Woomera to Coober Pedy

Leaving Hawker on Sunday 12 July we headed southwest to Port Augusta before turning north on the Stuart Highway to Woomera. The countryside between Port Augusta and Woomera was very arid and featureless. While in Woomera we checked out the excellent Heritage Museum which used a range of audio-visual displays to outline its technological history. A walk around the Woomera Missile Park with its open air display of rockets, bombs and aircraft was also mandatory. While staying in Woomera we took the opportunity to visit the nearby township of Roxby Downs where the majority of its 4,000 people are employed at the nearby Olympic Dam Mine. This BHP Billiton mine has the world’s fourth largest remaining copper deposit, fifth largest gold deposit and the largest known uranium deposit in the world. It also contains significant quantities of silver and is Australia’s largest underground mine. We had hoped to view the above ground workings however security was tight and entry is only allowed as part of an organised bus tour.

We arrived in Coober Pedy the following Tuesday after a long drive through arid desert country where the only sign of life were a few emus and some wedge tailed eagles feeding on roadkill by the side of the highway. On our first morning in Coober Pedy we took a guided tour run by a 74 yr old former opal miner who has lived and worked in Coober Pedy since 1972. After pointing out various services and points of interest in town he drove us to some mullock heaps where we had a brief “noodle” (or fossick) for any stray opals – no luck of course! We viewed the Golf Course where there is not a blade of grass on the fairways and the greens are oiled sand – quite unique, and also visited the underground Serbian Orthodox Church with its rounded vaulted ceilings and leadlight panels. There are another three underground churches in town servicing its population of approx 4,000 representing over 45 nationalities. “Dugouts” or underground buildings are very popular in Coober Pedy with their relatively constant 22-25 degree temperatures which are a blessing during the extreme summers where temperatures often reach 40-50 degrees Celsius. Our final stop was at a former opal mine with attached “dugout” where we viewed a short feature film on the history of opal mining both in Australia and overseas.

That afternoon we drove approx 15kms out of town towards Oodnadatta along a dirt road before turning off towards the Breakaways. We drove for a few kms alongside the Dog Fence which at a height of 2m runs for over 5,300kms through three States. This fence was erected and continues to be maintained in order to keep dingoes out of the sheep country down south. Our drive continued through desert-like moonscape areas before we reached the Breakaways which are colourful low hills that have broken away from the Stuart Range. With their surreal colouring and shape it is a popular area for filming movies and commercials. On our drive back to Coober Pedy we passed more opal mining fields with their distinctive low mullock hills.

On Thursday morning we checked out the Old Timers Mine which dates back to 1916 making it the oldest mine in Coober Pedy. The mine had been filled in and forgotten until 1968 when it was accidentally discovered during an underground home extension. The mine and adjacent two underground homes have now been turned into one of the better tourist attractions in town.

That afternoon we boarded another small six seater plane for a flight to Lake Eyre. Firstly we flew north over the Breakaways to the Painted Desert and the Painted Hills which have been created by erosion and leaching of minerals from the soil over millions of years to create truly magical and spectacular scenery. Turning east we followed part of the Oodnadatta Track until we reached the old iron Algebuckina Bridge which was part of the Old Ghan railway. We continued east until we reached Warburton Creek at the northern end of Lake Eyre where we saw small flocks of pelicans and other birds as well as a few stray camels on the shore. We were told that this normally arid salt lake had been flooded to 60% of its capacity over recent months but half of that has already evaporated leaving vast expanses of wet, rapidly drying sand. The Lake covers an enormous area and would be truly awesome if it was ever completely flooded. The plane then turned west to land at William Creek for refuelling where we were able to stretch our legs and quench our thirst at the quaint Outback Pub, which is literally in the middle of nowhere on the Oodnadatta Track. On our return journey to Coober Pedy we flew over Anna Creek Station which is the largest cattle station in the world and supposedly bigger in area than Belgium. We also flew over Lake Cadibarrawirracanna which has Australia’s longest place name.