Ever since I was about 16 I have always wanted to go to Coober Pedy. I had watched a documentary on Opal Miners in Coober Pedy and was fascinated by the town and the people. Driving into town the scenery starts to change with thousands of mullock heaps lining the horizon. Apparently there are over a million shafts dug into the ground in the kms surrounding the town and on the drive in you come across a sign which says – Watch for mine shafts. Don’t walk at night. Don’t walk backwards. Most of these shafts are exposed and can go down 30metres. Crazy!

Coober Pedy meaning “white man in a hole” is biggest opal bearing area in world. It began in 1915, however the opal rush was limited due to the fact that there was no water in the area. It had to be carted in and there were not a lot of towns near Coober Pedy. Apparently to even get here the early miners caught a train to Williams Creek and then walked the 160km to Coober Pedy some pushing their possessions in a wheel barrow.

Opal is found in faults in sandstone so digging for opal is not an easy task. Though the plus side is you don’t need to use any form of additional support to keep the tunnels from collapsing as the sandstone is so strong. The locals after WW1 decided that the best place to live to deal with the desert summer temps of 50 degrees and winter nights of near freezing was to live underground. So half of Coober Pedy town is actually unseen. It makes for a strange drive around town when you see a door go into a hill and not much else other than a few PVC pipes sticking out for ventilation.

We went to an old mine from the early nineteen hundreds which was actually hidden until the 1980s when someone was digging out their own home and dug into a shaft of the mine which then led them into a honeycomb of old shafts. They then turned the house and mine into an underground museum which was fascinating to see how people lived and worked underground. The old mine was all dug by hand using pickaxes and carted out with cow hide buckets. Hard work! Nowadays they have machines which cut through the rock which makes things a lot quicker. It also meant that all the old houses were also dug out by hand.

One of the most impressive underground buildings we saw was the Serbian church. It was one of the most serine churches I have been to. It was simple in design but the carved walls and stained glass was beautiful. The reason why Coober Pedy has a Serbian church is that when the rush occurred in the 1950s to mine for opals a lot of the miners were from Europe which meant the town has a really multicultural feel. Add in the Indigenous Australians who also live here and it’s a melting pot of cultures.

Unfortunately there seems to be a few issues in and around the town centre at night as we were woken up most nights to what seemed to be huge fights, going off the amount of yelling and door banging being made. We didn’t go out and investigate and we didn’t have an issue in the campsite at all but it sounded pretty full on.

While in Coober Pedy we drove out to the public noodling area where we would could dig for opals ourselves. A walk around and a few kicks of the shoe were as much as Tim and I mustered and instead decided to purchase one. 🤗 After going into several shops and not feeling super confident in the information we were being told or liking any of the designs we thought it might not happen. But we had to go into a shop to pay for our round of golf (more on that later) and when we went in we were greeted by a lovely lady and Tim started asking a few questions about Coober Pedy life etc. Her and her brother were born and raised in Coober Pedy to Greek immigrant parents who came out to find their fortune. Their father and the brother would mine the stone, her mother would cut them and the brother also designed the jewellery. Unfortunately their father passed this year but their mum still worked in the shop. We ended up finding a ring we liked and purchased that along with 9 holes of golf.

The golf course is a gravel pit. There is literally not a blade of grass on it. So much so that when you pay you are given a patch of fake grass about 6x6inches to hit off. That includes shots out of the rough. Apparently they have reciprocal membership with St Andrews in Scotland which is pretty cool. It was quite disconcerting trying to hit off such a small piece of grass that would go flying in the air after the shot. Also not being able to do a proper practice swing was quite off putting, especially for chips. Needless to say we had a fun time but after our round we decided that rock golf was not for us!

Coober Pedy will go down as one of the weirdest places we have ever visited. It’s not very pretty and can be a little rough at times but there is actually lots to see and do. We could have stayed another few days as there were some day trips for us to do but the weather was cold and rain was forecast again so we thought we would hightail it north. S

Officially to complete the Oodnadatta track we should have headed north from Williams creek towards Marla but we wanted to head east instead towards Coober Pedy and to be fair the road was still a dirt track and halfway along the 160km route we had identified a campsite next to a lake we wanted to have a look at.

