Wedgetail Eagle
Wedgetail eagle swooping down on something on the side of the road.
Maybe this is what the eagle was after: a pile of kangaroo bones on the side of the highway.
We saw a lot of road trains on the Stuart Highway. They are quite intimidating when they pass you but we were very grateful that at least the road is paved so there is minimal dust. Apparently the highway has been paved for only about 10 years. I can't imagine the dust these things would create on a dirt road - you would have to pull over and wait for the dust to settle before you could drive on.
It was so cold in the evening that the girls slept with their beanies (toques) on. It must have helped because Rhiannon is sound asleep here. The orange book beside beside her head cost me 20 cents at the book store. She loves it just because it has an orange cover.
The underground Catholic church in Coober Pedy. They still have services every Sunday. It's not much to look at from the outside but...
... inside is magnificent! It was all created by the congregation of the church years ago. It emits a very peaceful aura. So much so that we lit a few candles in memory of people we loved then sat in silence for quite a while. One of the benefits of having your church built into the rock is that all the outside noise is blocked out.
Taken from a hill top behind (or so we thought) some businesses. We are actually standing on top of a building. There are all sorts of rules around the town; like not walking backwards (not sure what sort of penalty that would incur). If you are walking backwards you may step in an unmarked mine shaft.
Street view of Coober Pedy. Must be rush hour.
Inside the Desert Cave Hotel. Coober Pedy's fanciest hotel but really I'm glad we stayed at the campground in our little caravan. Wouldn't want to get too soft now.
Outside the Old Timers Mine. We did a tour of this place and it was very eye opening. Mining is not for the faint of heart. You spend many hours below ground with many days of no reward.
Inside the mine. Hard hats were mandatory and we were glad about that after the 20th time we wacked our heads on the rocks. Rhiannon's was plastic and said "Bob the Builder" so it's a good thing she's short!
The post office inside the mine. This actually was used a long time ago when this was a working mine.
The way out of the mine and into the underground home.
A bedroom in the underground home. It was a bit creepy - no windows, no privacy. It's just an alcove carved in the rock. I guess after you drank all that beer you wouldn't care.
Out behind our caravan. Just what we needed when you have to pay $4 a load to do laundry - big piles of dirt.
Red dirt at that.
Leaving Coober Pedy. Make sure you don't walk backwards and watch where you're walking!
On the road heading north we saw a lot of windmills. They actually do provide power for some of the homes in the outback.
Taken from a hill top behind (or so we thought) some businesses. We are actually standing on top of a building. There are all sorts of rules around the town; like not walking backwards (not sure what sort of penalty that would incur). If you are walking backwards you may step in an unmarked mine shaft.
Street view of Coober Pedy. Must be rush hour.
Inside the Desert Cave Hotel. Coober Pedy's fanciest hotel but really I'm glad we stayed at the campground in our little caravan. Wouldn't want to get too soft now.
Outside the Old Timers Mine. We did a tour of this place and it was very eye opening. Mining is not for the faint of heart. You spend many hours below ground with many days of no reward.
Inside the mine. Hard hats were mandatory and we were glad about that after the 20th time we wacked our heads on the rocks. Rhiannon's was plastic and said "Bob the Builder" so it's a good thing she's short!
The post office inside the mine. This actually was used a long time ago when this was a working mine.
The way out of the mine and into the underground home.
A bedroom in the underground home. It was a bit creepy - no windows, no privacy. It's just an alcove carved in the rock. I guess after you drank all that beer you wouldn't care.
The public noodling area. These are piles of dirt taken out of the mines that the public is free to use to noodle. "Noodling" is what you call looking for opals - or what is now known in our house as "wasting your time".
Out behind our caravan. Just what we needed when you have to pay $4 a load to do laundry - big piles of dirt.
Red dirt at that.
Leaving Coober Pedy. Make sure you don't walk backwards and watch where you're walking!
On the road heading north we saw a lot of windmills. They actually do provide power for some of the homes in the outback.
Coober Pedy was a very interesting place to explore. I'm not sure that living underground is something that I would enjoy despite it's year round climate control. We enjoyed our time here but we were very excited to see what the rest of the "red centre" had to offer. After 2 days in Coober Pedy we were off to Alice Springs and the Northern Territory.
