It would be safe to say that most normal people wouldn't drive from the Gold Coast to Tasmania via Coober Pedy... but that's exactly what we'll be doing. To give you an idea of the distances:
Benowa (Gold Coast) to Coober Pedy (South Australia) = 2,549 kms
Coober Pedy to Geelong (Victoria) where we board the Spirit of Tasmania to cross to Devonport (Tasmania) = 1,555 kms
Devonport to Launceston, Launceston to Cradle Mountain, Cradle Mountain to Hobart and back to Devonport = 855 kms
Geelong to Benowa = 1,767 kms
That's a total of roughly 6,726 kms, not accounting for side trips and changes in itinerary!
In this blog I will post photos, text and anecdotes from the various highlights of our travels over the next six weeks. So, here we go!
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We embarked upon our journey early on the morning of Thursday 5 September, and arrived in Armidale (NSW) some eight hours later, after stopping several times to change drivers, stretch our legs and pick up food and coffee.
The next morning we headed to Dubbo where we spent a wonderful half day at the Taronga Western Plains Zoo, this time travelling the 5km route by electric cart, which was great fun.
We were really interested to see these Przewalski's (pronounced shah-val-ski) horses, the last truly wild horse population on the planet, which diverged from the domestic horse over 500,000 years ago. Currently only 2000+ remain in the wild, all descended from only 12 individuals. Wildlife conservation organisation Revive & Restore is using cloning technology to ensure their genetic variation into the future.
The newly opened state-of-the-art Taronga Wildlife Hospital
On our way back to the motel we stopped in at the small but beautiful Shoyoen Japanese Garden, which is brimming with birdlife and enormous Koi (carp).
Koi (Carp), some up to 80mm long
From Dubbo we drove through Parkes and Forbes to West Wyalong for a night and then continued west to Mildura on the NSW/Victoria border. Along the way we passed through the tiny villages of Weethalle, with its beautiful silo art, and Goolgowi, where we picked up great coffee and snacks.
In Mildura we had booked a cabin in a caravan park on the Murray River, for two nights. In the morning we drove out to Lock 11 and the Mildura Weir. Here, the difference in the water level between upstream and downstream is 3.6 metres, so a lock, one of many on the Murray River, was completed in the 1920s to allow river boat travel.
When the lock was built, an island was formed which is home to a number of animal and bird species. Mildura is the only place on the Murray where the lock and the weir are separated by an island. We walked across the lock gate and completed a circuit of the 15-hectare island, a beautiful way to spend the morning.
Mildura Weir in full flow
As we were driving that afternoon, we noticed blue smoke issuing from the Prado's exhaust, so we wheeled into the local Toyota dealer. They advised us there had been a recall on our vehicle for an exhaust converter, and as this had not been done previously, they organised to complete the work for us by the following day, at no charge, and provided us with a loan vehicle. Of course this meant we needed to stay another night, about which we weren't displeased!
Mildura is also home to fabulous murals on its walls, and we spent a few hours walking in the city. We were pleasantly surprised to find a Banjo's Bakery Cafe in town and stopped in for lunch. As it turns out, there are now 47 of the Tasmanian (founded in 1984) stores throughout Tasmania, Victoria, NSW, Queensland and South Australia, with more set to open.
On the way from Mildura to the Clare Valley we couldn't get over the daisies beside the highway, both in and away from towns. They certainly brightened up an otherwise boring road.
And we had a nice surprise as we drove through the small town of Waikerie and discovered part of our route was via car ferry.
In 1845 Burra had the largest deposit of copper on earth and it was mined and shipped all over the world. Outside of Burra is the Red Banks Conservation Park which paleontologists have called one of the richest megafauna sites in Australia - home to the diprotodon who lived here 65,000 years ago.
When in the Clare Valley one must of course visit a vineyard/winery. We drove past several well-known vineyards and then settled upon the area's oldest vineyard, Sevenhill Cellars, which was founded in 1851 by a young Jesuit priest, Fr Aloysius Kranewitter from Prussia, and named in honour of the seven hills of Rome.
Originally the vineyards were established to produce sacramental wine which would have been used in the adjacent St Aloysius' Church, a beautiful stone building which was substantially completed in 1875. Also on the site is the Sevenhill College which was completed in 1868. It also serves as the Jesuit residence and was the first Catholic secondary school in South Australia.
We enjoyed a tasting (and bought two bottles of red wine) and then wandered through the grounds taking in the peaceful atmosphere; some of the Shiraz vines on site were planted in 1860 and are regarded as one of the earliest surviving plantings in the region. At the church we climbed down into the crypt, the only one in a parish church in Australia, and the final resting place of 42 Jesuits. Clearly, this vineyard is a little different to the rest and one we wouldn't have missed!
From the Clare Valley we continued our drive north-west towards Woomera. Our first stop was Port Pirie which is a lively town of around 14,000 people. There are at least a dozen churches of differing denominations in the town, and two others have been turned into restaurants. This one is called Spirou Seafood & Salad or Church of Fish & Chips!
'Sundrop integrates solar power, electricity generation, fresh water conservation, and production, climate control and hydroponics to enable the year-round production of premium produce at high yields with consistent quality and deliver a meaningful reduction in fossil fuel and water use through innovative use of renewable energy / low carbon technologies.'
We were sharing driving, around 100 kms each per shift and this made the journey easier, as there wasn't a lot to see along the way. However, Penny was challenged by a few emus that darted out onto the road! We arrived in Woomera, not knowing what to expect, and checked into our cabin at the local caravan park.
