Opal Fever in Coober Pedy

So, onto Port Augusta we drove. It was once again a hot, long drive, but the kids continue to amaze us by not complaining and just enjoying each other, their movies and the interesting and somewhat tacky music which is often played by DJ Jeremy. A couple of nights in Port Augusta allowed us to visit a fantastic Indigenous Interpretation Centre called Wadlata Outback Centre. It was not only very impressive visually, but was a great place for the kids to gain a small insight into Aboriginal Dreamtime, the geology of the South Australian mountain ranges and the first explorers of the area. It was really a wonderful place to visit and has won many awards for its uniqueness.

After a swim with the locals in the river and a jump of the jetty (Rubes and I somewhat apprehensive to jump) it was off to Coober Pedy the following day.

With the blink of an eye we had already passed Woomera and on the long 540km drive to Coober Pedy. Thank goodness the detention centre no longer exists out there. The area is barren, the road is flat with nothing but dried out river beds full of salt and the odd homestead 100 km down the road. No wonder they blasted a rocket out there. We were quite excited about our stay in Coober Pedy, as we had left the caravan behind and were staying in the very upmarket Desert Cave Hotel.

 

Driving into Coober Pedy there was a feeling of Opal fever coming from the back seat. It was Oscar. He was there to make his fortune.

Coober Pedy is a strange, interesting and somewhat depressing place as well. There seem to be a lot of very eccentric people who live there and it seems like you need to be slightly mad as well. Take for instance the guy who cares for orphaned kangaroos that we met, feeds them Wasabi peas and Twisties and wonders why some of them don’t want to sleep outside. Go figure??  Oscar and Ruby were not quite sure whether they remember mum telling them that this junk food was their staple diet???? Or, perhaps the junkies outside the chemist waiting for their Methadone fi x for the day.  All a bit strange really.

Nonetheless, we visited some very interesting museums and particularly enjoyed the Old Timers Mine where we did a self -guided tour. The mine was a very clever recreation of a miner’s life and although not an active mine today, there is still evidence of large amounts of opal present in the mine, now converted into a museum.  The kids enjoyed “noodling”, the word they give to fossicking through left over miner’s rubble. Oscar, once again confident that he was going to make his fortune.  

 

The landscape around Coober Pedy is very unique. Lunar in appearance, with miner’s claims dotted around, signs warning of danger and abandoned machinery, form the perfect backdrop for a movie. It’s no wonder Mad Max was filmed out there.  

An “interesting” visit, one which we put down to another opportunity to see how other people live within Australia. As we left the hotel we decided to let reception know that Oscar had been bitten by some kind of small bed bug all over his body. Not really expecting anything in return, just more to let them know. Unfortunate for Oscar, but lucky for us they rang us a day later to see how he was and offer us a reimbursement of our stay. Thank you very much!

On a 40 degree day we made our way back to Port Augusta only to find the pool was closed at the caravan park and they were doing road work right outside our caravan. The next day we pulled out.

A beautiful drive along the Eyre Peninsular took us to Lipson Cove.  A free camping area on the beach, with only a toilet and a beautiful view.  Just what we needed! There were only a few caravans that had pulled in so it was lovely to be in a more remote area. Although it was slightly windy and overcast, it didn’t stop the dolphins frolicking in the water nor the abundance of sea birds that have made Lipson Conservation Park their home. We spent 4 nights relaxing, playing on the beach, homework and a visit into the local town Tumby Bay. There were also, if I remember correctly a number of bottles of wine drunk as well. We were all very ready though for a hot shower and clean clothes when we left (Josh especially).

Although the kids didn’t know it, this was to be the beach they were to pick up a nasty case of sea lice, now causing havoc with their bodies, in particular poor Rubes.

The Eyre Peninsular is known as the seafood capital of South Australia. So far however, we are yet to indulge and hope that our time in Port Lincoln will prove true to its name.