4 Stray Katz: Opal Fever- noodling at Coober Pedy

Alice Springs and Coober Pedy

Monday 30^th October – Friday 3^rd November

After leaving Uluru on Monday morning we were keen to check out some meteorite craters on the way back in to Alice Springs, however when we got closer to the turnoff it was 39 degrees outside, way too hot to be walking around rocky craters, so we just headed straight in to Alice Springs and spent the afternoon in the pool. The next was just spent alternating between ‘jobs’ and the pool- we all had a blast on the waterslide again. That night we drove up a 4wd track to a lookout and watched the sun set over Alice Springs while the kids and Daniel devoured pizza.

We left early the next morning and after more than 7 hours in the car we arrived at Coober Pedy mid afternoon. It is certainly a unique town, with more than 70% of the town’s residents living in underground or semi-underground homes. It was very quiet, as the tourist season was over, but also as the town’s population is declining. A local tour guide told us that in its heyday, there were over 1000 miners tending their claims in the area, though now there are only about 100.

We enjoyed our time at Coober Pedy and managed to see most of the sights in the town and nearby areas, as well as spending plenty of time ‘noodling’ for opals in the piles of dirt deposited around town.

Highlights of our time in Coober Pedy include:

Doing the tour at Umoona Opal Mine, where we learnt about the history of opal mining at Coober Pedy, as well seeing what an old miners dwelling would have looked like and what new underground homes are like.
‘Noodling’ at the Jewellery Shop (the name of an area in the middle of town that was one of the first places mined. It is now the public noodling area), and at the dirt piles in front of the Old Timers Mine. We all found lots of opal chips, as well as a few bigger pieces with lines of opal in them.
Wandering through the Catholic and Serbian underground churches
Meeting friends for a drink at the Big Winch café, looking out over the town.
Taking a drive to the Kanku- Breakaways Conservation Park- where there are colourful sandstone hills in the middle of flat, sparse land. The hills are said to have ‘broken away’ from the nearby Sturt Ranges – hence their name, The Breakaways. On our way there for sunset we stopped at Moon Plains – where there is literally nothing except rock, so it looks like the surface of the moon, then we drove along next to the Dog Fence- over 5000kms of fencing to keep the dingos off farming country.
Camping at Tom Cat Hill where we had stunning, uninterrupted views. The best part though was the baby kestrels that were nesting in a hole in the rock wall right next to our caravan. We all enjoyed watching the mother feed her 4 babies, and listening to them squawk at her to try to be the first to get the food.
Using a blacklight torch (loaned to us by Des, the owner of caravan park we stayed at) to go noodling after dark. Opals and potch glow under the blacklight making them easier to find.

Feeding the resident emus at Erldunda Roadhouse on our way from Uluru to Alice Springs

We all had a blast on the waterslide at the caravan park in Alice Springs- me included!

Sunset from the top of a ridge near Alice Springs - it was extremely smoky so it was a very hazy sunset.

A bearded dragon we encountered on our first afternoon at Coober Pedy

One of the 'blower' trucks synonymous with Australian outback mining towns - they suck the debris from inside the mine to allow it to be sifted and sorted above ground.

The Serbian Orthodox underground church, built into the side of a hill- outside (above) and inside (below)

The inside of the underground Catholic church

A replica of an old mining home that was dug by hand (circa early-mid 1900s)

An example of a more modern underground home, this one was dug by machine and has electricity and running water.

On the top of all the underground houses are these air shafts- and as you can see in the distance the town is made up of lots of small hills with houses built into them, surrounded by mounds of dirt

On our drive out to Kanku- Breakaways Conservation Park we passed 'Moon Plains'- a very sparse and rocky section of land that has been likened to the surface of the moon.