Three months in Alice Springs will leave those who detest shopping in need of retail therapy. Imagine what it does for those who list shopping as a hobby. The Rundle Mall in the center of Adelaide was the panacea for my shopping withdrawals. At less than half the size of Denver, Colorado, Adelaide feels more like a big town than a major city. As the fifth largest city in Australia with just over one million residents, it offers all the major Aussie department stores, spas, wide variety of great restaurants, fresh sea food and all the other life essentials. In just four days, we took all of those things in, plus bought a set of tires for the Land Rover.
After our short respite in civilization we managed to get everything jam packed into the car for the trek north to our outback home.
The thousand miles of road hadn’t sprouted any more interesting scenery in 10 days, so another round of Outback Bingo was the highlight of the drive. Even though my winning yet again was random luck, Dave may never agree to play the game again. To brake-up the trip we stopped for
the night in Coober Pedy and decided to finish our trip off in bizarre style by staying in an under-ground hotel.
Throughout the history of the world, the opal has been credited with mystical origins and magical powers. Early races even believed the opal to aid its wearer in seeing limitless possibilities. The irony that such a magnificent gem comes from a place like Coober Pedy. Over 70% of the world’s opal production comes from this harsh, drastic, inhospitable landscape. Much of the towns businesses and homes are located in dug outs left from opal mining efforts. As you step out of the car at the gas station the hot dry wind takes your breath away.
Heat mirages waver up from the barren earth. Hydraulic fluid is on special along with 2 liter bottles of soda this week. The places makes Alice feel like a lush tropical paradise.
Upon checking into the hotel, we were upgraded to an
underground room. Yes that’s right – the best rooms are caves! The good news is it’s so cool (and damp) that there is no AC, just a ceiling fan. You can have the TV as loud as you like and not worry about bothering by a . The bad news is that you’re in a bloody cavern. No windows and no exhaust fan. A very fine grit subtly drifts down from the stone ceiling and covers the inhabitants of the room while they sleep. Lucky that we got these special features for free. I hate having to pay extra for dirt in my eyes.
In case you doubt me that Coober Pedy is in the middle of nowhere
, here a quote
from their city website – “If you are driving up from Adelaide, it will take you approximately 10 hours at a comfortable speed. Please remember to take plenty of water with you if you undertake this journey. Fuel stops are well signposted along the fully paved Stuart Highway.” You must watch for the fuel stop signs because they are the ONLY places to stop. Don’t worry about missing the road signs. Sightings of human life are few and far between out here. We got excited when anything but rocks came onto the horizon; the anticipation would build until we were close enough to read the sign.
The pictures tell it better than I can:
We will be returning to Coober Pedy at some point so that I can make a purchase. During the negotiations that brought me to Australia, I had to agree to support my own jewelry habit in exchange for being a lady of leisure. Even though we were on a tight schedule to get home, I conned my darling husband into stopping at just one opal store on our way out of town. I made a startling discovery – Opals come in red! How perfect – I love the color red and have lots of red cloths. They are extremely rare and rather expensive, so naturally I’m drawn to them. It looks like I might have to get serious about the freelance work and start hording money.
After our night in the cave, we headed back out onto the Stuart Highway which happens to be a 900 mile stretch of road without radio stations. Thank god for IPods. One of the few highlights of the trip is occasionally passing a road train. Your first sighting is always memorable.
Most of the long-haul trains are pulling only 3 trailers with a approximate length of 50 yards. Yes folks – that is a semi that’s half the length of a football field and it takes a lot of horsepower to move it. Check out the fuel tanks on this monster.
After only 7 hours of a mind numbing lack of scenery, we neared the MacDonnell Ranges that border Alice. Just as my mind started to think – Whew – we’re almost home, I realized that Alice has become my home. It’s not where I ever imagined myself. It’s not on the places I’ve always wanted to spend time, but it’s where we’re building a life together and that’s a good thing.
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