Coober Pedy and William Creek.........

Not long after we were in the centre of town still amazed by the unusual Main Street.  There seemed to be mountains of sand set well back on some blocks and on others normal shops along the road.  On closer inspection the mounds of sand had funnels, aerials and satellite dishes coming up from the top indicating a building (dugout) underneath.  

We decided we had better check out one of these underground places and so had a look through The Opal Cave.  First and foremost a shop selling opals but also a walk through museum of sorts explaining how opals are found and mined.  An interesting place to visit and a bit different to just being in the basement of a normal building.

The next morning we walked up to The Old Timers Mine and did a self guided tour here.  This is such an interesting place to visit as it was an actual mine hand dug in 1916.  No one knows why it had been filled in and left when there was still opal to be found there.  It was discovered by accident in 1968 when when an underground home extension broke through revealing precious opal which is on show now.

This home is now on display together with a much earlier dugout.  There are also opal mining machine demonstrations and a noodling pit to keep everyone hoping they might strike it rich.

From here we visited the scenic lookout and The Big Winch.  The view from here is a very strange one as there is not much to see other than hills with air vents and mullock hills.

After lunch we jumped in the car and drove out to have a look at The Breakaways Reserve,  a bit north of Coober Pedy.  Another truly amazing landscape it consists of colourful low hills which have broken away from the Stuart Range, hence their name, The Breakaways.

There are two lookouts here and the views from both of them are absolutely wonderful.  We saw them mid afternoon and the colours were lovely then though I believe sunset is spectacular.  Maybe next time.

On our way back we stopped to look at one outcrop quite close to the road.  With a white hill and a brownish red hill Aboriginal Legend calls it Two dogs but the locals call it Salt and Pepper.  Apparently it has been used in many ads and features in the movies Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and Ground Zero.

A little further along the road we came to The Dog Fence.  The 2m high wire barrier stretches over 5,300km across three states, to protect the sheep country in the south from the native dog, the dingo.

The flat desert like moonscape along the fence is known as The Moon Plain and it too has been the scene for many movies.

That night we got dressed in long pants and shoes for the first time in a while and enjoyed a lovely dinner at The Undergound Restaurant.  

You know you are undergound by the walls and the vents above and of course no windows.  We had a great night meeting some lovely people from Victoria and a couple of locals.

The next morning it was time to leave and head south so I thought, but Bill decided that I had enjoyed too much time on the bitumen and obviously needed more adventure in my life.  We were going East to William Creek where we would join The Oodnadatta Track and head down to Marree.

And so it back onto the dirt again as we turned left just out of Coober Pedy and spent the next couple of hours on William Creek Rd.  All the reports had said the road was open to all vehicles but to take care with some ruts on the road.  What we found was a wide red road that was very smooth and better than a lot of bitumen roads we have travelled on.  

Of course anyone driving this road is now driving through 'Anna Creek' which at 24,000 sq km is reported to be the worlds largest cattle station.  We also passed near Lake Cadibarrawirracanna, Australia's longest place name.  All the lakes along here are dry at the moment and you can only imagine how amazing it would look with water.  We passed masses of beautiful wild flowers along the roadside and it is a mystery as to how they thrive when water is so scarce.  The very pretty Poached Egg flower seemed to be the most prominent.

Soon after we arrived at William Creek which is SA's smallest village with a population of 12.  We found a spot at the campground here and enjoyed dinner in the unique bush pub which is it's main attraction.  Great food, great fun, some great wines and met some lovely fellow travellers here.  I will have to cook again soon!

And so tomorrow we set off on The Oodnadatta Track for real.

until then.........