We seem to be following the news. Firstly we were in Canberra the day that Kevin Rudd deposed Julia Gillard for the leadership of the Labour Party and now we are in Coober Pedy the day after a major fire destroyed six shops for an estimated damage bill of $1 million and now less than a kilometre from where we are staying, Police and volunteers are in the process of excavating four mine shafts in an attempt to locate the body of a young girl who disappeared 23 years ago.
Today we didn’t set the alarm, we slept in. It was good to sleep until 8:00am with no pressure for a quick breakfast before hitching the car.
When we finally left the caravan park, we headed into Coober Pedy where we enjoyed morning tea at the Desert Cave Hotel. Much to our surprise, the price of coffee and a piece of cake was more than reasonable and less than what we paid in Alice Springs.
Next stop was a local attraction called Crocodile Harry. It is said that as a visitor to the home (dugout), you feel like you have stepped into another dimension. This is true.
Crocodile Harry’s home (dugout) has been used on film sets in famous movies like Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. The inside is amazing with all of the walls covered with graffiti and the house is full of artifacts, hats and photographs. There are flags from all over the world from visitors over the years. Harry originally came from Lativia and spent over 13 years in the north of Australia hunting crocodiles. Once it became illegal to hunt, Harry then moved to Coober Pedy to become an opal miner. The opal mine can be seen in the house and in the area behind the house. Harry passed away in 2006 but a close friend has maintained the house and has plans to locate crocodiles there sometime in the future and also to possibly expand the rear of the dugout into backpacker accommodation.
After we left Harry’s, we stopped to take some photographs of the Coober Pedy township.
Next stop was to see our friends at Faye’s Underground house. We made arrangements to meet them for dinner.
We eventually returned to the caravan for lunch before heading back into Coober Pedy for groceries.
Later in the afternoon “He” was able to acquire some “Zebra Rock” which is found locally in Coober Pedy. We decided to purchase the rock rather than to go mine the rock ourselves which would have taken a fair amount of time. We are also limited with the amount we can carry simply due to the weight.
We had a great evening meal at the Coober Pedy Greek Club where it cost $15pp for a BBQ comprising sausages, liver, chicken, ribs, lamb chops and several salads.
We were ready for bed when we returned to the caravan. It would be another cold night in Coober Pedy.