Coober Pedy mining truck
Underground opal mine tour included
The Oz Experience bus will stop overnight here. Accommodation and meals are included here as part of your Local Payment.
You will sleep underground where the temperature is a constant 22 degrees Centigrade year round.
Coober Pedy is the Opal capital of the world. To learn more about opals you will go on an Opal Mine Tour and 'Noodling' experience.
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Coober Pedy is the opal capital of the world, producing 95% of the world’s opals (colourful precious stones) and attracts a special breed of people.
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There are 41 different nationalities living in a population of just over 4000 people. 80% of them live underground to avoid the heat and freezing cold of winter (underground the temperature remains a pleasant low 20 degrees Centigrade year round). There are underground shops, churches, hostels and hotels.
Coober Pedy is situated in an otherwise extremely arid region (11cm approx of rainfall a year) and the lunar landscape is stunning at sunrise and sunset and unique. In the surrounding area, NASA has been known to test it's space vehicles and many feature movies including Mad Max and other science fiction space movies have been made here because of the barren landscape.
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 Beyond 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.
