We didn't have a lot of choice of accommodation at Coober Pedy as power and water were sorely needed after three day free camping. Fun fact Coober Pedy got its name from the Aboriginal term meaning white man in a hole, in 1920.
Opal was discovered by accident on the 1st February 1915 the men had set up camp and were searching for water when the 15 year old William Hutchison, son of one of the men found pieces of surface opal. Eight days later, the first opal claim was pegged.
On the way to Coober Pedy you can not miss the turn off as you are directed by an old truck with a blower on the back with a large arrow pointing the way.
Enough history, on to the tourist stuff. We booked into the Oasis Caravan Park for the night and got a drive through site and parked next to Graham and Ruth, with their dogs Molly and Clarey, the people we had met the day before. They didn't know our next stop and we didn't know theirs, small world. When we booked in we had asked the lady at the park where she thought the best place to go to buy opals, she told us George at Opal Direct was probably our best bet as he had full stones not the sliced ones. So off we went and I got a lovely pair of stud earrings with plenty of colour as my anniversary gift.
We next went to first the Catacomb Church and then the Serbian Orthodox Church. Both churches are built into disused mines, they were both beautiful churches with Serbian one displaying lovely stained glass and ornate sculptures of Saint Elyjah the Prophet.
The Big Winch can be seen be seen from almost every point in town. There are also some unique sculptures around town as well.
Before we took off the next day we visited the Old Timers Mine, it was originally a mine dug in the 1916's and was later hidden, but nobody seems to know why, it was rediscovered during excavations to expand a dug out home when the wall they were digging through punched through into the mine. As they explored the tunnels and found so many artifacts from the past it was decided that it would be turned into a museum. As this was working a working mine the first thing they give you after the self guided map is a hard hat and yes I lost count of how many times I hit the ceiling of the tunnels. Some of the possessions and memorabilia left behind were hand tools used over 100 years ago, original mining certificates, news papers some dating back to the 1920's horse riding ribbons and a two room dugout that had been lived in from about the 1940's. It was well worth the $25.00 for both of us to through. It was nice to straighten up again, mining is definitely not for us.
Coober Pedy is also a popular spot for film making such as Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Pitch Black (the wrecked space craft is in the main street), Red Planet and Kangaroo Jack.
Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to catch up with Graham and Ruth as they were doing their thing and we were doing ours, they were also staying another day.
Opal was discovered by accident on the 1st February 1915 the men had set up camp and were searching for water when the 15 year old William Hutchison, son of one of the men found pieces of surface opal. Eight days later, the first opal claim was pegged.
On the way to Coober Pedy you can not miss the turn off as you are directed by an old truck with a blower on the back with a large arrow pointing the way.
Enough history, on to the tourist stuff. We booked into the Oasis Caravan Park for the night and got a drive through site and parked next to Graham and Ruth, with their dogs Molly and Clarey, the people we had met the day before. They didn't know our next stop and we didn't know theirs, small world. When we booked in we had asked the lady at the park where she thought the best place to go to buy opals, she told us George at Opal Direct was probably our best bet as he had full stones not the sliced ones. So off we went and I got a lovely pair of stud earrings with plenty of colour as my anniversary gift.
We next went to first the Catacomb Church and then the Serbian Orthodox Church. Both churches are built into disused mines, they were both beautiful churches with Serbian one displaying lovely stained glass and ornate sculptures of Saint Elyjah the Prophet.
The Big Winch can be seen be seen from almost every point in town. There are also some unique sculptures around town as well.
Before we took off the next day we visited the Old Timers Mine, it was originally a mine dug in the 1916's and was later hidden, but nobody seems to know why, it was rediscovered during excavations to expand a dug out home when the wall they were digging through punched through into the mine. As they explored the tunnels and found so many artifacts from the past it was decided that it would be turned into a museum. As this was working a working mine the first thing they give you after the self guided map is a hard hat and yes I lost count of how many times I hit the ceiling of the tunnels. Some of the possessions and memorabilia left behind were hand tools used over 100 years ago, original mining certificates, news papers some dating back to the 1920's horse riding ribbons and a two room dugout that had been lived in from about the 1940's. It was well worth the $25.00 for both of us to through. It was nice to straighten up again, mining is definitely not for us.
Coober Pedy is also a popular spot for film making such as Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Pitch Black (the wrecked space craft is in the main street), Red Planet and Kangaroo Jack.
Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to catch up with Graham and Ruth as they were doing their thing and we were doing ours, they were also staying another day.
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