Coober Pedy

Welcome to Coober Pedy!

On our way back from Uluru, we stopped one night at Coober Pedy, the opal capital of the world.  It is located in the Outback, about halfway between Alice Springs and Adelaide.  Opals were discovered here in 1914 and the place hasn’t been the same since.  The name Coober Pedy comes from the aboriginal word “kupa,” for white man, and “piti,” for hole.  About 3,500 people live here, many of them underground, where the temperature is a constant 75 degrees. It is a cosmopolitan city, with 44 nationalities represented (lots of people from various countries trying to make their fortune).  Many aborigines mine here too, with a large field of opals discovered in 1945 by an aboriginal woman. The town has underground churches, an underground campground, underground motels, and a golf course without a blade of grass (interestingly the golf course has reciprocal rights with one of the world’s greatest golf courses, St. Andrews in Scotland). 

Daron on Mars, or the Moon, you decide...

It was HOT when we got here, but we did some touring around before completely melting in the heat (the gal that checked us into our place told me this was nothing, it was only spring now and wait until summer!  Ugh!).  We visited the dog fence just outside of town.  It is the longest fence in the world, stretching 3,300 miles.  It separates the rich sheep growing areas in the south from the dingoes of central Australia.  Near the fence is the Moon Plane, which they claim looks just like the moon.  I think it looked more like Mars, but I haven’t been to either place, so who knows?  The desolate landscape here has starred in many movies, including Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Ground Zero, Pitch Black, and Red Planet.   

Underground church

We talked to a few locals who told us that it is hard to make a living mining opals, especially with the high cost of diesel fuel and expensive mining permits.  Many of the miners do other jobs in town in addition to mining.  Ninety percent of the opals found here are “junk” opals that are not worth anything.  Besides all that, they just love it here!  They told us the people are genuine and many of them can’t imagine living anywhere else.  There is a strong sense of community here.  The tourist industry I’m sure will help the town somewhat too.

As a tourist they will let you go “noodling,” or digging through the waste piles of dirt looking for opals missed by the miners.  You can’t use any tools, if you do you need to purchase a mining permit.  It was reported that one German tourist found an opal a few years back worth $5,000!  We did not do any noodling during our stay, instead opting for air conditioning and a nice meal.