Coober Pedy - Beyond Thunderdome

The most attractive feature about Coober Pedy is its total lack of attractiveness – it is probably the most unattractive town I have ever seen and could be described, both literally and metaphorically, as the “pits”. One word really sums up the place - “Opals”. CP is a mining town but, unlike most of the other mining towns we have visited, there no big, commercial mining companies but numerous small working partnerships of maybe 3 or 4 private individuals all hoping to strike it rich. They dig a fairly shallow shaft of up to 30 metres then side shafts looking for the elusive opal. If they don't find any, they start a new shaft a few metres away leaving behind the open shaft of the previous mine and a heap of spoil.

The town centre from The Big Winch view point

Old mining equipment and cars lying around in the town centre

Standing on the small hill in the centre of town – known as The Big Winch – and the view is hardly breathtaking. For as far as the eye can see is the result of small-scale mining on a vast scale with slag heaps or “mullock” disappearing from all around you into the distance. Although mining is no longer permitted inside the town boundaries the results of decades of mining within what is now the town is everywhere to be seen - piles of slag and an enormous number of old cars and mining machinery just lying about everywhere. Almost every house will have its collection of mechanical junk lying around in what in other towns and circumstances would be called gardens.

Opal mining equipment

Slag heaps as far as the eye can see

About half of the population live under ground in cave-like dwellings called “dug outs”. This has several advantages – in a place where the summer temperatures regularly hit 40C plus it is a cool and unchanging 24C throughout the year; they are easy to build as the rock is relatively soft and responds well to a jack-hammer and tunnelling machine; finally there is the possibility of striking an opal seam whilst excavating ones abode. However, please dispel any images of pleasant looking Hobbit-like dwellings – they are, from the outside at least, singularly unattractive particularly with each having its piles of rusty machinery outside.

Inside one of the four underground churches

CP is a very dry place. With no natural water, supplies have to be piped in and treated making it very expensive. Local residents have their water strictly metered whilst for transients like us there are public stand pipes where you can fill up after inserting the correct amount of money. Ironically, on our second night here the heavens opened up and the place turned into a red, soggy quagmire – we call this “the Douglas Effect!”

Down a mine - some opal

Sandra coming up from the mine

With time on our hands we spent a day doing the touristy things including a guided tour of the town led by Rudi a 79 year old ex-pat Austrian who started opal mining in 1961. His was just one of many nationalities within the town with a large number coming from southern European countries. We visited an underground house, a mine, the golf course, the opal fields and generally saw the sites.

Cheap golf - didn't have time for a round

The Fairways

The tees

The "greens"

The clubhouse

It is now the morning of Saturday 10^th May, the car has a new shock absorber and we are planning to be on our way shortly, next planned destination is Ayres Rock or Uluru. We have been there twice before but this time hope to see it without rain cascading down the sides – and Sandra wants to circumnavigate it on foot – about 10k. It will probably take us a couple of days to get there after which we hope to meet up again with Johann and Stretch.

 

Finally, with a few hours to spare we went "noodling" in the mullock i.e. fossicking for bits of opal which had been missed. Sandra claims to have had a number of near misses - I got bored very quickly and remain poor,

Noodling - unsuccessfully!

PS I may have sounded a wee bit uncomplimentary about Coober Pedy - but, in some sort of perverse way, I like it. And it's where they filmed parts of Mad Max - Beyond Thunderdome.