Chrissys Outback Travel Guide

Considering a visit to the Opal capital of the world……Coober Pedy?

If so then be sure to allow plenty of time to explore this amazingly “weird and wonderful” Australian Outback town considered to be one of the most unique towns in Australia. I promise you, there is more to see in Coober Pedy than just ‘opals’!

I have spent quite a bit of time poking around this place with my groups on tour and there are many places to see but I will tell you about a few of my favourite.

But first a little bit about the amazing place

INFORMATION ON COOBER PEDY.

• Coober Pedy is located in South Australia, just off the Stuart Highway about half way between Adelaide and Alice Springs and is a popular stop over for Outback travellers.

• The name Coober Pedy in aboriginal language translates to  “Kupa” meaning uninitiated white man and “Piti” which means burrows, therefore white man’s burrows.

• Opal was first found there in 1915 by a 14 y.o. boy named William Hutchison when he and his Dad were searching for water. They didn’t have the finances to mine for the opal and other miners soon took up claims in the area and began mining the gems.

• Population fluctuates between approx 3,000 to 4,000 people and over 45 different nationalities.

• Approx 70% of the towns population live underground in what they call “dugouts”. The reason for this is due to the extreme summer heat, often exceeding 40C and sometimes reaching a sizzling 50C. Underground the temperature stays constant at about 22C – 24C so it makes more sense to live in dugout homes. It’s also easy to renovate or make extensions to your home. If you want a new bedroom or a second bathroom, you just dig it out. Even a new wardrobe can be dug out. Cool eh!  Cheap too! For a 5 room house to be dugout costs around $25,000. How’s that for affordability…if you like living underground that is.

Now for the ideas on what I suggest you do and see

THE BREAKAWAYS

This area is well worth allowing time to visit and is one of my favourite places for photography. It is an amazing expanse of flat topped mesas surrounded by stony gibber desert plains and resembles a lunar-like landscape. Australian Outback colours are absolutely amazing, especially at sunset and I have spent hours photographing this area so if you are a photographer, then you will be in heaven here.

Permits are required to visit and can be obtained from the tourist office in Coober Pedy
Located approximately 15 km north-east of Coober Pedy (access is either from the Stuart Hwy or the Oodnadatta track)

JOSEPHINE’S GALLERY & KANGAROO ORPHANAGE

This is a must visit for both Australian and International tourists who visit Coober Pedy. Owners Terry and Jo are passionate about Aboriginal Art & Opal mining and you immediately get a sense of this when you enter the gallery. They have a huge range of quality art on display, hand made didgeridoos and a wide range of beautiful opal jewellery & they certainly know their stuff when it comes to knowledge on these 3 areas they specialise in.

But Jo and Terry also specialise in something else! …. Rearing baby kangaroos! Because of this, they have their very own kangaroo orphanage. Yes, a real live orphanage for baby kangaroos (joey’s) and mostly the Big Reds.

Jo and Terry’s love & compassion for wildlife is the reason these cute little animals are lucky enough to get a second chance in life. Unfortunately, many Joey’s are left orphaned after their mothers are hit and killed by vehicles on the highway and some joey’s are fortunate enough to be discovered by passing motorists who sometimes stop to check the pouch. They are then delivered to wildlife carers just like Jo and Terry in Coober Pedy.

Witnessing Jo and Terry’s devotion to these cute cuddly little animals is something that will delight each and every person that is fortunate enough to find out about the orphanage. Caring for a joey which is only a few months old is almost as time consuming as caring for a baby and almost as expensive. They need hourly feeds, cuddles, nappy changing and heaps of attention. But Jo & Terry love it and are delighted when visitors get so much enjoyment from holding these gentle little creatures unique to Australia. If you do get the time to pay them a visit, please be so kind as to offer them a small donation to help care for these little orphans. They very much appreciate any contributions you may be able to spare….. even if it’s just a gold coin.

Located: 131-133 Hutchison St, Coober Pedy
Telephone: 86725931
Email: josephine@josephinesgallery.com.au

UMOONA OPAL MINE & MUSEUM

There are many working Opal mines and one I highly recommend is Yarni & Christina’s Umoona Opal Mine & Museum which is located in the main street. An original old mine, first worked in the 1920’s there is much to do here.