The road towards Coober Pedy was very corrugated and we passed a couple of campervans going very slowly indeed but we tried to stay on top of the corrugations by driving at about 60km/h which didn’t exactly make the ride smooth but did seem to help.

At about the halfway point we found a track that we presumed led to our lake and campsite. It seemed dry and people had obviously travelled on it before so we felt pretty confident and headed off pretty much into the middle of nowhere! About 5km up the track we crested a last slight hill and came across a beautiful lake with a couple of campsites and no one else about.

We set up and sat down to enjoy the afternoon and were just wondering how many times we had actually managed to camp in total isolation (the answer is probably less than 5) when 2 other campervans pulled up.

It did little to detract from us sitting back and relaxing and enjoying the sunset. The next day was spent relaxing and playing cards and going on short walks about the lake when that evening another two groups arrived and set up. Again not too much of an issue but we were amused that even as far away from it all as we were there were still so many people travelling around.

That second night it started to rain. Not a heavy downpour but a constant drizzle. We awoke to find all the others packing up and heading off and we had a decision to make. The rain had come a day earlier than forecast and while our forecast was a few days old it had predicted a day of rain only amounting to 2mm so we decided to wait it out. We had ample food and water to stay for well over a week or so and only after that would we have to start eating dried camp food and filtering lake water.

Still that day was a little unpleasant as it was cold and wouldn’t stop raining so we agreed that once we had made our plan we shouldn’t change at this point and then to warm ourselves up we put the generator on and fired up our electric heater for a couple of hours. Then at about 6pm it stopped raining.

The next morning we awoke to beautiful clear skies and while it was cold (probably low single figures) the sunrise was spectacular. The sun soon started to warm us up and the wind died down to nothing and we were there in a wonderful location.

We had a walk down the track to see if we could get out and while we might have been able to we might have got stuck as the mud was incredibly sticky and wet so we had a bit of a chat and decided that the sensible thing to do was wait another day for things to dry out. We were in no immediate danger and crashing the car and camper trailer or getting bogged on the track was a risk not worth taking.

We got to enjoy a superb day, afternoon and evening completely by ourselves with a spectacular view. We guessed that there wouldn’t have been another person within 80 km of us and these days I reckon that’s a pretty unusual position to be in.

The sunset that night and the incredible display of colours lasted for at least an hour and then the moon didn’t rise so we had a dark sky full of stars stretching from horizon to horizon. In fact the night was so still that we even managed to watch the stars in the reflection in the lake. With a fire to keep us warm sitting back and enjoying the sunset and the star gazing with Sarah will be something that I will always remember it was truly special.

In the back of our minds though was the fact that we had no means of communication and didn’t want any severe weather changes to occur leaving us stranded. Also we could see the main track from a spot near our camper and we hadn’t seen any vehicles travelling down the road. We wouldn’t have expected a steady stream but my guess would be one or two every hour at least. Still there wasn’t anything we could do but hope that the next day it dried out some more and we would be able to leave.

The next morning once again the sky was clear and the once the sun was up and warming us up we went for a walk and our track had dried up a lot so we decided to pack up and head off. We were very grateful that we had decided to get our off road camper trailer as while the track was a little muddy and slippery at points we navigated our way back to the main track with relative ease.

We turned west and headed off and were both pretty happy when we got overtaken by a Ute which at least meant we weren’t alone on the road. The track wasn’t in the best shape and was for the most part just 2 tire tracks while the rest of the road was a churned up muddy mess…that must have been everyone leaving the day of the early rain!

Still we drove on through the desert helping each other pick the best lines along the road until we finally saw the hills around Coober Pedy in the distance and the end of our desert experience!! We did turn back to check the road status and it was displayed that only 4wd vehicles were allowed but no towing so we were I guess a little lucky.

So that was the end of our Oodnadatta track experience and we had a thoroughly wonderful time. It was amazing to experience it after so much rain to be able to appreciate the amount of life and the variety of colours present in what so often is such a desolate land. We were so glad to have taken our time and not just hurried through and definitely keen for some more similar experiences in the near future. T

We left Coward Springs not really knowing where we were going to stop for the night. The first option was an old siding for the Ghan with the ruin of the station and the remnants of a dam which was used for the steam trains.

