Coober Pedy

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Coober Pedy, population 3,500, is a small town in South Australia, 846 kilometres north of Adelaide on the Stuart Highway.

	coober pedy Travel Guide : 1 Understand 2 Get In 2.1 By Plane 2.2 By Bus 2.3 By Car 2.4 By Train 3 See 3.1 External link

Understand

It is self-described as the "opal capital of the world" and the opals are the only reason why there is a town. Located in the Outback, it is hundreds of kilometres from the nearest settlement. The harsh summer temperatures and the dominant industry mean that most residents live underground, ie in caves bored into the rock of the hills around the town. There are houses and other buildings on the surface but the advantage of being in a cave is that the temperature remains fairly constant. Surface living requires air conditioning.

Get In

By Plane

Regional Express (http://www.rex.com.au/) operates flights from Adelaide to Coober Pedy on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The flight departs at 9.55am and arrives 11.55am.

By Bus

McCaffertys/Greyhound Adelaide to Coober Pedy - departs 7.45pm arrives 6.15am. Alice Springs to Coober Pedy - departs 10.30am arrives 7.30pm.

By Car

The Stuart Highway

• Adelaide 846km
• Alice Springs 685km
• Darwin 2,170km
• Port Augusta 535km
• Tennant Creek 1,173km
• Yulara 725km

By Train

Coober Pedy can be accessed by rail via the Ghan route from Adelaide to Alice Springs. Transportation from Manguri Station, 47kms from Coober Pedy, has to be arranged prior to departure from Adelaide or Alice Springs. Departs Adelaide on Sundays & Fridays and arrives at Manguri Station on Mondays & Saturdays.

See

Some of the interesting attractions in Coober Pedy include:

• Mines It is dangerous to wander among the diggings. You could fall down a shaft or be mistaken for a thief. Miners in Coober Pedy are a secretive lot and suspicious of interlopers. It is much safer to go to a worked out mine that has been opened as a tourist attraction. The owner collects bras and one of the attractions is his collection of bras together with photographs of the donors. Apparently the first bra in the collection was donated by Tina Turner when the mine was used as a set during the filming of Mad Max and the Thunderdome.

One of the tours takes you to a mine dump where you can legally fossick for opals among the waste rock.

• Graveyard This is a fascinating site where you will see headstones for a large number of nationalities. The town is a veritable "united nations" and the graves reflect this. One intriguing monument is an empty beer keg which acts as a headstone for a miner who left his fortune to his mates for them to have a drink on him. Unfortunately his debts exceeded his assets. However, his mates saw him off as he wanted and the keg serves as a reminder of the wake and the man.

• Churches The Serbian Orthodox Church is bored out of solid rock and its beautifully ornamented interior is a must see. The Catholic Church is not quite as intricate or as large but is still a significant site.

• The stars The night sky in the Outback has to be seen especially on a moonless night. The stars and planets are awe-inspiring. At about 20km from town there is no electric light pollution and you can see by starlight. The constellations and planets appear to move across the sky and if you can get on a tour with a local expert it is a learning experience not to be missed.

• Other The first tree ever seen in the town was welded together from scrap iron and sits on a hillside overlooking the town. The golf course is completely free of grass and golfers take a small piece of "turf" around to use for teeing off.

There are a number of shops selling opal jewellery and single stones.

The countryside around Coober Pedy has featured as a backdrop to some movies including Mad Max Beyond The Thunderdome and Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Some of the film props from Mad Max are still to be seen in town.

External link

• Coober Pedy (http://www.opalcapitaloftheworld.com.au/)

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