• Opal cutting & polishing displays
• An opal mine guided tour is available (10.00am, 12.00pm, 2.00pm, 4.00pm daily)
• Genuine dug-out home on display
• Historic opal mining interpretive centre
• Aboriginal interpretive information film
• Award-winning documentary video “The Story of Opal”
• Three-screen projection underground theatre
• Wide range of opal jewellery for sale
• Postcards & souvenirs
• Multilingual staff
• Open 365 days per year
• Admission to Umoona’s museum is Free

CROCODILE HARRY’S (Crocodile nest)

What can I say? This must be the weirdest, most bizarre place I have ever visited. I urge you to go and look for yourselves. Crocodile Harry was born in Serbia and fought in the Second World War. After the war, he moved to Australia and became a very successful Crocodile Hunter in and around Kakadu for about 13 years. Once this industry died out, he moved to Coober Pedy to try his hand at Opal mining. Seems to me he was too busy partying and entertaining girls to do any mining but apparently he did manage to dig up some opals. He passed away a few years ago at the age of 71 but his dugout home is open to the public and managed by a caretaker who will be happy to open up the premises for a small donation of $2 each.

You could spend hours here if you are interested in the bizarre lifestyle of Crocodile Harry. Apparently he was very much a ladies man and used his charm to seduce many young women (must admit he was pretty hot in his day). Photos of him and his girls (and crocs) adorn the walls, knickers and bras hang numerously from the ceilings with messages written on them, statues are moulded into the walls of the cave inside and out and many other interesting objects decorate the dugout. There are also plenty of newspaper clippings about Harry’s life that will keep you amused for hours. His home is actually featured in the film Mad Max III

Oh, and he also has an interesting, unique toilet J….check it out!

Located on the Seventeen Mile Rd several kms north of Coober Pedy (just follow the Crocodile Nest signs) Current caretaker is Tim and his phone no. is 0437917205

FAYE NAYLOR’S UNDERGROUND HOME

An underground home in Coober Pedy that is well worth visiting is the beautifully designed and decorated dugout of Faye’s. It is actually one of the only ‘lived’ in homes that vistors are able to view and she happens to be the first person to offer underground accommodation to visitors.

This wonderful home began as a one room dwelling owned by the local mail truck driver. Faye bought it off him almost 50 yrs ago and began the task of expanding it into what we see today….all with a pick and shovel by hand. After toiling for more than 10 years, the end result is amazing and this underground home boasts 3 bedrooms, living room, snooker room, bar, wine cellar and even a swimming pool! You have to see it to believe it!

Faye now resides in Queensland but is still open to the public and lovingly cared for by a very nice couple.

Located off Brewster Road in Naylor Place. Entrance fee $4.50

OLD TIMERS MINE

This old mine dates back to 1916 and was actually backfilled by the original miners and left there. Whether they had intended to return is a mystery but it was finally rediscovered in 1968 by another miner who was extending his underground home and broke through to the old mine which had been covered up. There he found many precious opals & today they are still there for visitors to view.

A self guided tour through this historical opal mine is well worth the time. You learn about the working life of the pioneer opal miners and the very basic living conditions in which they had to endure and also get to see another underground home…..amazing!

Located on the Stuart Highway just north of Coober Pedy

NOODLING

Try your luck and fossick around the Mulloch heaps (mounds of dirt that have been pumped out of the mines) for opals that have been missed by the experts. Finders keepers so you never know, you might make your fortune in Coober Pedy. Public sites available for noodling and you can find out the locations from the tourist office.

COOBER PEDY GOLF COURSE

Yes! Coober Pedy has an 18 hole golf course!  No lush green fairways or greens here. Instead the fairways are made of crushed rocks and the greens are black sandy oil slicks. Funnily enough a small piece of turf is carried around with the golfer to tee off each time. Due to the intense day time heat, the game is also often played at night with glow in the dark golf balls and flag poles.

