NT - Coober Pedy

Coober Pedy is 685klms south of Alice Springs on the Stuart Highway. About 40klms out of town we started seeing mounds of white dirt dotting the landscape. As we got closer to town these mounds were everywhere and looking very much like a lunar landscape.
After taking a tour in Tom’s Opal mine we learnt that these mounds are called mullock heaps. They are formed by the ground up rock being sucked out of the shaft and blown up to the surface. The rock is ground up underground by “tunneling machines” with revolving cutting heads. The shafts are left open so you need to tread carefully when walking out in the fields. Many people have died over the years by falling down a shaft.
We spent quite a bit of time “noodling”. This is where you search through the piles of mullock for pieces of opal that the miners have missed. We spent a few hours in the heat noodling and found lots of potch which is opal without the fiery colours and worth very little. About 90% of the opal found is potch, but it is the other illusive 10% that keeps the miners digging.
About 50% of the towns people live in “dugouts”. These are mostly excavated into the side of the hills and have a constant 23 - 25 degree year round temperature. Some of these homes are up to 450 square metres. We visited a church, motel and a home which were all underground and it was definitely more comfortable than the 35 - 40 degrees above ground.
About 30klms east of town is The Breakaway Reserve. These are a group of hills that change colour during the day as the sun hits them at different angles. We were wishing that it was cooler as there were some beautiful places to walk. Somehow the air conditioning in the car was more inviting than the 40 degrees outside.
Beside this set of hills runs the dog fence. This is 2 metre high wire barrier structure that runs for 5,600 klms across three states. This fence was built to protect the sheep country in the south from the dingo.
We were fascinated by the area and can understand the passion that the locals hold for this place, its almost spiritual, we would have loved cooler weather to do more noodling. it certainly hooks you in.