Coober Pedy - the opal mining capital of the world

I may be using this phrase a lot during our travels, but Coober Pedy is one place that has to be truly seen to be believed.

Before we get onto Coober Pedy, there is a place at Woomera that we absolutely recommend. The Woomera Missile Park consists of numerous rockets, missiles and warplanes.

Now onto Coober Pedy. The unique way in which these people live is amazing. We camped at Ribas Underground on William Creek Road, about four kms from the centre of town. We didn't camp underground, but we did get a tour of an underground opal mine as part of our powered site accomodation.

We checked out a lot of the main attractions in the main street of Coober Pedy. There are more opal jewellery shops than you can poke a stick at, and they all sell souvenirs.

We went up to Jewellery Shop Road to do some noodling. Noodling is the term used for beimg able to search among the piles of rubble left over from the real work done by the machines digging into the ground to find real opals.

Last Sunday, we went to a church service at the Catacomb Church. It was a very similar service to one we would experience at home. We ran into the people who are currently housesitting Faye's Underground Home located at the top of Old Watertank Road. Normally you would need to pay to get a tour through the house, but we were given a freebie. The house was dug out by three ladies, all on their own. Seeing a house like this was an amazing experience to see how the locals live as a way of surviving the hotter months of the year.

Another place we visited was The Breakaways. This is a series of rock formations that are located northeast of Coober Pedy. Travel via the Oodnadatta Track and turn left before the Dog Fence and follow that road along until you reach the three lookouts.


Our next stop is either the NT/SA border(free camping) or the Kulgera Roadhouse.

Photos.

Our campsite

Views from our campsite

The Breakaways

Faye's Underground Home

Woomera Missile Park

Port Augusta

We arrived in Port Augusta on Tuesday the 9th of July After spending the night at Hancocks Lookout. We stayed at the Port Augusta (PA) Caravan Park in Stirling North about six kms south of PA off the Quorn Road. The facilities were simple but the park had everything we needed, showers , toilets, power and running water.

We visited the Walata Heritage Centre at the PA Visitors Centre. There is a self guided  tour of the centre, taking you through the history of Australia from the Dinosaur Age to the Aboriginals to the Europeans. It is $39.95 for a family of five including discount  if you are staying locally in PA. You can take as little as ten minutes or as much as 2 or more hours as the amount of information presented is very extensive and informative.

We also visited the Flinders Lookout at the Arid Lands Botanical Gardens. The lookout gives a view of PA and the Spencer Gulf. There are a few information signs that give a detailed description of Flinders expedition.

 We are in PA till Friday the 12th of July, with our next stop being Coober Pedy.

Days 3 to 5

We have now arrived in Port Augusta. Last night we spent the night at Hancocks Lookout. It is based a short distance from Wilmington and 7 kms along a dirt track, overlooking the Spencer Gulf over to Port August on your right and Whyalla on your left.  The three nights prior were spent at Renmark, and we camped at a free camping reserve called Plush's Bend. It is located at the end of 23rd Street, of Plush's Bend Road, on the magnificent Murray River. The reserve has toilets, but no showers.

The next three nights will be at the Port Augusta Caravan Park in Stirling North. Here is the web site link on ExploreOz.


http://www.exploroz.com/Places/78113/SA/Port_Augusta_Caravan_Park_at_Stirling_North.aspx

Day One - Bacchus Marsh to Renmark SA.

Today has been a long day. We arose at 5am and once the kids were in the car and the remaining things left to pack were put in the car we were off. Official departure time, 6:37am.

Highlights for the day.

The drive to Mildura is an interesting one, to Ouyen it is an interesting drive. From Ouyen onwards, apart from dropping your fruit in the bins provided, it is a rather boring trip.

We stopped in at St Arnaud for breakfast and then after a fuel stop at Donald, it was onto Mildura for lunch at a local park.

After about 120 kms we reached the SA/VIC border for the customary photo opportunity. Then about 10kms on we reached the fruit fly protection checkpoint. Thanks a lot to the guy who was very helpful in giving us feedback about our eventual camping spot (see below). Once leaving the checkpoint we were only around 10kms from Renmark. We headed straight for the visitor centre to get advice on our camping spot called Plush's Bend. It is less than a five minute drive from town down 23rd St right beside the Murray River. It is a free camping reserve with toilets.

Tomorrow we will be heading into town for a market right in the river.

What follows now are the photos we took during the day.

possible change in departure date

Evie was sick overnight so our departure date might be pushed back by one day. Fingers crossed she has a better night tonight.

our trial run