And something else that will amaze you is the fact that Coober Pedy Golf Club is the only golf club in the world to have reciprocal rights with the famous Golf Club of St Andrews in Scotland! True!!!

Oh, and something

else of interest is their special club rule called ‘rock relief’. This rule applies if your ball lands on a rock somewhere. How funny is that?

Location: 3.5km north of town centre.

COOBER PEDY CEMETERY

Now I am not usually into visiting cemeteries. It’s a bit morbid I know. But the cemetery in Coober Pedy is quite fascinating in my opinion & I believe that you will find it interesting too. There are no rules about what sort of head stone you can put on your loved ones grave, so I guess most of them are a reflection of the personalities of the deceased. Some are funny, some are unusual, some are even beautiful but all are quite unique I must say. Be prepared though! People don’t seem to live very long around here!

JOHNS PIZZA BAR

After all this site seeing I have recommended, then I am sure you will have worked up an appetite. I recommend John’s pizza bar. Great variety of food and the best pizza’s in town (actually the just won an award for 2^nd best tourist restaurant in S.A. after the Hilton). Check them out.

Located in Hutchison Road (main road)

PS Coober Pedy is famous for being an interesting and unique film location. Some films actually produced here are:  Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Red Planet, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Pitch Black and Salute of the Jugger. Coober Pedy also featured in the second season of the TV series, The Amazing Race

Where Is The Outback?

A vast, forbidding area of more than 130,000 sq km is what we Aussies consider the “The Australian Outback”. Where it begins and ends, is a mystery to most Australians that have lived there all their lives…..it just is the Outback!

Some colloquial terms for ‘the outback’ are often such names as “Out Bush” or  “Beyond the Black Stump” or “Back of Beyond” or “The Never-Never”  but no matter what name you label it, the outback is always considered…. a long way away.

In my opinion I think that anything considered further than rural is considered Outback Australia but there are no borders or determined points that indicate you have crossed from rural into outback so it is very subjective.

Major Regions Of The Outback

There are many regions that are considered the “Australian Outback”. The north end of Australia is often called the “Top End” and the arid interior of the continent is referred to as “The Red Centre” due to the vast areas of red sandy soil. Other well known and popular regions are the  Flinders Ranges, The Red Centre, Kakadu, Litchfield, Kimberly & Birdsville area.

The Stuart highway connects Adelaide with Darwin and is basically one straight road of more than 3000km that cuts straight through the heart of the  Red Centre enabling travellers relatively easy access to the interior of Australia. All other roads leading in and out of the centre are unsealed so care must be taken if you are planning to travel “off the beaten track” as we say in Aussie language.

Distances Within Australia

Once you leave Pt Augusta in South Australia, you truly begin to realise the expanse and size of this great sunburnt country. With it’s 180 degree clear blue skies and the amazing flatness of the land,  the landscape just seems to go on forever. Many visitors to Australia for the first time are just amazed at the casual attitude of Australians with regard to distances here.  When we say it’s just around the corner, it could be more than 200km away :-)

The Amazing Colours

The colours of Outback are amazing and words just cannot describe the feeling I get when I witness sites like the one on the left….. Sunset at  Uluru in the Red Centre.

It’s not too hard to guess that I personally love and adore  Outback Australia. Some people imagine that the outback is just a vast area of desert, with nothing but treeless plains, red sandy dunes and a dismal lack of wildlife. They couldn’t be more wrong! The Outback offers  stunning landscapes, an immense variety of native flora and it teems with wildlife, although most of the animals do tend to be quite shy and elusive.

Photography In The Outback

If you are a keen photographer like I am, you will find so many opportunities in the Outback to take some exceptionally creative and beautiful photos…if you are into photography that is. Remember to take your tripod to capture those perfect moments when the sun is setting or rising. It’s a truly special time of the day. I must have thousands of outback photos and I still continue to carry my camera everywhere with me because you just never know when you will capture a shot just a little better than the last one. Always optimistic we photographers are :-)

Allow Time to Explore

If you are planning a visit to this amazing part of Australia we Aussies so fondly call Outback Australia, then be sure to allow as much time as possible.  There are plenty of places to visit, plenty of things to do and see and I assure you that if you allow yourself lots of time to explore, you will never get bored.

