Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Hurray back in civilisation with internet, mobile and power. Today is Thursday and we have been out of reach since we left Coober Pedy Monday morning - it feels a lot longer though, because we have been out in the middle of nowhere and back again.
I left off saying we had power, but no water in Coober Pedy. Coober Pedy has very limited water, and therefore you cannot connect water to your caravan at any of the caravan parks in town and you pay 20c for a 3 min. shower. This is truly a very dry spot, but we were able to fill up our water tanks before leaving.
Coober Pedy, known as the Opal capital of the world, has a population of 2500 people - 500 of who are Aboriginals, have a total of 18 police officers and 46 different nationalities (many Europeans).
The ground temperature in Coober Pedy can reach 65 degrees during summer and minus degrees during winter. All houses are dug out underground enabling the temperature inside the houses to be 25 during summer and 23 during winter. We went inside a house and we were very impressed - big houses with lots of rooms - each room had a chimney, which was used to control temperature in the dugout (house). No windows of course.
We went on a 4½ hour guided tour - our tour guide was an ex opal mine owner and he told us a lot of stories:
Coober Pedy means White Mans burrow, named by the Aboriginals. Aboriginals believe that ones spirit comes out of the ground - so when they first saw white people coming out of the dugouts (houses) they thought it was their ancestors returning (they had never seen white people and never seen a dead returning).
This part of Australia was a big ocean 700 million years ago (might have the number of years a bit wrong) Coober Pedy was the shore of the sea - the opals were formed over millions of years by the sand and silica that washed down through the cracks in the ground as the water evaporated, leaving the opals in 3 layers beneath the surface. The different colours have something to do with different types of minerals being absorbed in the gem.
Opal mining is very difficult, because there is no technique to help determine where the opal is hidden. Therefore you have to drill pilot holes to find where it runs under ground. You are not able to live on opal mining alone, but have to have a real job as well. You can search for 10 years without finding any thing - only 10% of all holes drilled actually have something in them. The biggest threat for the Australian Opal mining is that the average age of the miners is 74 years old.
Tourists are not allowed out into the mining areas any more, due to too many accidents - quite a few have been killed by falling into the 25 meter deep holes. We drove through a mine on our tour and our guide pointed out a mine, which had already been mined. However, the opals come in 3 layers and a German farther and his two sons went to the council and put down a claim on the prospect. They bought bulldozers and dug down to the next layer. In five years, they found $ 7 million worth of Opal. Now they have left the mine. I wonder if anyone will take a shot at the 3rd layer?
Being a mining town there are a lot of explosives around and our tour guide told us many stories of places being blown up, e.g. The Greek restaurant got blown up, because someone didn't like the menu; the police station and court house got blown up because someone was upset over a speeding fine. The fire station burnt down; it was on fire when the fire brigade came back from training and they couldn't put it out because they were out of water…due to all theses incidents, Coober Pedy has a lot of "newer" buildings J
Being such a dry place, there is no grass or tress in town. There are only 2 green ovals, every thing else is dirt, even the golf course is just dirt. And yes, we did see golfers out on the "green".
One of the green ovals belongs to the school, the other is a sports oval and came about in a funny way. The first mayor of Coober Pedy was Greek and without asking the council, he planted 300 olive trees, knowing that the roots of olive trees are able to find their own water, if there is any water. After 2 years the olive trees were still alive without ever being watered and the oval field was established in front of the trees, so the grass could get water when the tree roots pulled it in. The mayor never told the council of his intensions, because he knew they were never going to let him plant trees or an oval in an area with no water.Of course, with so many Europeans in town, soccer is the most popular sport on the oval.
Our guide also took us to see the Dog fence - the longest fence in the world 5300 KM long. The purpose of the fence is to keep the dingos out of the sheep country - impressive. There are 1 million wild camels in Australia, and when the male camel wants to impress a female he will usually knock over a tree with his head. However, as there are not many trees in the desert, he knocks over the fence posts in stead, giving the fence maintainers a lot of extra work!
