Blogs from Coober Pedy, South Australia, Australia, Oceania - page 7

The first thing we did today was hit an old opal mine and watched a video from circa 1992 about the history of opals, we were then shown how the stone is cut followed by being taken into the actual mine. In Coober Pedy, the majority of people live underground. The "houses" are actually quite nice and if you didn't know you were underground, then you wouldn't know you were underground (funnily enough.) We were guided to an example of one of the first underground burrows and then to a "modern" one (from the 70s). I reckon I could probably live there if I had to. They then went down a further level into the old mine and that's where my claustrophobia kicked in. I made it down the stairs but turned around and came straight ... read more

Hey all, Day 6 had us Leaving Uluru for Oodnadatta but it wasn't to be and we ended up in Coober Pedy. I was absolutely shattered yesterday arvo! We heard on the UHF that the rain we had at Uluru had gotten worse and moved towards the Simpson closing all roads down the Oodnadatta. No access in or out. I called the roadhouse to confirm and he said at least 2-3 days until roads might be opened. When we got to Marla we drove 500m down the Oodnadatta track to the signs and sure enough everything was closed, NOT HAPPY JAN!!!!!!! We decided to put in a big day then and drive to Coober Pedy and stay in an underground Hotel for the night which was great. They drilled a big horizontal hole into the the ... read more

We had a good night’s sleep in our Underground Motel room (and endured a cold shower) and then started to explore the town in more detail. After doing some shopping at the Supermarket we went down to an Underground Shop and Museum where Sandy purchased a watch. After lunch we went to the Old Timers Mine and it was here we appreciated the hardship the miners went through to make a living chasing Opals. Sandy got claustrophobic and had to leave the cramped tunnels. We then saw a display of the more modern machinery used to excavate the rock and blow it up to the surface for processing. We are having a rest day in preparation for the long haul to Kings Canyon tomorrow. We found a fantastic restaurant where the pizzas were amazing and we ... read more

Heello peeps. I travel about 3 months of the year evry year. I have good job that takes me to some wonderful places. I go in search of Drugs, and try to see cultural use of these in everyday lives. Last year went to Brazil and Columbia. What can I say...What a time I had. This year I went to Australia, and tried to find out all I could from the Aboriginal peoples about "special" medicines they may have used in their culture. The American Indians used Piote to enter the spirit world, a form of LSD. I was amazed to learn that in fact there are numerous natural plants, seeds, barks and plants that produce or contain LSD. Upon meeting with some older Aboriginals, I came up with a list of plants that hold cultural ... read more

In the morning we cooked some breakfast on the fire before packing up camp and finding our way back to the Oodnadatta track. We headed north for a while until we got to a very scenic lookout point over the main section of the lake. There were also some information boards that explained why the lake forms and that it is part of the Great Artesian Basin that covers quarter of Australia, making it the largest and deepest artesian water basin in the world. I had assumed that the lake would be devoid of life seeing as there is only occasionally water in it. However, we learned that there are a variety of fish, lizards and frogs that call Lake Eyre home. Some of the fish are able to survive in the dry salty ground without ... read more