Day 89-90 Yalara to Coober Pedy to Adelaide

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Day 89 Yalara to Coober Pedy (Thur 30th Sept)

So we were gone from Yalara at 0430 today, on our way to South Australia. We had to drive back through Erlunda to get to the highway again. We reached the state border at 1000, and made it to Coober Pedy by 1530. The land around the town is all mining area and there are piles of earth all over the place. A bit dangerous if you want to go for a walk, but you aren’t actually allowed to do that anyway.

Our first stop in town was at a mine, right next door to the place we will be staying. We had a tour of the old mine tunnels and where the folks used to live. Some of the opal jewellery is absolutely beautiful and it would be so easy to spend a couple thousand dollars there in just a few minutes. Well, it would be if I had the money...

We then went to an art place, whose owners also take care of baby kangaroos. Mainly ones that have been found after their mothers were either hunted or hit by cars. We got to watch them being fed, and then got to hold on to a baby for a bit. It was so little! And really cute. And they touch noses to scent, so it's like getting a little kiss from a baby Kangaroo.

We also got to try out the didgeridoo and no, I wasn’t any good at it...

Settling into our hostel was interesting. Like most residences in Coober Pedy it was built into the hill and so therefore underground. This regulates the temperature all year around. Apparently it stays between 21-25 degrees all year. I even managed to get my own room, as there were quite a few available to us.

We all went out to dinner at the pizza place across the road and the food was amazing. There wasn’t really much choice with places to eat in the area, but this place was worth visiting anyway.





Day 90 Coober Pedy to Adelaide (Fri 1st Oct)

The rooms were quite nice here for a hostel. The beds were comfy and it was nice that it wasn’t too cold for a change since being underground regulates the temperature more. We left Coober Pedy at 0400, on our way to Adelaide. We saw the sun rise at 0630 from the bus and the scenery it rose on was rather barren. We have become accustomed to watching the sun rise now, though there are still a few complaints each day about it being too early.

We stopped at Lake Hart (salt lake with more water than usual, which means it just doesn’t look as white) and also at Woomera, before the flinders ranges finally came into view around 1030. And then the landscape began to change, becoming less barren and a bit greener.

At 1045 we stopped at Mt Augusta and went up a viewing platform for a look at the town and the waterways. We also stopped at the roadhouse that is generally used to assemble the road trains. I found it quite interesting. And this was our first glimpse of any part of the ocean, though we weren’t on the coast yet.

In the early afternoon we made a stop at the Seven Hills winery, which was a monastery at one point and has some lovely buildings. We managed a free wine tasting, where we were permitted to try as much or as little as we liked. I’m not sure that was a good idea, as most of us decided to get an early start on our evening. At 1500. It was really nice wine too, so I bought a few bottles.

We arrived in Adelaide just before the sun set and organised ourselves in the hostel. I was sharing with Helen and Heather here, and it was once more my turn to take a top bunk. At least there were only three of us in the dorm, as they are not the biggest rooms...

We al met up in the bar at 2030 to have a drink before heading out into the city. Ali’s friend met us there as he was going to be our ‘guide’ for the night. I liked the decor of the first pub (though it was a little too trendy, but as it was far too quiet, we soon moved on. It was actually quite nice to see Adelaide by night. Even though it was a Friday, the streets weren’t at all busy although some of the pubs were.

Helen, Heather and I managed to catch a taxi back to the hostel together so we could get a bit of sleep before tomorrows long journey.

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Photos

On the Road
A very arid country

Coober Pedy
Ali and AJ

Coober Pedy 2
Old miners accomodation