniques and information about opals. 

We have a look at the underground churches.  The Catacomb church was built in 1977 

St.Peter and Paul Catholic Church was opened in 1967. 

We drive through the golf  course. 

Then we pay our respects to Crocodile Harry a very eccentric character who now lies in Boot Hill cemetery. 

After eating a bit of pizza we finish our exploration at the Big Winch. 

It also offered us views over the town and its opal fields. We fill up with the cheapest fuel we have seen for a while @ $2.23 and get some groceries before driving 12km south to a peaceful camping area at Hutchison Memorial for the night.