Alice Springs to Adelaide

Leaving my Irish friends behind (although I will meet up again with them in Melbourne) I headed off to Adelaide. Although I could have flown or taken the Gan (train), I opted to take a tour which stopped off at Coober Pedy for the night along the way.

As this was less of a tour and more of a means of getting from A to B I didn't really bond with the group in the same way I had on the other three tours. Nevertheless they were still good fun and as most of the time we were only driving anyway it really didn't matter.

After a full day of driving we stopped off just outside Coober Pedy at the Breakaways to take in the baron landscape which resembles Mars and as such has been used for a number of film settings, including Mad Max and Priscilla Queen of the Desert. It was so windy though that we didn't stop for long as we were literally getting blown about (as was the mini-bus whenever a road train passed us by).

Coober Pedy itself is home to 80% of the world's opal production with the locals living underground. Despite it being the largest town between Alice and Adelaide it is tiny with only a handful of opal shops plus a couple of restaurants and accommodation.

We visited an underground mine and learnt all about the opal production as well as looking at a typical underground home, which is kept at a constant temperature all year round with no need for heating or air conditioning. Whilst I loved the coloured stone walls I think I would go crazy with no natural sunlight.

That evening we had dinner at a local pizza restaurant but with fresh produce only arriving in Coober Pedy once a week it certainly wasn't the best I had ever tasted. Tinned mushrooms are not my favourite!

We too slept underground in a hostel which was cool but getting up at 4.30am the next morning to continue our journey to Adelaide certainly wasn't. There was little to see on route besides a salt lake so we managed to arrive into Adelaide in good time.

I now have a free day to explore the city of Adelaide itself. So far I have only made it to the shops to buy myself some warmer clothes as its freezing. However as the city is so compact I am sure I will fit in most of the sights before I head off in the morning for the Great Ocean Road and the Grampians.

Apologies for the lack of photos. I will try and upload these when I get to Melbourne in a few days I promise. Can't believe that in less than week I will be leaving Australia to head home via Singapore. It's a shame I won't have managed to visit the West Coast or Tasmania but there is always next time I suppose.