Carly's Ramblings Blog - Style

Day 5 - Coober Pedy, Going Down Under

Blogging Circle of Friends - Day 3489

From your morning stop at the outback outpost of Manguri, you’ll venture into the weird and wonderful opal mining township of Coober Pedy, where more than half of the residents live underground. Here, you’ll enjoy a day of discovery, and a gourmet lunch in the most unique of locations: underground. Dinner is served back on the train where you can enjoy a nightcap as your journey continues.
We're going to get dirty today. But maybe we'll score an opal.

https://journeybeyondrail.com.au/journeys/the-ghan-expedition/
https://www.gemsociety.org/article/opal-mining-coober-pedy/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pniXiSEoTwM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrCpNlPggtA

The sunrise was beautiful as we disembarked from our train in the early hours of the morning. Rustic sand scanned for miles. We were told the name "Coober Pedy" comes from the Aboriginal Australian kupa piti, meaning "boys' waterhole." or "white man in a hole". These holes have become quite a hazard. Over the years, miners have dug over 250,000 shafts, making Coober Pedy a dangerous place for tourists to walk around carelessly. So I decided to stick close to the group and not wander off.

They say, roughly 1,700 people live in town full-time, working at mining-related jobs. In order to avoid the punishing desert heat, many live in underground houses. Burrowed into hills, these houses require ceilings a minimum of 4 meters high to prevent collapse. Not surprisingly, many homeowners (or home diggers) have found opal while excavating. Not sure I'd want to live underground, but it was interesting to see a couple of these places.

Mining in residential areas is now banned. However, many miners get around this loophole by "expanding" their houses to build additional guest rooms.

It was bloody hot as the sun began to climb, so getting underground was a relief... though having only a pipe to the surface to get air was a little nerving. I was glad to get back on the train for a cool shower and some good dinner.