The cabin was extremely basic, the floor sloped to one side and the flyscreen door had a big hole in it. But it did have a bed, a bathroom and a kitchen of sorts. The inside walls were dark timber panelling, and everything was very old, but a new air-conditioning unit had been installed - trouble was, it was the old 'hole in the wall' type and made the most horrendous noise. However, there wasn't a lot of other accommodation available in Woomera.
On the plus side, we discovered the Eldo Hotel that evening, which was delightfully modern, and enjoyed a delicious meal and glass of red. And the next morning we visited the Woomera Heritage and Visitor Information Centre, which had fascinating exhibits on the history of the area, a superb cafe and even a ten-pin bowling alley.
View from the Eldo Hotel
Inside the Eldo Hotel Restaurant
Exhibits at the Heritage and Visitor Information Centre
Back in 1947 when the Iron Curtain had descended across Europe, Britain was alarmed at the rapidly escalating arms race, and urgently launched a program to develop its own rocket range jointly with Australia. The two governments declared a site north-west of Port Augusta to be ideal and it soon became known as Woomera.
Over the years an extraordinary variety of rockets and missiles were launched and tested at Woomera. Their purposes varied as much as their design - some were weapons some were used for military and/or civilian research, and some were intended for launching satellites or carrying out upper atmospheric tests.
Today Woomera is still ADF-owned and operated and is the only land-based test range left in the western world capable of testing the 'next generation' of weapons systems. It has a regular population of under 200 people who are all either ADF personnel or contractors, and their families. Facilities in the town also include an AFL football ground and sports club, a school, church, medical centre, post office and well-stocked convenience store.
We continued on to Coober Pedy, a very long, straight road with not a lot to see except the occasional mining site. The privately owned properties are enormous, and many are not fenced so there are plenty of signs warning about cattle and sheep along the roadside - and we saw a lot. We also stopped in at Lake Hart which is a 16,000 hectare salt lake - just stunning.
Along the way...
Lake Hart
Finally we arrived in Coober Pedy and checked into the Mud Hut Motel. Although not underground like some, the interior walls looked like we were underground, which was quite enough for us.
We first headed to the Umoona Opal Mine & Museum, one of a few underground museums that detail the development of Coober Pedy and the origins of the opal. We now know that opal is formed from a solution of silicon dioxide and water.
As water runs down through the earth, it picks up silica from the sandstone and carries this silica-rich solution into cracks and voids caused by natural faults and decomposing fossils. As the water evaporates, it leaves behind a silica deposit. This cycle repeats over very long periods of time and eventually opal is formed.
This particular museum focusses a lot on the vast inland sea that dominated Australia some 110 million years ago. Naturally fossils have been discovered including marine animals like plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs.
The very modern underground Umoona Museum winds through hundreds of metres of tunnels
Ichthyosaur skull over one metre long
Interesting demonstration on boomerang making
We moved on to the Opal Cave, an underground opal shop and gallery. What's interesting about this shop is that it was established by a woman, Faye Nayler, in the early 1960s who moved from North Queensland to Coober Pedy to make her fortune (like every other prospector...).
Faye was the first woman to mine opals in Coober Pedy and with the help of two lady friends dug out an amazing underground home using only picks, shovels and wheelbarrows, and worked a nearby mine for 15 years, eventually making a decent income. She retired to Laidley in Queensland as the publican there and passed away in the early 2000s in her late 70s. We toured her home which also includes an indoor swimming pool!
The living room and one of two bedrooms
Inside Faye's mine
Tom's Opal Mine operated in the 1980s and 1990s. We took a tour through the mine and were shown a working blower that sucks up the 'mullock' (rubbish) that is dug out of the mine and removes it to the surface.
We were equipped with a hard hat and black light (fluorescent torch) so we could identify seams of opal in the walls and ceiling.
Driving out of town we saw what looked like hundreds of mines. They are actually piles of mullock left over from test drills, and they cover the landscape as far as the eye can see.
The Old Timers' Mine is yet another museum, but this mine was established in 1916 and our self-guided tour took us through the mine and the original underground home. The current owner lives above ground and is the son of a Greek couple who started their opal business in the 1960s and eventually retired south towards Adelaide.
Around 50% of the 1,700 or so Coober Pedy residents live underground and even though the rock appears to be quite porous and is easy to drill, it doesn't require any shoring up. Apparently, these days people who build underground home line the walls and ceilings, but nothing else is really required. Most people have a surface front on their homes and bathrooms are generally built within this structure.
Typical front of a home with the back built into the hill - the 'chimneys' provide ventilation
The town itself is similar to a moonscape and of course very dry and dusty. The annual rainfall is only about 5" so Coober Pedy has a modern desalination plant with water pumped from 60cm deep artesian bores located 23km north of the town.
There is limited infrastructure; a wonderful IGA store, several service stations, cafes and restaurants, a selection of underground or aboveground motels, and two caravan parks. There is also a drive-in theatre that is currently (?) under renovation, a football ground and several places of worship, the most impressive of which is the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Hand carved from the rock, above the altar
Beautiful mosaics
Inside another church, the Catacomb Church (Anglican)
And of course no town would be complete without an op shop, which we just happened upon...
Penny was surprised at the quality of merchandise available inside and was told by the staff that all their stock is sourced from Adelaide. A very impressive little op shop.
We carried our own breakfast with us but chose to eat most of our other meals at the Big Winch 360 cafe. The 8 metre high Big Winch structure overlooks the town and was built in the 1970s to celebrate the Opal Capital of the World. In 1986 it was destroyed by ferocious winds, and rebuilt.
We leave Coober Pedy in the morning and head south to Port Augusta before continuing our journey to Wilpena Pound in the Flinders Ranges.
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