DAY 5 : COOBER PEDY

2 April 2010. First visit this morning was to an underground house. In the 1960s a woman called Fay dug out a few rooms by hand. It took another ten years to finish the three bedroom house on several levels complete with lounge room, dining room, bar area and wine cellar.



Right next to the door of the underground house, in the shade of the veranda, a honeyeater had built her nest. There were two little chicks. Mum flew away when we came outside but sat close by keeping watch.

This art gallery owner and his wife have established a refuge for young kangaroos whose mothers were killed either on the road or by aboriginals while hunting.

This little joey could not suck on a bottle but had already learnt to lap. Here he is lapping up his formula.....

But it leaves a milky moustache!!

Lucky me having a cuddle!!


The Breakaways are 32 kms north of Coober Pedy and look as if they have "broken away" from the main Stuart Range, hence the name. The desert-like moonscape has featured in several movies including Mad Max Thunderdone and Ground Zero.

This area is sacred to Aboriginal men. They are happy for us to visit but not to climb. These two formations are known as The Castle but to Aboriginals they are known as Papa or the Two Dogs - they are lying down, one is white and one is brown. (In Aboriginal law certain knowledge was the responsibility of women - secret women's business - and other knowledge was the responsibility of men. In this way men and women had to work together.)

The Dog Fence is the longest fence in the world at 5,300 kms across three states. It was built to protect the sheep country in the south from dingoes.