Coober Pedy – a huge tick off my bucket list. Driving into town, I was glad someone had told me how unimpressive it is. My idea that being a mining town (even though it’s opal mining) it would be like Mount Isa was very far removed from reality. First it’s tiny; second there are almost no bitumen roads; it’s all gravel or red dirt. This, together with all the scrap metal strewn around and the mining equipment spilling from back yards makes it look very grubby and unkempt. There is no greenery, no gardens at all because there is almost no rain. Nothing grows here. After all it is a very remote desert town miles from anywhere.

None of the locals seemed particularly happy. They all complained about there being nothing to do for people who live here. There didn’t seem to be that pride in their town that we’ve seen throughout our journey. However, there has been effort made to provide facilities for the townsfolk. For example there is a Greek Club, an Italian Club and an RSL Club that provide drinks and meals; there is a drive in movie theatre (which does look a bit derelict), a speedway, a racecourse (which just looks like vacant land full of gravel and weeds), and a golf course that looks exactly the same as the racecourse. John did consider playing golf until he had to climb the fifteen steps to the first tee.

When you look past all this, Coober Pedy is a fascinating town. For us the fascination began as we drove into the Tom Cat Hill Caravan Park. We found it on the top of a hill. It looked nothing like a caravan park but had the most amazing views.

The great thing about it was the beautiful sunsets (and sunrises) we enjoyed while we were there.

The not so great thing was that we were quite exposed to the elements. During the drive from Woomera we had experienced horrendous headwinds all the way which had lifted our awning and unravelled it several times. We had to keep stopping to try to secure it, fighting the wind as we did so. When we reached the caravan park, the wind hadn’t eased at all and both John and the owner had to wrestle to keep the awning contained. They managed to use a strap to secure it but not before the awning had ripped in several places. The large caravan next to us had the same problem. Because of the wind we were unable to put the roof up on the van or use the kitchen to cook dinner but John managed to find some cheese, smoked salmon and wine in the fridge. So we were fine.

Thankfully we woke to calm conditions. After breakfast we set out to explore the town. We also booked a tour which was both informative and entertaining. George, our tour guide, had lived in town for a long time and had lots of stories to tell.

We loved the underground churches, There are a few in town and we visited two, the Catholic Church and the Catacomb.

We were also able to have a look inside a ‘dug out’- the home of a local which is rented out as holiday accommodation. Despite there being no windows it felt quite light and airy. I worried I’d feel claustrophobic but I didn’t. Of course the reason the locals live underground is because of the heat. In summer it can reach 52°c.

John and I had a look around town above ground before going back underground to look at an opal mine.

The underground mine was interesting. Again I felt safe, there was plenty air and it was roomy, except for the tunnels where we had to dip our heads. Underground in Coober Pedy is very clean. The guide, Rudy was an opal miner and told us that above us was sandstone. He also mentioned the dust from mining here is harmless. At 87 years old he had been told by his doctor that he had the lungs of a teenager!

Later John and I took a drive out to the Breakaways. We read that these were hills that had broken away from the Flinders Ranges. Hence their name. We drove to the Dingo Fence then followed it until we reached the breathtakingly beautiful Breakaways. The Dingo Fence, by the way, was constructed to keep sheep safe from dingoes, and stretches for more than 5,000 kms across the outback.

Coober Pedy was amazing! It is unlike anywhere else we’ve ever been. We were so pleased we made the time to visit as we would have hated to miss out on seeing such a remote and unique place.