I took The Ghan (train) to Adelaide. The Ghan is a first-class train that I would equate with a cruise line. I call it a land cruise. Upscale, all inclusive–even the tours from the train are included. The train was meant to leave on Thursday but due to flooding in Darwin it left late Wednesday. This gave me an extra day on the train. I met some interesting people–some were on their 4th trip on this land cruise!!! It was fun, but I think one time is enough for me.

The off train tour took us to Coober Pedy or kupa-piti. Population approximately 1,700. For this place to be in the middle of no where and desolate the tour guides found lots to do.

Kupa-piti means whitefellas hole. Lots of holes!!! 70% of the world’s opals come from here. They cannot fill in the holes because the next miner might dig into a location close by and the earth will fall in on them. The holes are left open so other miners know tunnel location. The holes make it look even more like the moon. When opals are found, miners bring in equipment that looks like a trash can on the end of an excavator. This vacuums the tunnel and sucks up the opals. The miner then goes through the dirt to find the opal. You cannot purchase the equipment. The equipment is made by the miners because it is so specialized.

Because it looks so much like the moon or another world, 109 movies/shows were filmed here. The most recent Mortal Kombat. Pitch Black (Vin Diesel) and Red Planet with Val Kilmer were filmed in 2000. No one knew who Val Kilmer was when he was in town. He stayed on set in a trailer. There is a story that he went into Coober Pedy to the same opal mine we visited. Two female backpackers were discussing purchasing a $12,000 opal necklace. Mostly as a joke I am sure, because backpackers usually do not have money. Anyway, Val was listening when the girl said if she purchased it she would not be able to finish their backpacking trip. He purchased both girls necklaces. The photographs are where Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome was filmed. The 2 formations are a sacred place for the Indigenous People. They believe one of the formations looks like a camel. Do you see it? It’s in the 4th picture in the slide show.

Most of the houses were underground and some still remain underground. Much cooler. The temperature in Coober Pedy can reach 118 degrees. This is the Serbian Orthodox underground church. Opal mining is such a big deal Discovery filmed a show in Coober Pedy called Outback Opal Hunters. One of the guys on the show was our guide at the church.

Rabbit Proof Fence (2002) is an Australian movie. If you have not seen it, you need to take the time. You can find the movie on YouTube at this link Rabbit Proof Fence. The movie is based on a true story about 3 little Aboriginal girls who were part of the Stolen Generation. That is all I will tell you about the movie. Do not want to ruin the plot. The Rabbit Proof Fence is real. It was built from 1901 to 1907 to keep rabbits from the east moving into the west–where the colonialist settled. There are 3 fences that together are 2,000 miles long–running east/west and north/south. When the fences did not keep out rabbits, they increased the height to keep out Dingoes. The Rabbit/Dingo fence is the longest structure in the world. I think this is cool–I read it in the New York Times: “Within the fence area, scientists have observed a strange phenomenon: above the native vegetation, the sky is rich in rain-producing clouds. But the sky on the farmland side is clear.” Researchers are not sure why.