Blogs from Coober Pedy, South Australia, Australia, Oceania - page 9

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Oceania » Australia » South Australia » Coober Pedy July 27th 2008

Now been travelling from Roxby to Coober Pedy for the last 2 weeks. We've travelled from Roxby Downs - Ceduna - Kalgoorlie - across the Anne Bedell and into Coober Pedy. Everyone has had a punctured tyre with the exception of the Greenways (Bastards). Shouldn't be too jealous because we've all been using Michael's puncture repair kit. But rest assured the Greenways have had an issue with there aux fuel tank. I never thought that the Australian Desert has so much to offer in terms of the different types landscape and flora. Unfortunately the only substantial animals we've seen have been lying dead on the side of the road. Visited the Atomic bomb test sites along the Anne Bedell highway, now in a Cober Peady underground hotel while my parents are sitting under a tarp in ... read more
Googs track start
Port LeHunte
Stickman at the edge of Nullarbor

Oceania » Australia » South Australia » Coober Pedy July 11th 2008

It's been one week and lots of driving to get to a place called Roxby Downs. This place is a mining community situated next to the biggest Uranium mine in the world, Olympic Dam. I actually spent a few years hear as a kid and it was interesting to note that I remembered squat. The trip has been an interesting one, leaving Townsville on Sunday the 6th July 2008, stopping overnight at the following: Muttaburra - Coppers Creek - Coopers Creek (Burke and Wills Dig tree) - Some place in-between the Dig Tree and Roxby Downs - Roxby Downs. All the vehicles in our group are going well, with no major breakdowns. It's hard to understand how friggin big Australia is until you drive it. Anyways, next update will probably be in a few days when ... read more
Charters Towers
Longreach
First Quantas hanger

Oceania » Australia » South Australia » Coober Pedy June 15th 2008

Looked at Brachina & Bunyeroo Gorges on the way out of Flinders Ranges. Looked at Leigh Creek the town that was moved 6km South of Copley from its original place of 6km North of Copley. The houses all looked the same. Went up the Oodnadatta Track. It was bumpy and there was nothing for miles. Stayed at Coward Springs for the night. It used to be a station on the Old Ghan Rail line. There were hot springs and the Station Master and Train Driver’s houses still standing that we looked at. Went through William Creek took a photo of the Golf Club - all dirt and sand. Not much else around, except a pub and caravan park. Arrived at Coober Pedy and went to the Old Timers Mine. Did a tour and saw how they ... read more
Bunyeroo Gorge
The Big Winch, Coober Pedy
William Creek Golf Club

Oceania » Australia » South Australia » Coober Pedy June 15th 2008

Left Saturday and dodged an emu dashing across the road, then missed 2 kangaroos ( 1 after the other) on our way through Bunyeroo & Brachina Gorges. Caught up with Marty, Sally & Tahlia who were doing the same view stops as us along with way. Brachina Gorge had all the different sandstone cliffs that loomed high above. Went through Leigh Creek (the town the Coal Mining Company paid to move). All the houses were the same - just a different garden. Had lunch at Copley. Finally hit the Oodnadatta Track just outside Maree. Boy it sure is bumpy compared to the bitumen! Couldn’t make it to William Creek, so decided to stay at Coward Springs. Arrived about 7pm. Set up and lit the fire and had jaffles, toast & mud cake for tea. The firewood ... read more
St. Mary's Lookout-Flinders Ranges
Coward Springs Camp
Danger sign at Cooper Pedy

Oceania » Australia » South Australia » Coober Pedy June 5th 2008

Probably one of the weirdest places we've ever been to is Coober Pedy, roughly half way between Alice Springs and Adelaide. For about 40km each side of the town you drive through a surreal apocalyptic landscape of white conical mullock heaps and old machinery, signs warning of the presence of thousands of mine shafts, each dug in the hope of finding opals. Coober Pedy itself is a small, dusty town with a population of about 2,000. Previously it boasted over 40 different nationalities although this is down to about 20 or so now that many people have left to try mineral mining elsewhere. Prominant in the town are the large Greek, Serbian and Croatian communities. Opals were first found by a fourteen year old boy in 1915, there with his father looking for gold. Mining really ... read more
Not sure if something out of MadMax or old mining equipment!
Moonrocks for sale!
Scenic view here!