That was a lot about Coober Pedy - a very unusual place,
After Coober Pedy we drove through the Painted Desert. Many people had told us that this place was overrated - but it was not. It was truly beautiful - so many different colours, I think it depends on what time of day, the sun and shadows.
We reached the Pink Roadhouse in Oodnadatta. Paul's comment when we entered the town was "we're not staying in this dump". A lot of the outback towns greet you with a lot of rubbish. Old cars, fridges etc.. I wonder if it is because it is too difficult to get rid of it or because they think it might come in handy one day? - It was the same in Coober Pedy.
Anyway, the staff at the Pink Roadhouse (a very famous place along the Oodnadatta track) were extremely nice and helpful. Adam, the owner, gave Paul a long and thorough talk on tire pressure, the camper down to 26 psi, back wheels on 4X4 26 psi and front 20 psi. This made a great difference!! We drove about 1 hour out of town towards Dalhousie Springs and camped on the side of the road. We found a little gully on a station and set up camp. Adam told us that the Station owners didn't mind people camping on their property as long as they behaved.
Next day we reached Dalhousie springs - a 37 degree hot spring in the desert. It was like taking a hot bath. The weather was also quite warm and it was beautiful. Even though we hadn't seen a single car all day, there were 4 other families at the camp ground that night. The road from Dalhousie back to the highway through Mt. Dare was shocking. So many rocks, we could only go max. 35 Km/H. Mt. Dare Hotel is the most isolated hotel in South Australia - and it is a true wonder to find people working and living in such a remote area. When I asked about where Mt. Dare was, I was given the answer: "about 18 Km that way, but it is more a speed bump than a mountain"!
Leaving Mt Dare, the roads improved a little. Paul and I discussed what a miracle it was, to make it through these roads without a puncture. We never should have brought up the subject. We stopped, Thomas jumped out of the car to open a fence and came back screaming "the tire on the van has exploded" How did we not notice this, with such a bumpy road? We were about 200Km from the nearest town and mobile connection. Luckily we had a very efficient Hi-Jack and a spare tire - it only took Paul 45 min. and off we went. Lucky for us our camper was not damaged from this blowout. The rim looks like a beer bottle top!!!
Last night we arrived at Ayers Rock resort. We will be staying here for at least 4 nights, which is the longest so far.
Today, Friday, it has been windy and we were unable to climb the rock. Instead we walked around the base, a total of approx. 15 Km - it was an easy walk, but extremely hot. When we came back the colour of our skin had changed to red (not burnt) but from the red sand. Tomorrow we hope to climb the rock, if not we will visit the Olgas. Emma and Thomas are participating in a dot-painting workshop with two Aboriginal women, a 93 and 87 year old. Today we saw them paining in the Uluru Culture Centre - it was great to see and learn about the stories they were telling through their paintings.
Danish:
Hurra, endelig tilbage i civilisationen med internet, mobil og strøm. I dag er det torsdag, og vi har været uden for rækkevidde, siden vi forlod Coober Pedy mandag morgen - det føles meget længere, fordi vi har været så langt ude på stepperne.
Jeg sluttede af med at sige, at vi havde strøm, men intet vand i Coober Pedy. Pga. meget begrænset vand, kan man ikke tilslutte vand til sin campingvogn på nogen af campingpladserne i byen, og man betaler 20c for 3 min. brusebad. Dette er virkelig et meget tørt sted, men vi var i stand til at fylde vores vandtanke, før vi kørte videre.
Coober Pedy, kendt som verdens Opal hovedstad, har en befolkning på 2500 personer - 500 heraf er indfødte aboriginals. Der er 18 politifolk og 46 forskellige nationaliteter (mange europæere).
Temperaturen i Coober Pedy kan nå op på 65 grader om sommeren (ved jordens overflade) og minus grader om vinteren. Alle husene er derfor gravet ud under jorden, således at temperaturen inde i husene er 25 grader i løbet af sommeren og 23 om vinteren. Vi var inde og se et sådan hus, og vi var meget imponeret - store huse med masser af værelser - hvert værelse havde en skorsten, som blev brugt til at kontrollere temperaturen. Ingen vinduer selvfølgelig.
