desert | Hello from the Five Star Vagabond

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.

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Australian Outback Japanese students

July 25, 2013 by David Herd

The magic of Uluru

Australian Outback Japanese students

Australian Outback Japanese students road trip started in Surfers Paradise & went through Broken Hill NSW to Coober Pedy in South Australia. The next leg took us to Uluru aka Ayers Rock.

Turn left for Uluru

Still a long way to go.

Australian Outback Japanese students, Yukako, Megumi & Noriko

My Japanese student friends were wonderful travel partners, it was so funny to see them happily clapping their hands on seeing the kangaroo warning sign, so you can imagine their joy when they actually saw the first live jumping kangaroo from the window of our car. After that sighting we saw wild camels, tall emus and Outback Brumbies which are Australia’s wild horses.

Camel rides

Thousands of feral camels, mostly dromedaries but also some bactrian camels, were imported into Australia, mainly from India, during the 19th century for transport and construction as part of the colonisation of the central and western parts of Australia. Motorised transport replaced the camels’ role in the early 20th century and many were released into the wild. As of 2009 the feral population numbered about one million, with a doubling time of about nine years. These camels are being culled because they are degrading the environment and threatening native species.

Magnificent Ayers Rock, also known as Uluru.

Absolutely breathtaking.

How big is it?

This huge monolith in the Australian outback is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the the Northern Territory in central Australia. It lies 335 km (208 mi) south west of the nearest large town, Alice Springs. Uluru is the Aboriginal name for Ayers Rock, it is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The sandstone formation stands 348 m (1,142 ft) high, rising 863 m (2,831 ft) above sea level, with most of its bulk lying underground, and has a total circumference of 9.4 km (5.8 mi).

Climbing Ayers Rock.

I relaxed & watched while the girls climbed the rock.

It’s a long way to the top

Uluru has been climbed by tourists for much of the 20th century. In the early 1960s, a safety chain was installed to accommodate the growing number of visitors. Despite this chain, more than 30 people have lost their lives climbing “the Rock”. Many more have been injured. Still, about one-third of visitors choose to climb.