Day 48 - Coober Pedy

The manager at Hermannsburg had told us that Coober Pedy was ‘seriously weird’ and she had a point. It has the dubious reputation of having the most expensive water in the South Australia and possibly the whole of Australia. The small mounds of stone or mullock heaps are the most striking feature dotting the landscape. They are reminders of the opal that got away.

Miners use truck mounted vacuums to remove spoil from their mines.

There are one or two larger mines.

The Breakaways show different stone strata close together. They are known locally as 'Salt and Pepper' and the surrounding area is popular with film makers who shot films like Mad Max here.

The homes in the rock are at a comfortable temperature but the lack of natural light not to everybody’s liking. There is no plumbed waste water infrastructure in the town and the council have limited mining in the town. As a result houses have a disproportionately large number of deep waste holes. Of course digging so many holes does increase the chances of finding an opal and you just might strike it lucky.

The Serbian Orthodox Church is a little gem in this mining town.