Vi deltog i en 4 ½ time guidet tur - vores tour guide var en ex opalmine ejer, og han fortalte os en masse historier:
Coober Pedy betyder "Hvid mands hule", og er navngivet af de indfødte. The Aboriginals tror på, at ens ånd kommer ud af jorden - så da de første gang så hvide mennesker, kommer ud af de underjordiske huse, troede de, at deres forfædre var vendt tilbage de aldrig havde set hvide mennesker, og aldrig set en død vende tilbage).
For 700 millioner år siden var denne del af Australien et stort ocean (lidt usikker). Coober Pedy lå på kysten - opalerne blev dannet gennem flere millioner år af sand og kvarts, som blev skyllet ned gennem revner i jorden. Vandet fordampede og opalerne ligger i dag i 3 lag under overfladen. De forskellige farver har noget at gøre med forskellige typer mineraler som bliver absorberet i stenen.
Opal minedrift er meget vanskelig, fordi der ikke er nogen teknik som kan fastslå, hvor opalerne er skjult. Derfor er man nødt til at bore pilot huller for at finde ud af, hvor årerne løber under jorden. Man kan ikke leve af opal minedrift alene, men er nødt til at have et rigtigt job ved siden af. Man kan lede i 10 år uden at finde noget - kun 10% af alle de huller deres bores indeholder Opaler. Den største trussel for den australske Opal minedrift er, at den gennemsnitlige alder for en minearbejdere er 74 år.
Turister må ikke færdes i mineområderne, på grund af for mange ulykker - en hel del er blevet dræbt ved at falde ned i 25 meter dybe huller. Vi kørte gennem en mine på vores tur og vores guide gjorde viste os en mine, som allerede var blevet nedlagt. Men opalerne gemmer sig jo i 3 lag. En tysk far og hans to sønner gik til myndighederne og gjorde krav på området. De købte bulldozere og gravede ned til det næste lag. På fem år fandt de opaler for 30 millioner kroner. Nu har de forladt minen. Jeg spekulerer på, om nogen vil gøre et forsøg på 3. lag?
I en mineby er der en masse sprængstoffer og vores turguide fortalte os mange historier om steder der var blevet sprængt i luften, fx Den græske restaurant, der blev sprængt i luften, fordi nogen ikke brød sig om menuen; politistationen og Domhuset blev sprængt i luften fordi én følte sig uretfærdig behandlet i forbindelse med en fartbøde. Brandstation brændt ned. Den stod i flammer, da brandvæsenet kom hjem fra træning, og de kunne ikke slukke branden da de ikke havde mere vand... Som følge heraf, er der en del nyere bygninger i Coober Pedy J
Det er så tørt, at der hverken er græs eller træer i byen. Der er kun 2 grønne fodboldbaner, alt andet er jord, selv golfbanen er kun "støv". Og ja, vi så golfspillere ude på "the green".
Den ene fodboldbane tilhører skolen, den anden blev til på en sjov måde. Den første borgmester i Coober Pedy var græker, og uden at spørge om byråd, plantede han 300 oliventræer, vel vidende, at rødderne er i stand til at finde vand, hvis der er noget vand. Efter 2 år var oliventræerne stadig i live, uden nogensinde at være blevet vandet, og det fodboldbanen blev etableret foran træerne, så græsset kunne få vand, når rødderne trak det til sig. Borgmesteren fortalte aldrig Byrådet om sine intensioner, fordi han vidste, at de aldrig vil lade ham plante træer eller lave en fodboldbane i et område uden vand.
På vores guidede tur så vi også verdens længste hegn, 5.300 km langt. Formålet med hegnet er, at holde dingoerne (vilde hunde)væk fra de områder hvor der er mange får - imponerende. Der er 1 millioner vilde kameler i Australien, og når en han kamel ønsker at imponere en hun vil han normalt vælte et træ med hovedet. Men da der ikke er mange træer i ørkenen, slår han hegnspælene ned i stedet, dette gør vedligeholdelsesarbejdet ekstra besværligt.