Seeing the dam and waterway and abundance of bird life was still astounding. The sheer size and volume of the Great Artesian Basin is hard to get your head around. How can so much water be sitting underneath such arid land. Phenomenal.

Although the wetlands were lovely, we decided to push ahead and keep driving to Williams Creek as we had only driven about 20kms. Just before we hit Williams Creek the scenery changed and we had red sand dunes. These were covered in green bushes but normally I think it would be pretty desolate. Also we had crossed the border into the biggest cattle station in the world called Anna Creek Station. 5.8 million acres which is about the size of Wales, purchased by Sidney Kidman in the early nineteen hundreds who reading up on him was an astute business man who worked out early on that in order to make money out of cattle in the outback you needed vast amounts of land. Anna station is so big that he could move his cattle around to avoid drought in one end and so forth.

Driving through the station you can see why you needed so much land to rear cattle as even though it would be considered green currently it was still pretty bare. Just outside of Williams Creek we came across a dried up lake which we could view from the top of the bank. It very much felt like something out of an apocalyptic movie scene.

Williams Creek itself was even smaller than Marree with a pub/fuel station, a camp ground and an airstrip. The feature of the town is its access to Lake Eyre but as we had had such an awesome time at Lake Eyre South we didn’t feel the need to drive out to it again. Plus from this end it is a National Park so Griff was not allowed.

On arrival at the camp ground we found ourselves parked beside a couple we had seen a few times along the way and decided on a pub meal for dinner. We had a walk around the town which took us a whole 2 mins and sat back and enjoyed the afternoon sunshine. We did stumble across the golf course which consisted of 4 100 metre long holes played with 2 greens. We decided it was not sufficient to be considered for the O’Keeffe challenge. 😂

Dinner at the pub was fun and the food was great. We had to go for the early booking but soon after the place was absolutely packed which was not surprising considering the campground by the end of the afternoon was also full. Williams Creek for us was just a short stop and from here we were heading off the Oodnadatta track towards Coober Pedy. S

It was only a trip of about 40km from our view of Lake Eyre to our next destination of Coward Springs an oasis in the desert although with all the green around the place didn’t stand out quite as much as it usually does but nevertheless we could spot the taller trees and established growth from a fair way out before we got there.

The abundance of water came about when the pipes for a bore driven into the Great Artesian Basin corroded and collapsed and the result was a constant spring which has created a wetland area which has attracted birds and plenty of wildlife. Originally there was a pub here but that was shipped away to a place in the Northern Territory and instead it has been turned into a caravan park.

The trees and bushes around the park offered us some great protection from the wind and we were pretty lucky to get a spot as many of the sites had been reserved and a stream of travellers were coming through the gates. It was certainly a popular place.

The quirky attraction of the place was a natural hot spring but unfortunately it wasn’t very hot and was actually fairly small and full of people so we decided to give it a miss but certainly enjoyed the showers and using the water so we could keep our water in our camper for our onward journey and any potential problems with weather.

The first night we were there it started raining…just enough to get everyone a little frightened. If it rained too much then it would render the dirt roads undriveable and everyone would have to stay put and wait for the roads to dry out. Thankfully though it was only a small shower and the next day just about everyone packed up and headed off. We decided to stay a second night to have a little look around the area.

A short drive away were a couple of mound springs which were natural hills about 20m high where water from the Great Artesian Basin had, under pressure, forced its way to the surface resulting in a bubbling spring. Once upon a time the bubbles used to spurt over a meter above the surface but due to the number of times the basin has been tapped the pressure over time has dropped and now it’s reduced to a gentle slow bubbling. It was really impressive to see this when surrounded by such a dry and desolate desert. It must have been more impressive back in the day when explorers and travellers were crossing the inhospitable surrounds and they came across such an amount of water.

We also managed to enjoy a short walk out into the desert in search of an old cemetery but couldn’t find it but still were able to enjoy looking at the incredible colours of the red dirt and the plants which were a vivid green. It’s really lucky to be out in the desert after so much rain and able to see how surprisingly vibrant the countryside can actually be. T

We were finally going to be putting the camper trailer through its paces as we were leaving Marree to embark on the Oodnadatta track. 615 kms of unsealed roads through some of the most outback of Australia. We were taking a slight detour to Coober Pedy and only doing 400kms or so. We were a little scared prior to hitting Maree but after seeing what others were doing the trip in, our camper trailer was made for this!

