It sounds a little crazy but I think it's taken until today, Day 6 to realise - I'm on holidays, I'm really on holidays and I don't have to do anything I don't want to! Maybe that's because we got into town early and we've decided to have a second night at the same location, no worrying about what time do I need to be up, how will The Patrol go tomorrow etc. Maybe it's the wine (yes, tonight I'm enjoying a very nice glass or three of SA's Bird to Hand Sav Blanc), or maybe it's the great pizza that I didn't have to cook or maybe it's the healthy glow you get from sitting on a 5 hour spectacular guided tour of somewhere new! Maybe it's a combination of all when you realise 6 months of chipping away at planning has paid off and both you and your partner are enjoying your time away from home.
We arrived in Coober Pedy about 11.30am after driving through salt bush plains which changed colours more often than I could ever have believed. Sometimes the ground was purple and orange, next it was creamy tones. All the while the plants ranged from coastal grey to lime green with a dash of gorgeous yellow broome tree in between.
After popping a load of washing on and heating up leftovers for lunch we jumped on a guided tour bus around Coober Pedy. Wow, all those ugly piles of dirt we'd seen as we'd arrived weren't left over deposits from mining, they were houses buried in the hill side. Almost 70% of the 3000 population live underground. And all those rusty old vehicles, one mans trash is another's treasure trove (Yes, Will is having a great time spotting International Trucks not to mention Nissans whose owners he hopes we can possibly do a deal with for a better radiator - a story for another time) are because miners can't leave any equipment on disused mining sites so they have to bring them back to town. We also saw the worlds most hilarious golf course (I hope the photos worked so I can show Chris), the land formation on which Priscilla Queen of the Desert was filmed (ok, Mad Max was also, but he drove a Ford!!) and the dog fence. I'd heard of the rabbit fence, didn't know about the dingo fence and by the way, it does have gates, we saw one!
Coober Pedy generally has one day of rain for the year, three weeks ago it rained for 4 days so we also saw tiny but spectacular yellow and mauve wild flowers across The Moon landscape. We visited an underground church and an underground mine. The opal fields were also very interesting, they took my breathe away especially when Will ALWAYS had to be right on the edge of the shaft, or the edge of the cliff but hopefully I didn't let on how high my blood pressure went at those moments.
Sometimes it takes a bit of effort but believing that everything works out best in the end is a great way to live life and enjoy a holiday. I randomly picked this park and it's where the tour left from, we left Port Augusta hours later than I had anticipated but we still arrived here with plenty of time prior to the tour leaving, the more we fight for control the more we lose it - I began this blog planning to say "There will be no blog tonight, I'm on holidays", but I'm so glad I've recorded my thoughts from 'The first day of my holidays'. Also hearing your from your son and knowing he sounds well brings a smile to your heart and face. 😊Tell someone nearby you love them, it's worth it, I plan to later when he's a sleep and can't tell me, cut that out. Goodnight.
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