Coober Pedy Day 2 8/11/2010

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Coober Pedy comes from an aboriginal way of describing the dugouts the miners lived in "kupa Piti" - white mans hollow.
This is a wild bit of Australia!!
Took to the air today to fly over Lake Eyre.

First we did a fly over Coober Pedy so that our view to the "mullock" hills were fascinating. The small excavated mine sites looked like an ants entrance. The opal deposit runs for about 70km and the mullocks and holes are littered everywhere. It is something to behold. Think the 'sand - tuscan raiders - Jahwahs' from Star Wars and you are getting close.

We then flew straight out to Anna Creek Station which is Kidman Cattle Country - taking up the same area of land as the country of Belgium. It is running 10,000 head of cattle, mainly Santa Getrudas but from the air I saw some white stock. Imagine mustering? They do this by plane and move the stock to any number of yards dotted all over the place and ship the stock out from there. The cattle love salt bush and the country is currently covered in it.

The landscape is green. 100 million years ago this was the bottom of the inland sea with the Davenport ranges to the north as the edge of the sea. Today these ranges are magnificent iron coloured ridges and gorges. The creeks and rivers, clay pans and dams have been filled with water over the last few months and the result is magnificent. A real privilege to have seen. It does however create a strange emotion - perhaps sad to get a glimpse of the enormous fertility and number of lakes which would have sustained huge numbers of wildlife all those thousands of years ago - but not anymore.

Lake Eyre appears on the Horizon reflecting the sun, it is huge. 150km from North to south and 60km wide. The water is perhaps only 1 metre deep and can be up to 2 metres deep in Belt Bay. At the moment the Cooper is still running water, but it is at 75% maximum holding capacity now. The Warburton also feeds into Lake Eyre but has stopped running from the north. The salt crust is about 1 foot thick and as the fresh water feeds in the salt begins to dissolve to a point where it is 8-10 saltier than the ocean. At first the fish such as Boney Bream, which can remain as dormant eggs under the surface of the lake for years - awaiting the arrival of water, begin to grow and other fish come down with the moving water. Apparently the Pelicans can sense when the waters come from the electromagnetic atmospheric activity of lightning striking the lakes. The pelicans arrive in droves especially to the north of the lake, to breed. What an amazing thing. We saw some Pelicans but the photos won't probably pick them up.

Landed in William Creek and had a look at the smallest town in Australia - population 4. This town is on the Oodnadatta Track. The road is all cut up because of the rain - so corrugated that we are glad we are not in the car. The Ghan used to go through here and the township was a little more populated, but now the Ghan follows the Stuart Highway and does not cross the Birdsville track anymore. All the railway track was lifted and used on outlying stations.

Flew back over the dog fence - still operational - now there's a job - tending the fence. Then headed for the Painted ranges, iron coloured rocky summits dotted like paint pots out of the earth - before landing - 4 hours after taking off. What an experience. We are so exhausted and a little urky in the tummy. As the atmosphere heats up the flying can become bumpy. Poor Xavier was in the back of the 6 seater Cesna and the fresh air didn't really reach him. We must be land lovers.

We are back in the cave and planning on heading out again to do some fossicking in the afternoon.

Went down a mine and then a museum showing us ow the opal was originally mined and is now mined today. Great second life for 1950s trucks.

Visited the underground catholic Church and lit a candle for Grandma.

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Photos

Xavier in the air
Loved the microphone -

Mulocks and ant holes
Coober Pedy