We lowered our tyre pressures as the road was going to have a fair amount of corrugations and off we went. We soon found the ideal driving speed of about 60-70kms an hour which meant we sat on top of the corrugations. It sounds counter intuitive but going a bit faster actually made the ride smoother. Other than a few little wash outs the track was in reasonable condition. We took it pretty slow and even got to see a few sculptures along the way.

Our stop over for the night was going to be Lake Eyre South but we were unsure if we were going to see the edge of the lake or just salty dirt. Lucky for us as we drove along the track the lake came into view and was only a few hundred metres from the road! The campsite was literally right on the lakes edge but there was no shelter or shade but the views were awesome. So we decided to stop for the day and sit back and enjoy the fact that we got to look upon Lake Eyre with water in it! We were the only ones there and it was so peaceful.

We went for a walk to the edge and all put our feet in. The closer you got the muddier it got and by the end of it we were all ankle deep. But nothing was stopping Griff from getting wet and we were just in awe that we were standing in water in Lake Eyre.

Back at camp we set up a fire and sat back and watched an amazing sunset. The colours were sensational. We did manage to get two other campers as neighbours but they were a fair way away and we felt so secluded. Unfortunately around this time the wind picked up and as we were exposed it was pretty brutal. We ended up putting our fire out and taking shelter in the camper. We had fortunately parked so our backside was against the wind but during the night it got worse and we were getting battered around.

The next day we decided that one night was enough for us and that we would move on. Before we did we went back down to the lake for another walk and were amazed as to how far the water had come in. The guys from the pub at Marree had said that as the lake is so shallow the wind can move the water around but until we saw it we didn’t realise how much. It would have come in over 100 metres since the afternoon before and was still tracking. Fortunately for us the wind had died down and we got to play around with some photos with perfect reflections on the water.

Content and happy we packed up and continued on our way along the Oodnadatta track. S

For the past few weeks we have been watching the weather and asking people for condition reports as to the state of the Oodnadatta track. While there had been rain the reports were all coming through that the track was being graded and the conditions were getting better and better.

This was good news because our next destination the town of Marree was the end of the bitumen road and the beginning of the dirt tracks of Oodnadatta and Birdsville tracks. It really did have a frontier town feeling to it and was small consisting of a pub, a campground, a smattering of houses and a petrol station come store.

Outside the back of the pub was a small compound where for a donation to the flying doctors you could camp…so we did.

The place soon filled up with other travellers and the atmosphere was really fun and positive as everyone was chatting about their upcoming trips. There were a few people who were finishing from the other end but not many as the road had only been open for a matter of days. It was great to meet people doing or attempting to do the same thing as us and we both started feeling a lot more confident. We had bought our camper trailer with these kind of trips in mind and were now more confident in the set up.

Marree pub has probably hosted thousands upon thousands of the same excited conversations we were all having. It has been the centre point of these tracks for over 100 years and even though the route is mostly dominated by travellers now it was once a far more prominent trade route and the Ghan railway passed through on its way from Port Augusta up to Alice Springs. There are still road trains passing through delivering goods to all along the way but they are certainly in the minority.

The beers certainly flowed and the chat and the atmosphere was excellent. We met people who were riding bicycles from the South to the North of Australia, people who had been across the Simpson desert on motorbikes, people who were out grading the roads and a lot of people like us towing caravans and hoping that the roads weren’t too rough.

I did meet 2 other guys in the pub who were out fixing up the internet connection for the town. We had a great chat and at the end of the night they kindly have me the password for the local wifi and so we quickly uploaded all our blogs and photos before shooting off on our adventure down the Oodnadatta track!! T

Leaving Blinman we had to take the camper trailer down our first official dirt track, the Parichilna Gorge. We had traversed the track yesterday after hitting Brachina gorge so knew what to expect. Even though we had driven it the other way only the day before it was still breathtaking to be winding your way through the mountains to come out the other side to complete flatness. Taking it easy we breezed through and were onto Parachilna which was a town smaller than Blinman but with a pub and some really cool bush art.

