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Published: January 16th 2010
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22nd November - 24th November 2009
Coober Pedy
Coober Pedy is not much to look at on the surface. You do have the thought run through your head, 'who the hell would want to live out here'? It's not till you get underground that you really see how beautiful it is. Above ground it is dry, grey, treeless, grassless, boring and bleak. Underground it is magical.
Coober Pedy is an opal mining town, it is the largest producer of opal in the world. The outskirts of town are full of mined opal fields, evidence of these opal mines is in the large dirt mounds that litter the landscape or 'moonscape' as it is often referred too. As you drive around you come across 'Danger' signs, warning you not to go for alittle wander around or you could end up straight on down one of the old, often abandoned mine shafts (some reaching depths of 30m). While the warnings are serious, the little stick figues will make you smile. I don't know about you, but I often walk backwards around. Glad they advised me not too!!!
Coober Pedy is known as the 'underground' town because so much of
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Coober Pedy, SA it is indeed underground! Not only can you stay in a underground Hotel or Motel (you can even camp underground), there are shops, churches and Museums all underground. Many residents live underground as well, apparently about 50% of the population. Ofcourse living underground is cooler in summer and warmer in winter so it makes sense. It is this underground living that has made Coober Pedy such an interesting place to visit, oh and the opals are pretty impressive too!
I made a trip to the Umoona Opal Mine and Museum where you can go on a tour of the mines and see what life is life as a mole! Outside was grey and bleak looking, but underground was warm and homely. The tour guide was an older man who, along with his family, have been mining opals for many generations. I watched a short film on the history of opal mining out here before joining the tour for a look at the living quarters and then an actual mine. Opal mining started in Coober Pedy in 1915, when the first opal was discovered by a 14 year old boy. The discovery of opals ofcourse, as it often does, led
to a mining boom after the first World War but had it's up's and down's with the 1930's Great Depression and the up and down market for opals. It boomed again in the 1960's with many European migrants settling in Coober Pedy. The rich multicultural history is evident in the town today with approximately 60% of the population being overseas born.
It is really impressive to see what life is like underground. It doesn't feel like you are underground, which is a good thing otherwise you start to get abit nervous thinking about how much dirt is actually over you head. I'm not really one for going underground, I do get that claustrophobic feeling. Key is not to think about it when your down there! In the living area they had a fake window with a painting in it to make it look like you were looking out over a beautiful green meadow. Funny but effective.
The tour also took us down further into the old mine. The work just to dig and hollow out these mines is amazing. Alot of it was done with dynamite but all that dirt had to be carried on out of there
Opals
Coober Pedy, SA as well. Mining shafts were built and bucket and barrel loads of dirt were heaved up and out of the mines. Ofcourse as technology improved so did the workload but at the end of the day, it is still the miner and his pick that hunt out that all important opal.
Opals. You may or may not be an opal person, but when you learn about how opals are formed you start to become hypnotised by the beauty of the opal. There is precious opals (the colourul ones) and then potch (no colour). The colour of an opal is all formed by a regular array of silica spheres in the opal that diffract white light and break it down into various colours of the spectrum. What is more beautiful is that opal colours also depend on the angle of light incidence and can change or disappear when the opal is rotated. No two opals will ever be the same, but then the one opal can be many different opals in ones as well. At the Umoona Opal Mine and Museum they have a lovely display of opals and it's easy to start to get alittle carried away with how
goregous they are. I particularly love the greeny blue opals as opposed to the more milky coloured ones with pinks and purples, both types being quite common. Ofcourse the different colours also reflect the prices with red-fire opals (very rare) being more valuable than greener ones. It is easy to start to get that 'opal fever' as they call it. Time to hit the 'noodling' fields!
Now I ask, who the hell came up with the word 'noodling'? It is a really stupid name. What's wrong with 'fossicking'? 'Noodling' is simply searching for pieces of opal in the mounds of dirt left behind from drilling shafts. There are signed areas around town that you are allowed to 'noodle' in and this is very important to remember because if you try to 'noodle' where you shouldn't be 'noodling' well you don't want to deal with the owner!!! Don't mess with the miners, 'noodle' in the tourist area or you may get shot! And it's not really worth it because what your after is the potch, no value, no one cares. But I tell you what, 'noodling' is fun! It is easy to get obsessed. I don't care that it's worth
nothing, I wanted to find an opal. Did I find an opal? Yeah no, but I found some pretty rocks!
It was an interesting stay in Coober Pedy. I didn't leave with an opal but I left with a greater appreciation of what life is like out here in the desert and more so what life is like for the miners. There are some stunning areas just outside of town to visit like the Breakaways and the Painted Desert but due to road closures I couldn't make the trip which was a shame. I don't think I can look at an opal the same again, knowing the work and luck required to find that 'special' opal.
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