Wednesday March 24, 2010 – Coober Pedy.

Today we decided to take it easy. We got up later and leisurely got breakfast. We went down town and looked around the many Opal Shops. There are a lot of them.

We did a tour of the Old Timers Mine. It was very interesting. You need to wear a hard hat as the tunnels are low. They wound in and out as the miners searched for opals. It is hard to believe what was done with picks and shovels. Things have improved today but not by much. They do have some mechanical diggers now and better ways to get the opal rich rock up to the surface. The mine here was discovered when someone was increasing the size of their underground home and found the mine. It was a very interesting tour.

One nice thing is that mining here is still a one person job. There are not big mining companies here. Anyone can get a licence to dig. They need to find a place where no one else is. Then start mining.

We have had a very interesting time in Coober Pedy.