We only had another hour to drive north to hit our next stop Leigh Creek. The only reason for this stop was that we needed supplies and Leigh Creek was the only place we were stopping at over the next week or so with a decent shop. We didn’t know anything about Leigh Creek and when we arrived it felt like driving into a big bush resort. All the buildings and houses were very similar and the streets were all landscaped. Nothing seemed to be older than about 20-30 years. We soon found out that the town had in fact been purpose built by a mining company who had a mine just down the road.

When we went for a drive to find the golf course as we spotted a sign for one we came across whole streets barricaded behind closed gates and I quickly remembered that I had read about a town in South Australia that was knocking down abandoned houses that were no longer needed after the mine shut down. Turns out it was here! A lot of the houses were stripped of materials as the locals had gone in and taken anything they needed as it was all being demolished. It really gave the town a bit of an apocalyptic feel.

Unfortunately for the town and us, the golf course was also abandoned so we couldn’t add Leigh Creek to our growing list of courses played . One of the locals said the course used to be in really good nick with the fairways even green. Which around here is a rarity.

The only other thing of note for Leigh Creek was that I was able to vote in the Federal Election coming up. I was just going to chance my luck on the day and hope we were near a polling station but when we were getting our groceries I spotted a sign saying an early polling station was being set up for an hour in the little neighbouring town of Copley. So in we went and voting was completed. We may have also managed to get another Quandong pie at the bakery. Though this one was not as good as the one from Blinman.

Leigh Creek will definitely go down as one of the most bizarre towns we have ever visited. S

Having enjoyed the magnificent views of the Flinders ranges so much for the last few days we decided to continue our drive up through the ranges towards a tiny town called Blinman and then continue on down a dirt track running through a gorge to a place called Leigh Creek and hopefully a supermarket.

The drive certainly rewarded us with some breathtaking views and we slowly drove up the road stopping often to take in the vistas. On arriving at Blinman (population 23) we saw that the pub was full of travellers enjoying a beer in the sunshine and we quickly found out we could camp for the night right behind the pub. It didn’t take us long to decide to stop for a night and we set up and joined the other travellers for a beer and a delicious pie.

It was an interesting group who were at the pub, they were taking part in a rally for charity and had been having a great time driving down all the dirt tracks in the surrounding area. The rest of the travellers were also mostly planning on doing the same trip we were across the Oodnadatta track so it was nice to compare notes and plans. There is a definite sense of camaraderie with others doing the similar trips and while everyone was a little nervous the predominant emotion was definitely one of excitement!!

Our initial plan the next day was to relax and use the internet coverage to catch up on writing our blog but while our devices claimed to be receiving 4g internet nothing was working so we scrapped that plan and jumped in the Ute to go exploring.

We headed back down the road and turned down a dirt track towards Brachina Gorge. The road was pretty average so it was a good opportunity for us to practice driving on corrugated roads with potholes without the camper trailer in tow and by the end of the day we were feeling a lot more confident about driving in those conditions.

The gorge itself was spectacular and it was really special driving down it right along the river bed itself and again we took our time and stopped for lunch and thoroughly enjoyed our drive.

I really think this area needs further exploration at some point but at the moment the nights are just too cold. I’m fact we ended up spending our evenings in the pub nursing our drinks and staying warm while enjoying a Quandong pie. The quandong is local berry and the pie tasted a little bitter (similar to rhubarb) and was absolutely delicious. T

After hightailing it out of Peterborough we decided on a station stay just outside of Wilpena. This place had been recommended to us by several people who we have met along the road with one of those people even detailing to us where we should camp on the station to get the best views of the Flinders Ranges.

We had considered getting a powered site so we could plug in our little heater but when we arrived we quickly realised the bush camping area was far superior in regards to views and space so we decided to brave the cold and camp unpowered. It did help that we were allowed fires. The lady at the front desk walked us through some of the things we could do on the station which included a hike in the National Park up to Rawnsley Bluff and Wilpena Pound and we left reception pretty excited for our stay.

We found an amazing little spot and set up to watch the sun set around a roaring fire. The colours on the rock face and shadows were spellbinding. Unfortunately the wind picked up after dinner and we soon vacated inside under our doona and in our sleeping bags!

