26 June, 2012 - Exploring Coober Pedy

Had coffee in an underground cafe, then went up to the "Big Winch" for an overview of the town & surrounding area - it was rather like a moon-scape.


Who cares about spelling when there are opals up for grabs!





The Big Winch



We moved on to the "Old Timer's Mine", which was constructed in 1916 using only the most basic equipment.  I soon realised that I could never have worked underground & felt very claustrophobic.  However, subterranean homes & churches are an excellent idea when temperatures reach melting point on the surface!  The underground houses were cool & fascinating, even if not exactly appealing.

I couldn't resist buying a pair of pretty blue/green opal earrings.  They came in a myriad of colours & it was difficult to choose from amongst them all.

After lunch, we drove out of town, with Judy & Charlie, to an area known as the Breakaways - it was very beautiful & scenic.  We enjoyed panoramic views of the fantastic landscape, which was an artist's delight, displaying bands of white, yellow, orange & various other shades.  The Breakaways is sacred to the Aboriginals & visitors are asked to respect this.



The Aboriginals call these two hills "The White Dog & The Brown Dog"