10. COOBER PEDY HERE WE COME!

Leaving the Oodnadatta track behind, we decided to head across to Coober Pedy.  We have a rough idea of where we are headed, but are always willing to go wherever our interests lead, and underground houses and mines held a lot more lure than a pink pub in Oodnadatta.

We were still on the dirt, but i wasn't expecting this:

More green in the desert!!   But most of the time it was more like this...

and very occasionally this..

and we almost thought we had the road to ourselves!

Then the flat desert gave way to something a bit more interesting..

This is more like it, must be getting closer.

We arrived at Riba's our campsite, and they do things a little differently here.

The shade was really nice as it was pretty hot during the day.....if only it would also keep the flies out!  They were terrible and a head net was a must when walking outside.  Maybe we should have booked one of their underground rooms:

or we could have even camped underground!  They have heaps of spaces dug out for people to pitch a tent or just lay down their sleeping bags.  It's apparently the only one of its kind in the world.

It also had its amusing side and Barb, the host pointed out the amenities block and the little extra outside for when they are cleaning?

Ok I give in - what is it?

Oh I see!

There was also an internet room in this camp with free internet (albeit very slow)

I really like the thought that if they run out of spaces for campers, they just dig some more rooms.

Or no need for shelving or other furniture - just dig it out.  Like this oven...

You can see the smoke stains above, but it is now used as a book shelf.

As we drove into town we just had to take a pic of these trucks, both designed for pretty important uses!

We came across a lot of these signs while we were here as well.  Apparently it would be a very bad decision to go wandering around this place in the dark or not look where you walk 

Apparently there are literally thousands and thousands of holes!

The town itself is made up of regular type housing and shops buildings alongside underground ones. 

but we also came across this

and this ???

Apparently they are props left over from a film shot in the area.  The landscape appeals to film makers and several movies have been filmed in and around the area.

We traveled further afield and found the local Greek Authodox church, also dug into the hillside.

But a lot of places are not nearly so obvious and on the outskirts of town we took a shot of a typical residental street.

I promise you there are homes down there!!!

While we were here we took a tour down a mine.

Here's Dave getting some good shots!

It was very interesting hearing all the history of the mining in the area, and how it has developed over the years.  Even learned about explosives!

They were a bit like catacombs....wouldn't like to be stuck down there in the dark!

This is what a shaft looks like from below!

Before we left Coober Pedy, we were told that a visit to The Breakaways was a must.  So we headed on out.  To get there you go through an area called the moonscape. You can see why, and why it has become popular with film makers.

Then a bit further on there was this.

Around every bend.

Then back to Coober Pedy and we had one last stop to make before we left - to fill up

with ????

I kid you not!   They guarantee that it is the second best water in Australia, next to Tasmania. 

I'll let you know.