DAY 4 : COOBER PEDY

1 APRIL 2010 - APRIL FOOLS DAY. Awoke to a beautiful sunrise. About a kilometre down the road saw the "lagoon" which had no water but a thick crust of salt.

Interesting, changing country - at once flat plains with low salt bush then hilly treed scrub. Saw emus, kangaroos and eagles.

A vast salt lake......

Inside the Glendambo roadhouse.....

After we drove away from here I told Wolfgang that I had picked up a mobile message from home asking me to call a Mr Fox. Told him I didn't know a Mr Fox and what should I do. Wolfgang came up with all sorts of suggestions until he saw me smiling! April Fool!!


Saw some interesting road signs including one which warned us that the highway at that point was an "emergency air strip".

As we approached Coober Pedy there were thousands of mullock heaps and more signs warning of the dangers of mine shafts.

Arrived in Coober Pedy and booked into the Stuart Caravan Park.

The town's name is adapted from the aboriginal words "kupa piti" meaning "white man in a hole". In this dry, arid place there were signs of that Aussie coping mechanism - humour. The picture above shows mines and underground businesses cut into the ground. There were underground bookshops, art galleries, hotels, churches......

Visited an opal mine. Coober Pedy is recognised as the largest producer of opal in the world. (Together with Andamooka and Mintabie, it produces over 85% of the world's opal.) 90% of the opal ore mined is worthless potch and the remaining 10% has some value. The main factors in determining the value are: Base Colour: Black opal (a gem with a dark base) is more valuable than crystal opal (almost transparent) which in turn is more valuable than the white or milky opal. Dominant Colour: Red fire opal is more valuable than a predominantly green opal, which in turn is more valuable than a stone showing only blue colour. Colour Pattern: Harlequin opal, where the colour occurs in defined patches, is generally more sought after and valuable than pin-fire opal where the colour generally appears in small specks. Opals may be cut and polished in a number of ways depending on the nature and thickness of the colour band:

• Solid Opal - opals that naturally occur in one piece
• Doublet - a smaller or thinner piece of opal glued to a cheaper backing, e.g. glass
• Triplet - a thin sliver of opal with a quartz top and a glued back.