A LITTLE ”OPAL FEVER“ STRIKES TIAM WRITER AND PHOTOGRAPHER TIM CRAWSHAW

The time is four o’clock. I’ve woken up from an afternoon nap in the car during the long drive south from Uluru. The landscape of our destination, Coober Pedy in South Australia, Opal Capital of the world, would have me thinking that I am still dreaming.  The environs is arid and littered with worn-out trucks and mining machinery. A wasteland of sorts, everywhere we look we see mounds of gravel from the countless mineshafts that have been dug over the years.  This is movie-set material.

We drive past a hotel that claims to be the world’s only international underground hotel and book in.  After a 50-metre walk underground to our room (the furthest room from the front door) we can definitely feel the natural cooling effect underground living has. The room has no window or natural ventilation. This is very novel accommodation.  

We learn that the local Greek restaurant, Tom and Mary’s, is the most popular in town among locals, so we head off to check out what’s on the menu.  The place is packed and we order a Yeros (kebab, souvlaki),  hoping that its simplicity will have it come sooner rather than later. We look around, trying to spot miners with big characters to make conversation with. What does a miner look like? After dinner we head back to the hotel, which has an underground bar. Disappointingly the place is very quiet, probably because it’s Sunday night. We order a nightcap and head back to our cave.

A sunrise in Coober Pedy is as I would imagine a sunrise on another planet. As we drive around, the streets are quiet and empty. A light fog sweeps the main street and the reflective orange glow of the sun brings out the full colour of the rocky landscape. We arrive at the Catacomb Church, an underground place of worship run by the Anglican Church. The signs tell me that it is open at all times so we let ourselves in.  The sanctuary is quite stunning. A wooden bush-style cross hangs behind the altar and a metallic bucket sits underneath. This church is Aussie.

The Serbian Orthodox Church is considered a must see while in town. Its interior is a lot more European. Candles are available for purchase and you can light a candle in the areas provided during your time there. The stone carvings are impressive and it’s really easy to soak up the unique atmosphere in this place without other visitors around.

Driving around without any sense of direction in Coober Pedy turns out to be the best way - every street is a feast for the eyes. Quirky signs and shopfronts attempting to lure visitors in to buy opals and artwork are everywhere. We are told that 50 per cent of the town residents live underground and there is a strong multicultural feel.
There is a place for public fossicking and I try my luck. Bingo! After just 10 minutes I notice a blue reflective light on the surface of the ground and I’m already starting to think about the new BMW I’m going to buy. I stick it in my pocket for later appraisal by someone who knows what they are talking about.

The information centre in town provides assistance with tours and offers easy self-drive maps. We decide to go on Tom’s Working Mine Tour, which offers a hands-on and informative mining experience. The kid in me laps up the opportunity to go for a ride up the mine shaft on the winch, prove that I can use divining rods and learn how to process opal if I decide to purchase a mining claim in the future.  A self-guided tour is no substitute  for a guided tour run by a miner with first-hand experience of the opal mining industry’s contrasting times, which include horrific accidents, good fortune and great expense for no return. The tour also offers free “noodling” (fossicking) afterwards for those who want to try their luck in this location. The time has come to have my “lucky” find looked at. I’m told that it is a nice specimen but lacking depth to cut. The advice is to give it a good polish and keep it as a momento.

The sun’s light is fading, bringing the day’s experience of opal fever in Coober Pedy to an end. Despite not making my fortune I will leave understanding why this “other world” with 3500 inhabitants and 150,000 visitors per year has been described as a place of magic, mystery and hope.