The next day we dropped Griff off with the lady at reception and off we went to walk up to Rawnsley Bluff. The temps were still in the single figures so we were pretty rugged up with additional layers in our bags considering we were climbing up about 600metres. It started by slowly winding up though the scrub land which already was stunning with the red dirt and rocks and green foliage. We soon found ourselves scrambling up over a pretty steep section which continued on for about a kilometre. Most layers had been stripped off by then and we were both puffing so much the conversation died out completely. But when we made it to the top the views were spectacular. Another few kilometres along the top and we made it to Rawnsleys Bluff. We didn’t stay long as the wind was absolutely howling so we quickly got our fill of the view and defended back along the ridge into tree cover.

Next stop was Wilpena Pound which was on the other side of the ridge. Both of us were quite curious as to what we were going to be seeing and had both decided that pound was another word for rock or hill or something. But when we arrived the sign explained that it was in fact a very large animal pound for lost livestock. The pound itself was a flat bit of pasture surrounded by the ranges on all sides.

We thought the steep section was not going to be very kind on our knees but it was easier than expected but by the time we arrived back home we were both pretty exhausted and ready for a beer and a sit around the fire. Although cold again the wind had died down and the sunset on the Ranges was spectacular. Followed by horizon to horizon stars at night. It was such an awe inspiring place to camp. Afterwards tucked in snug in bed with our sleeping bags and blankets we both had the sleep of babes.

We were a little sore the next day so decided for a walk around the station with Griffy instead of anything too strenuous. From any angle you looked an amazing range was in view. The surrounding bush was really interesting as it was pine trees but most did not reach much past our heads. Not sure it was a particular type or just stunted due to the lack of rain they usually receive. Back at camp we stoked up the fire and made ourselves some damper which was delicious. It’s our third attempt and we are getting better with each try. We had considered extending our stay but the weather was going to get colder so we decided to pack up shop and head north again.

Our stay at Rawnsely Station was definitely one to remember and we have marked the Flinders Ranges as somewhere we would definitely come back to to do some more exploring. Maybe just when it’s a little less cold. S

Our next part of the journey was into South Australia and the Flinders Ranges but we needed to do a little overnighter in Peterborough to break up the drive.

We also decided to stay there because we were told their tourist information centre would have more detail on some of the unsealed roads we were thinking of taking as due to all the rain we have had, some potentially were closed or undrivable.

Upon arrival after hitting the tourist information centre and finding out not much more than we already knew 😂😂 we set off on a little town walk to catch the sights. Peterborough (originally called Petersburg but had its name changed after World War 1 where any reference to any German influence was wiped from memory) was once a thriving town due to it being the chosen place for where the north-south, east-west train lines intersected in the late 1800s. A hundred trains would pass through a day and the amount of steam omitted from those trains apparently increased the towns temperatures by a few degrees.

BHP carted all their silver, lead and zinc across the border to SA via Perterborough and into Port Pirie on the south coast. It was one of the most profitable stretches of railroad in the world and pretty much put South Australia on the map. I must admit I did not fully comprehend how influential and important BHP was in shaping so many communities and providing a livelihood for so many thousands of people for so many years. Literally whole towns existed due to its business. Unfortunately for Peterborough, once the steam train died out and a single gauge rail line was introduced out of town, along with the popularity of the motor vehicle, the town went into steady decline, along with most of the other little railway towns along the way.

We read all about this in a nifty train carriage turned museum in the middle of town. Fascinatingly Peterborough was not originally the town chosen by the government to be such a pivotal hub but they could not explain why the sudden change of heart. Smells like some lobbying of politicians in the form of kickbacks to me! Easy to see why when land parcels skyrocketed after the announcement.

The Main Street was still pretty grand even after it’s decline with beautiful stone buildings but unfortunately most of the shops were either closed or chinsy second hand stores. It did have an underground subway though which was pretty cool. Installed in the early 1900’s due to the number of trains coming in and allowing pedestrians to cross safely. Just outside the campsite there was a lovely park and Griff thoroughly enjoyed the feel of grass under his feet again!

Back at the campsite things started to get cold very quickly as the sun went down. Like very very cold. Luckily we had predicted this and paid for a powered site so our little electric heater got a work out again! We were actually contemplating staying two days but when we awoke the next morning the forecast was for rain and for the temperature to not go above single figures. So we packed up and headed north! S