Dette var en masse om Coober Pedy - et meget usædvanligt sted.
Efter Coober Pedy kørte vi gennem The Painted Desert. Mange mennesker havde fortalt os, at dette sted var overvurderet - men det var ikke. Det var virkelig smuk - så mange forskellige farver, jeg tror, det afhænger af hvad tid på dagen, sol og skygge.
Vi nåede The Pink Roadhouse i Oodnadatta. Paul's kommentar, da vi kom ind i byen var "her bliver vi i hvert fald ikke". Det er ikke ualmindeligt at byerne ude på stepperne smider om sig med gamle bilvrag køleskabe mv. Jeg ved ikke om det er fordi det er for vanskeligt at slippe af med storskrald, eller fordi de tror, de kan få brug for reservedelene en dag? - Det var det samme i Coober Pedy.
Ikke desto mindre var de ansatte på The Pink Roadhouse (et meget berømt sted langs Oodnadatta jordvejen) utrolig flinke og hjælpsomme. Ejeren, Adam, gav Paul et langt og grundigt foredrag om dæktryk, camperen skulle ned til 26 psi, baghjulene på 4X4 26 psi og foran 20 psi. Dette gjorde en stor forskel! Vi kørte omkring 1 time ud af byen i retning mod Dalhousie kilderne. Vi fandt en lille kløft på en station (meget stor gård) og slog lejr. Adam fortalte os, at ejerne ikke havde noget imod at folk camperede på deres jord, blot de opførte sig ordentligt og tog al deres affald med sig..
Næste dag nåede vi Dalhousie Springs - en 37 grader varm kilde i ørkenen. Det var som at tage et varmt bad. Vejret var også helt varm, og det var fantastisk. Selv om vi ikke havde set en eneste bil hele dagen, var der 4 andre familier på campingpladsen den aften. Vejen fra Dalhousie tilbage til hovedvejen gennem Mt Dare var frygtelig. Urolig ujævn og stenede. Vi kunne max.køre 35 km / t. Mt Dare Hotel er det mest isolerede hotel i South Australia - og det er et under, at finde folk, der arbejder og bor i sådan et fjerntliggende område. Da jeg spurgte om, hvor Mt. Dare var, fik jeg svaret: "ca 18 km den vej, men det er mere et Vejbump end et bjerg"!
Efter Mt Dare blev vejen lidt bedre. Paul og jeg talte om hvilket mirakel det var, at være kommet så langt uden en punktering. Vi skulle aldrig have bragt emnet op. Vi stoppede, Thomas sprang ud af bilen for at åbne et hegn og kom skrigende tilbage "hjulet på campingvognen er eksploderet" Vejen var så ujævn, at vi ikke havde opdaget det. Vi var omkring 200 km fra den nærmeste by og mobil forbindelse. Heldigvis havde vi udstyret i orden - det tog kun Paul 45 min. at skifte hjulet og så var vi på farten igen. Heldigt for os blev vores Off road campingvogn ikke beskadiget. Hjulet mindede om en flaske kapsel!
I aftes ankom vi til Ayers Rock. Vi skal være her i mindst 4 nætter, hvilket er det længste ophold hidtil.
I dag, fredag, har det været blæsende, og vi var ude af stand til at bestige Ayers Rock. I stedet gik vi rundt om den, i alt ca. 15 km - det var en nem tur, men meget varmt. Da vi kom tilbage var vi helt røde (ikke pga solen), men fra det røde sand. I morgen håber vi at bestige den store sten, hvis ikke kører vi ud til Olgaerne nogle andre store sten). Emma og Thomas skal deltage i en workshop med to Aboriginal kvinder, en på 93 og 87 år. De skal lære at male Aboriginal kunst. I dag så vi de 2 kvinder male i Kultur Centeret - det var spændende at se og høre om de historier, de fortalte gennem deres malerier.
- comments