0025 William Creek to Coober Pedy JUly 14th

After the heavy rainstorm last night, it was  bit of a wet pack up.  Out here just a little water turns everything to a thick red slippery mud !!   Groundsheet muddy, puddles everywhere, but hey, despite being a bit squished, we were dry and warm.  So what is there to complain about ?  Well, it was cold with a clear sky when Janet went off to the shower, and when she returned 15 minutes later dry, with a miserable look of her face, saying “I got completely undressed and then found there was no hot water in that shower, so I give up”.  Not a happy camper !!!  So we breakfasted and packed up, and hit the road, hoping that the rain had not turn the Oodnadatta  track to mud.   Fortunately it was not too bad, and it turned out the rain was very localised, and after about 15 minutes, there wasn’t much sign of any rain.

Not 10 minutes up the road we spotted a female wedge tailed eagle sitting in a tree beside the road, and then as we went through a creek crossing, our first dingo !!   Didn’t seem particularly fazed by our presence, but it was pretty  mangy looking.  Definitely a wild one. 

But the recent rain had caused the countryside to burst into bloom – Out here, frogs can lie dormant for years, only to come to life overnight when rain falls.  Plants are the same – One or two overnight storms and suddenly the scenery is a mass of flowers and greenery taking immediate advantage of the rare moisture.  So suddenly we were seeing masses of white flowers beside the road, and later a sea of yellow, often as far as the eye could see – Which is often a VERY long way !!!  After that, I have to say there was pretty much lots of NOTHING all the way to Coober Pedy !!  I think it was over an hour before we saw our first vehicle n the road, in either direction !!   This is NOT a well travelled road !! The soft roaders and grey nomads with their motor homes and caravans tend to stay on the bitumen roads, with only the high ground clearance “proper” 4 WD’s heading down the dusty bush tracks.  Suddenly we arrived in Coober Pedy, and what a sight !!   Hobbit land !!   Gopher holes !!!   Mole holes !!!   You name it, that’s what it looks like !!!    Just totally unreal !! 

We had been told by campground acquaintances back down the track that RIBA’s was a good place to stay, so when we saw the sign, we ducked in.  Underground accommodation !! Underground camping !!!! ??  Underground mine tours !!!   All in one place !!  Seriously, they have a mine with spaces underground where you can pitch your tent underground and stay dry and, more importantly, cool in summer and warm in winter !!  As we didn’t have our tent with us, we opted for a room - Janet wanted a comfortable bed, and I agreed !!  But right beside us in the “cave”, people were pitching their tents for the night !!!  So we settled into our room, including our porta potty without which Janet will not travel,  and then went into town to explore.  What a crazy place – Everywhere you look is mining equipment, houses buried in cliffs, underground hotels and restaurants, and so on.  Apparently 80% of the population liv underground – Asians, Aborigines, and Greeks apparently prefer to stay above ground !!! 

The Cave Hotel is the 5 star place in town, and is very nice, and was purpose built (dug ?) as a hotel, and is not an old mine.  Quite up market and interesting, with an excellent mining and historical museum underground.  Very informative.    After that, we needed water because our tank was getting low, and the bore water available since we left civilization was REVOLTING !  So salty and brackish, it was OK to shower in, and harmless but revolting to drink !!   So what do we find but bowsers like a petrol station where you pay 20 cents per 30 litres of (fairly good) water !  Never ever thought I would see that !!  So, filled our 50 litre tank up, s well as our camelback and a couple of drinking bottles, and then set off to the Breakaways.

The Breakaways are a remarkable setting of mesa type sandstone monoliths about 30 kms outside Coober Pedy where the surrounding land has been eroded over time, leaving the harder silcrte covered blocks standing high about the surrounding area.  To get out there you run alongside the famous Dog Fence – A 5600 km long fence from Surfers Paradise in Queensland to the Bight in WA, erected in the early 19^th century to keep dingoes to the north, thus enabling sheep to be reared in the south, without fear of them being attacked and mauled in great numbers by dingoes.   An amazing, but possibly misguided ?, project by the early settlers.    Anyway, the photos of the stunning Breakaways speak for themselves, and only serve to ampllfy this amazing place, Coober Pedy.  Over 50 deg C in the summertime, it is freezing at night in the winter time – What a totally weird place !!  No wonder they filmed the Mad Max films here !!

Coming back into town we had a brief encounter with a female wedge tailed eagle, and then it was back to our accommodation at RIBA’s. A quick supper cooked in the camp kitchen, laundry done and hung out, and then it was time for our in house mine tour conducted by our host Rick.  (Rick and Barbara - RIBA’s – Get it ??)  

Rick had actually dug and mined this min before turning into a motel / camp site, so he was able to tell us all the details of opal mining.  Suffice it to say, I learned two facts about Opals which opened my eyes.  1)  There is no large scale or large company mining opals simply because there is no guaranteed way of finding them, like maybe seismic can help find oil. Finding opals is totally a gamble, and it takes gambling types to do it, so it is all done bu individuals who tke a risk on buying a 50 x 100 metre block and working it to find an opal or two.  And 2) the Opal is the only precious stone that does not reflect (refract ??) light once, but bounces light off its internal facets several times, thus giving the multiplicity of colours that one sees in an opal, rather than the single colour once sees in a ruby or diamond or whatever.   Opals still don’t really “light my fire”, but at least I now understand their allure a little more.   Anyway, after a fascinating 2 hours or so in Rick’s mine, it was off to bed in our cave !!  And I have to say it is odd.  While the temperature is nice, the lack of windows is a little claustrophobic, and every underground noise echoes !!  I am sure it provides welcome respite from the intense summer heat, but one night underground was enough for this visitor !!!

 

Pics are here :-  https://picasaweb.google.com/117739775480775657932/0025WilliamCreekToCooberPedy?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ213Iq78I-duAE#