Oceania » Australia » South Australia » Coober Pedy May 27th 2008

Early To Bed, Early To Rise... 4am could not have come any quicker for me as I was really beginning to feel the cold in my swag, despite being assured that they were warmer than the tents. As soon as the alarm went off, I was out my swag, rolling it up and heading for the bathrooms to get some warmth and changed for the day ahead. As a group we were beginning to get good at packing up and loaded into the bus in time for Sauce's preferred departure. We had around two and half hours drive ahead of us to Erldunda, which was on the Stuart's Highway, where we were due to meet our new Tour Guide, Ben. Most of the group slept for the duration of the journey, however Gary and myself took ... read more
Our Accommodation
Miner
Coobe Pedy At Dusk

Oceania » Australia » South Australia » Coober Pedy December 24th 2007

Fri 30th Nov: The road trip continues........... Day 5 - Alice Springs to Coober Pedy, 675km It was 0900 by the time we got on the road and another 40 degree day. Drove, melted in heat, checked into hostel at 1700. The hostel and rooms are underground due to the extreme heat hey have in Coober. Sharing a room with super snorer so not much sleep :-( and an early start tomorrow to try and avoid the heat! Sat 1st Dec: Day 6 - Coober Pedy to Adelaide, 465km On the road by 0600 (no thats not a typo!) Drove, melted in slightly less heat, arrived in Adelaide by 1400. Decided to take some timeout so dropped Laz in Glenelg with Hayley and headed back into the city. Stopped at Drs to find out I had ... read more
Day 6 - Coober Pedy - Adelaide

Oceania » Australia » South Australia » Coober Pedy December 23rd 2007

Ok, one day to recover from the wild night out and off we go again... A 6.30am start this time! It's a long trip with Groovy Grape to Adelaide (1,570klms), stopping the night in Coober Pedy (690 klms). We'd discovered Leith was going to be on the same trip, and after having spent 3 days with him on his mulga's trip - We knew what we were letting ourselves in for. But what about his best buddie Steve, who would be doing the driving? Would it be double the trouble? As expected, Steve turned out to be as much of a nutter as Leith. I can only liken them to "TAZ" the tasmanian devil. Constantly doing that low growling and there was no shortage of entertainment along the way. (Don't know where they got their ... read more
This is Steve...
On the border
Home for the night...

Oceania » Australia » South Australia » Coober Pedy June 29th 2007

What an amazing place. Much of Coober Pedy is underground, so of course we had to stay in a motel where our room was carved out of solid rock . . . I never dreamed I’d have claustrophobia after the summers during university I taught caving, but with only a 150 mm (6”) vertical pipe venting the room to the outside 20 metres (60 feet) above, it has been a real struggle convincing myself I can still breath okay. Really interesting displays on opal mining. Learned the difference between a doublet and a triplet (both are just thin slices of opal glued to a backing, the latter with a clear crystal outer layer) ... read more
Our underground hotel room in Coober Pedy
underground opal museum
warning sign

Oceania » Australia » South Australia » Coober Pedy June 18th 2007

...So we are in South Australia... on our tour one of the first things we saw was a car just off the road...in a tree! it was mad the car had swerved to miss a kangaroo at 100kmph and ended up in a tree! We saw some more massive egales this time they were really close cos they were eating a dead kangaroo on the side of the road. Just before we arrived at Coober Pedy we stopped at the Longest Man made "structure" on the planet...longer than the great wall of China! its only a little fence but it stretches nearly the whole width of Australia and was used to keep Dingos away from Sheep...so we played the sheep and Dingo game to illustrate this! lol. We eventually arrived at Coober Pedy named by ... read more
Playing Dingo's And Sheep....
Our Underground Room..... / in a cave really
Under Ground House IN Coober Pedy..




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