Adelaide - Coober Pedy - MyAustraliainfo - Information about Australia

Adelaide

26/28 June 2001

I was not very happy to leave Melbourne as I found alot of good friends here.. They are all australian born with italian parents, very warm and friendly people that did so much for me that was really unexpected.  They certainly made me feel welcome and for a moment there I forgot about Italy.. I can say the same for the people that I met in Adelaide as a friend that I met in Melbourne advised them of my arrival in Adelaide.. The Italian community in Australia is very united and are all in love with Italy, there are so many Italians here in Australia, it's amazing!! Adelaide is a small city of about one million, it is very quiet especillay in Winter, but being close to the sea I'm sure there would be plenty of action in Summer. There are many lovely places run by Italians here. Besides being close to the sea the area is known throughout Australia for wine production.. I visited the Barossa Valley perhaps the most famous in the area. Many farms here that produce wine   and offer wine tastings of full bodied red and white wines like Merlot and Cabernet, really good wines . They export mainly to Europe including Italy, France and Spain and other countries. If I taste all of these wines I certainly won't find my way home, that's for sure!!.

Coober Pedy

June 30 July 1, 2001

About halfway between Adelaide and Alice Springs is the town of Coober Pedy. When you arrive here it seems like you have arrived in another world, it is in the middle of the Australian desert.  In fact this is where they filmed the movie Mad Max 3.. Coober Pedy is the world capital for mining opals, a precious hard stone. There are about three to four thousand people who stay here and most are working in the mines.. There are about 40 different nationalities including Italians who also run a very famous club.. The town's main street is where most of the shops are and with prices higher than in most other cities and people don't have much choice but to by here. Many homes and hotels are built below ground level in rocks that have have been excavated, with some being old mines that have been adapted for living whilst others have been built just for this purpose. An Italian pizza chef that I met told me that in the summer the hottest month is February and the outside temperature can be up to 50degrees and be dry, I guess that is when they go underground to get away from the soaring heat.. I also got to stay in one of these underground homes up it was about 6 feet below the ground.  It was quite an experience although very picturesque, a bit gloomy and dark and it reminded me of the catacombs. Besides seeing the Aboriginal drunk who is always mumbling something under his breath, most of the locals are very friendly and hospitable. It would seem that there wouldn't be much to see here in Coober Pedy but quite the opposite as there are many interesting things to see. Between one mine to another there is great distances, who knows how many opals there are under there that are still to be found.!  About 150 million years ago this area was covered in water and with the change in weather conditions the water has receded and with the passing of the years from the residues many rocks have formed that were only  discovered at the beginning of 1900's.  You have to be careful at times where you walk or you could end up at the bottom of a hole.. . Around Coober Pedy there lives famous person, Crocodile Harris Nest, who after having hunted crocodiles in the north settled here.  He has a house in one of those rocks that has amazing designs and souvenirs of all kinds.  I took some pictures a very charming character!!. Also near Coober Pedy is the Breakaways reserve, an area of rock formation and in my opinion superb!!. If you stand on top of a hill and look as far as you can you  and look out into nowhere, into the desert and listen to pure silence.  An experience not to forget to be able to see this vast area of land that is in my opinion you an experience of a lifetime.  To be able to see this beautiful part of the world pure nature at every angle you turn to see big empty spaces and strong and vivid colors.  It's an experience that only few will get to see!!. Also in Breakaway reserve there is a fence of 250 km which  protects the sheep from the dingo that comes from the north.

During the winter days the temperature is really nice with beautiful days filled with the warmth of the sun and a deep blue sky, however in the evening the weather drops and it becomes quite cool... There is not much to do here in the evening unless you go to the pubs to drink until late.
In fact most of the tourists only stay a couple of days and then leave...