Coober Pedy Opal Mine
April 14, 2017 by David Herd
Incredible landscape
Coober Pedy Opal Mine
Coober Pedy Opal Mine, nowhere else in the world have I seen colours similar to outback Australia. Red earth, blackened trees and a beautiful blue sky.
I took three Japanese students, Yukako, Megumi & Noriko & travelled from the Gold Coast in Queensland, through Broken Hill NSW to Cooper Pedy on the first leg of our journey on the way to Uluru aka Ayers Rock.
Excitement
The girls started clapping wildly when they saw the kangaroo sign so you can imagine how excited they were when they saw a live one.
Here we are in Coober Pedy
You know when you are near the town when you see all the mounds of dirt & gravel.
OK, what are we waiting for?
Let’s go & check out this underground village.
My trusty Holden Commodore was our transport on our marathon journey all through the Australian Outback we traveled 7,300 kilometers which was around 82 hours behind the wheel.
Mini mountains everywhere
Coober Pedy is a town in northern South Australia, 846 km north of Adelaide. The 2011 census showed its population was 1,695 (953 males, 742 females, including 275 indigenous Australians). The town is sometimes referred to as the “opal capital of the world” due to the quantity of precious opals that are mined there.
Men at work
This was our first indication of work happening around the mines.
Coober Pedy Opal Mine
As you can clearly see not all the people live underground.
Opal capital of the World
There are quite a few opal shops, restaurants and a variety of accommodation ranging from four star to backpackers and caravan/camping areas.
Desert Cave Hotel
The hotel has rooms above ground and in underground caves, this relaxed hotel is a 14-minute walk from the Big Winch Lookout. For an excellent discount just book through THIS LINK.
Big Winch Lookout
The famous historic Big Winch Scenic Lookout with 360 degrees view of the town.
Is this Coober Pedy art?
To be honest with you I have no idea what it is. 🙂
On the other hand….
This may well be the brother of “Tin Man” from The Wizard of Oz. 🙂
On the subject of movies
This monster was apparently part of a movie set that has been abandoned and left here as a talking point.
We have finished the first stage of our Journey.
Next stop is Uluru aka Ayers Rock.
Thanks for visiting my Coober Pedy Opal Mine photo blog.
Life 2015 Family history Life 1982
Adelaide 1972 Iron Bar Freddy Sydney 2006
Thailand 2008 Gold Coast Babes World trip 2003
Australian adventures
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