A Life Underground

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Coober Pedy is famous for the fact that everyone lives underground as it is the only way to keep cool in a place where the temperatures reach in excess of 50ºC during the day. At night however it was freezing, but it was a pleasant surprise to find that living underground has the opposite effect at night - it retains the heat and keeps you warm.

One of the main problems with Coober Pedy, which is not surprising with it being in the middle of a desert is that there is next to no water. I could only get the smallest of trickles out of the tap to wash, shave and clean my teeth, and a nice refreshing shower was out of the question.

I spent the morning looking round and being harassed by flies. It has been said that the official Australian salute consists of a frantic waving of a hand over your face which also serves to frighten off the flies, but only for about a third of a second. What the hell purpose these creatures serve on this planet, other than tormenting people and spreading disease is beyond me!

In the afternoon I went on an organised tour in a clapped out bus to see all the sights of Coober Pedy. This included someone's underground house - which was huge - a chapel and some opal mines. I shied away from an alternative tour as the bus was even more clapped out, but, I was later disappointed as the tour itself sounded a lot better.

Before I left, I had to buy some opals for my Mum and Sister back home.

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Photos

Camel Mine
The so called Camel Mine in Coober Pedy

Coober Pedy
A view of the centre of Coober Pedy

Housing
A Coober Pedy underground housing estate

Hotel
Our underground hotel

Camel Mine
Inside the Camel Mine

Chapel
Inside the town chapel