Going Underground

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  Oodnadatta, South Australia, Australia
Monday, February 11, 2008

Travelled from William Creek to Cooper Pedy where we cannoned off the tarmac of the Stuart Highway before stopping for lunch at this frontier town, the opal mining capital of the world. They produce 82% of the world's supply hereabouts and every other resident is a prospector trying to strike it lucky.

Most residents live underground, some in abandoned mines but others in bespoke caves which are excavated to provide the right number of rooms. The temperature underground is a constant 22-24C. Above ground the heat can get up to 50C in summer and -5C in winter. Cave life is a no brainer in these conditions.

We had the use of a bunk house and showers for lunch, all underground naturally, and escaped the heat of the day here before have a mine tour.

After lunch we headed North East towards Oodnadatta. We bush camped by a dry creek about an hour short of the settlement. En route the landscape was extreme, we crossed Moon Plain, where sceptics claim the filming of the first moon landings were faked.

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Dust Hazard	Longest Name In Oz	Sleepy Heads	Coober Pedy - Is Strange
Heading Coober Pedy	Coober Pedy	Time To Go	Towards Oodnadatta
Moon Plain	Shhhhh...	Outback Icon	Painted Desert - Wow
Painted Desert Walk 1	Alone In The desert	Painted Desert Walk 2	Heading Painted Desert
Campsite Oodnadatta Track	Gail In The Driving Seat	Oodnadatta Track Sunset

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