After self prepared breakfast, we headed out for taking in the local sights.
Firstly off to Fayes underground home - one of the first underground homes in Coober Pedy. Faye at 30 years of age, along with assistance from 2 girl friends started this many roomed home, back in the 1960s. 
The house included an in ground swimming pool, with water trucked from Port Augusta to fill, when water was rationed in 44 gallon drums at the time to individuals. She was quite an entrepreneur being involved in many areas of the town, including accommodation and opal sales. Next stop was Harry's Crocodiles located about 4 klm out of town amongst the hills, working claims and mullock heaps.
Harry was originally from Germany and was an established crocodile hunter in the Northern Territory. He moved to Coober Pedy, following the NT Government revoking the ability to hunt/shoot crocodiles back in the 1960s. His set up contains a vast arrange of kitsch as well as carvings in the underground walls. Tourists have left all sorts of graffiti, personal items etc which are diplayed on the walls /ceilings. He seems to have been a big hit with the travelling females, based on what "trophies" are displayed. Included in this material is Tina Turner's knickers from her time in the area filming Mad Max 3. Very entertaining wandering around taking it all in.
Following this it was a drive around the unmade roads with the red clayey mud building up on the tyres - they had unseasonal heavy rain last week, over a 24 hour period. According to statistics Coober Pedy is lucky if it has 29 days of rain per year.
A visit to The Big Miner followed where we shown and informed about the range of colourful opals her husband had mined.....he had been here for over 50 years, coming from Greece to assist his brother who was already established at Coober Pedy. She had spent part of her time in Adelaide to enable her children to get a good education. Now that she was a grandmother she was back assisting her husband in the shop. One of the specimens she showed us was a colourful opalised Pippi shell, proving this area was originally an inland sea.All the opals with the very vivid colours did not have prices on them, and as Dot says ..."the ones you aspire to have, you cannot afford to buy"
We called into the Up Market Desert Oasis Hotel/Motel complex. It has a major underground display of the geology of opals and the history of Coober Pedy and its mining processes. Recommend visit for all visitors to Coober Pedy, plus it is free unlike a number of other sites.
After lunch, we visited some of the underground churches - the Catholic and the Presbyterian were small and intimate, while the Serbian Church was on a much grander scale with multi level curved ceilings and sculptures [5' - 6' high] carved into the rock-face. The Serbian Church was approaching its 20th anniversary and on the outside of the church a large inscribed Granite tablet was displayed with details of the anniversary having been dedicated on the 4th August 2013 [yet to happen]. Additionally a large monument for the mounting of a similar Granite tablet was being built by volunteers in the carpark. In the carpark also there
Mid afternoon and we decided we needed a coffee at the Underground Restaurant with the biggest didgeridoos......nice coffee but $7.00 a cup each!!!!
Back to the motel and discussion with other travellers who have to change their plans as their inland route to WA on the Anne Beadell Highway is too risky following the heavy rains.
Dot went up on to the hilltop [ roof area of back to back motels] to get pictures of the sunset - a bit cloudy and nothing like that at Robe on the coast.
Visited Tom & Mary's Greek Restaurant for evening tea...the calamari was great.
A busy and satisfying day to conclude our stay in Coober Pedy.
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