Marla to Port Augusta via Coober Pedy - Day 213
Trip Start
Jan 31, 2008
1
147
251
Trip End
Ongoing
Port augusta,
South Australia,
Australia
Monday, September 22, 2008
The town is one of the hottest places in the country if not the world, summer temperatures can top 50 degrees! As a result of this harsh environment some people have build underground to stay cool and shelter from the frequent dust storms.
I visted an underground church, which was cut straight into the rock. A strange little cave which can probably sit 30 people with an alter and all the other church paraphernalia you'd expect . Homes and guesthouses are build underground level too
Underground Church in Coober Pedy
. Seems like a good solution to the heat problem but it must feel like living in a rabbit warren at times. Coober Pedy is most famous for the mining of Opals. Most of the Opals on the planet come from the mines around Coober Pedy. The place has real frontier and testosterone fueled feel about it. It's like Australia's wild west (except it's not in the west).After leaving Coober Pedy, I saw a sign by the road for the Woomera Prohibited zone. This is the location of the British nuclear weapons tests of the 1950's. Signs along the road say you're not allowed to stray off the highway otherwise you'll incur a massive fine, probably due to the nasty remains from the testing. I drove across the prohibited area for 350km before reaching free ground.
As I continued further south I came across Lake Hart. Saw the lake from the road, looked really beautiful so I thought I'd stop and have a quick look. What I didn't realise, it was actually a massive dried up salt lake. At a distance the shining salt looked like shimmering water. Walked a kilometre onto the dry white salt crust. A completely featureless landscape devoid of life, except for the dozens of flies buzzing around my head. Felt like I was the only person on the planet, a vast open space of nothingness in all directions. There are a few larger salt lakes in the area too, in the past land speed records were attempted on this flat motionless landscapes.
Sleeping tonight around 35km from port Augusta on the southern coast. Will head east into New South Wales tomorrow. A final 2000km slog to the east coast unless I decide to take another detour which is a strong possibility.