Special Memories

Of all the places to visit in Australia I assure you that the outback will offer something completely different. You are certain to return home from your venture with some amazing cultural experiences, wonderful and funny stories and above all, memories that will last a lifetime.

A White Christmas in Outback Australia!

Is this possible?

Well, with a little bit of imagination I managed to create one for my lovely group travelling from Alice Springs to Adelaide arriving Christmas Eve.

My Idea

You see, arriving at Lark Hart, I had an idea. I had managed to get my hands on a Santa suit before leaving Alice Springs and had hidden it away in the back of the trailer, with the intent on wearing it on Christmas Eve, our last day on tour. But then I figured why wait! Why not celebrate Christmas on Lake Hart in South Australia a couple of days before arriving in Adelaide and create a very special  Outback Christmas.

A White Christmas in the Australian Outback

The perfect substitute for a White Christmas was this salt lake as it is stunningly white and feels much like hardened snow when you walk on it. Besides, from a distance, it looks like a massive ice rink covered with a thin film of snow. Maybe I could convince my group it is snow!

Well, the group were so excited and it turned out to be a highlight of their tour so I was very happy with my plan, even though they weren’t convinced it was snow :-)

Santa and her Reindeer

In the picture above, Santa is riding in her sleigh with her 7 reindeer on their way to deliver presents in the Australian Outback …What sleigh you ask? Hey…use your imagination guys. We did! :-)

We had a lot of fun and I am sure it made up a little for the lack of a ‘real’ white Christmas my group would have experienced if they were in their own countries. It’s not easy to spend Christmas away from home and family and I was glad to have made this time of year special and memorable for them all.

Merry Christmas

So yes! It is possible to experience a White Christmas in Outback Australia after all.

HO HO HO!

Merry Christmas from The Australian Outback

Outback Australians Casual Attitude To Distances

As you know, I am a Tour Guide in and around Australia, travelling as much as 3,500km in a 6 day period on some tours and as much as 800 kilometres in one day (in addition to a 3 hour hike squeezed in there somewhere :-). Therefore, to me a drive which is only a couple of hundred kilometres is just a walk in the park now…..or ‘just around the corner’ as we Aussies say.

Blogging about the Australian Outback

Anyway, yesterday I was sitting out in the backyard of my cousins place in Alice Springs, which for those who don’t know, is located in Central Australia. I was  enjoying a coffee with two workmen who happen to be there cutting down some huge cotton palms that my cousins no longer wanted. In 43C heat mind you…..

We got onto the subject about me studying Internet Marketing with Sean Rasmussen & his courses through YOTA and Kev and Michael were both really interested in hearing about my progress so far. I explained to them that I am learning to blog about my passions….one being Outback Australia.

Fishing in the Outback?

Well, they both giggled at this and Michael said “all I want to do is go fishing”.  I laughed and mentioned that he should build a blog about it and turn it into a business because that is about as close as he would get to fishing out here in the Outback. The rivers are just dry sandy beds and the ocean is a million miles away.

1200km drive not far!!

Michael then exclaimed “come on, the ocean isn’t that far away!”.  A little surprised & secretly wondering whether I need to do some further studies on my geographic knowledge of Australia,  I said to him “What do you mean, it’s at least a thousand kilometres away”.  Michael then replied “Yeah, it’s only 1,200 km to Pt Augusta and about 1,600 km to Streaky Bay in South Australia which is where I usually go.”

Even I, who drives long distances constantly, was shocked to say the least! I asked Michael “So you drive all the way to Pt Augusta or Streaky Bay to go fishing” to which he replied “yeah, I do it often. I love fishing!”

Blogging about your passions

Wow, that is dedication for you and certainly a passion for something eh! I again suggested to Michael that he build a blog on fishing which will not only save him the 2,400 return journeys each time, it would build him a business that he could eventually retire on and go fishing whenever, wherever and with whomever he likes……….for the rest of his life!

Something I think every one of us should consider with  regards to our passions eh?