Coober Pedy

On arrival at Coober Pedy we set up camp by the creek then immediately set out to sample the highly recommended award winning John's Pizza.  The kids and I really enjoyed ours but Mats was underwhelmed.

Before we could explore the sights,  we had  important house keeping to take care of,  so our morning was spent at the laundromat,  showering at the service station and stocking up on groceries. That taken care of,  we took a picnic lunch to the playground.  It is a fantastic facility, fairly new with three separate areas: a skate bowl,  a playground for older children and a separate playground for small children which had 8 foot high pool fencing and gate.  Both playgrounds were undercover with huge shelter sheds to provide shade. There was also an automated talking toilet,  which Luka and Freya found hysterically funny.

After some play time we visited Umoona Underground Museum and explored their exhibits on the history of Coober Pedy and Opal mining and an impressive collection of fossils.  The kids were astounded to learn that there was a sea in the centre of Australia long ago,  as evidenced by the many shell fossils found in the area. 
We then drove to the outskirts of town to visit Tom's Working Mine.  We elected for the cheaper self-guided tour,  concerned that the hour long guided tour might be too long and involved to hold the kids attention.  The guide very kindly offered to give us a short modified tour suited to kids.  We learned so much about mining (old-time and modern techniques),  geology and how the local underground homes are dug. On our way out we had a lovely chat to the elderly owners who kindly gave Luka and Freya a piece of white opal each and let them fossick through a tray of small chips of coloured opal.  They both loved it,  and Luka especially found it quite addictive! 
After that we quickly raced back into town to Josephine's Kangaroo Orphanage for the evening feeding session. 
We hand fed some former orphans who are now adults and watched a tiny joey have a bottle of milk. Freya was completely smitten but luckily understood that a kangaroo could never be happy as a house pet! 
The following day we visited Faye's Underground home. Faye was a very inspiring woman,  who sadly passed away exactly 12 mths prior to our visit.  As a young woman Faye became disenchanted by city life in Melbourne and moved to Coober Pedy with her friend.  Over a period of 10 years Faye and two female friends dug the entire 3 bedroom home by hand with picks and shovels. They even dug a swimming pool but it was too cold to use as it is not warmed by the sun. 
Coober Pedy is an extraordinary town.  Totally unique in it's geographic features,  lifestyle and culture. In the recent past they have had problems with alcohol,  which has created a negative reputation and,  as a result, have introduced very strict rules concerning purchasing and consumption of alcohol with some success. 
We really enjoyed our stay and found,  without exception,  every one of the locals we interacted with were exceptionally helpful and pleasant.