Day 2 - 3 William Creek and Coober Pedy

Gas at William Creek turned into something of a problem: it was expensive and there was not a lot of it. A female pilot flew in and solved our initial problem which was that the place was totally deserted.  The second concern was the cost. It was pretty expensive at $2.70 a litre and so we decided to just top up with a 100 litres each. The attendant put 101 litres in my tanks and we pushed JCU out of the way. Anthony got 28 litres into his when the well went dry. We'll have to call the truck she said. Time dragged on and the sun gradually slipped low in the horizon. Coober Pedy was an hour away and we needed to be gone by 4 to make it legal. Eventually our old mate arrived with his truck and promptly refuelled the female pilot/attendant's aircraft. WTF? Then he asked us to line all the others up so he could get to them. I knew I should have packed a Titanium Driver because he was big fella and whacking him over the back of the head with something heavy and then decamping was clearly going to be my only chance. Anyways Anthony's superior professional knowledge of the retail industry then came to the fore and while he was killing him with ironic kindness I decided it was best not to go through with it. Still it remained a happy thought as he put exactly 101 litres in each of the other aircraft. (Dooo Dooo dooo dooo do do doo doo) :o)

I wandered up the road to pay and took a quick squiz at the rocket wrecks from nearby Woomera in the little park and the display of all manner of rubbish over the walls and ceilings of the William Creek Hotel. Watered the horses and backed the brown Buick into the porcelain garage at their little rest station and we were on our way again.

We blasted off last again behind ISB and RCN, climbed to 4500 feet and slowly overhauled them on the short leg to the opal mining capital of the world. Apparently 80% of the world's opals come from Coober Pedy. The rest are probably stolen from someone who got them there anyways. It was another rich landscape to fly over: desolate, for the most part featureless, but subtly textured and all aglow in shades of red to complement the setting sun. One prominent geographical feature was a large lake: Adiharrawinacanna. Yeah none of us could say it either but it was fetching when it shimmered like a huge plate of flawed glass in the rays of the setting sun. The landscape pretty much looked like Mars though I've only ever been to that planet through other people's imaginations. Was not surprised to find out that 'The Red Planet' was filmed from Coober Pedy (Val Kilmer stayed in the same hotel we were using and they were happy to confirm for us his status as an optimus prime wanker).

 We arrived just prior to last light (10 minutes as required by CASA) and no one had any trouble greasing their landings in the cool smooth air of twilight. Flying Time 0.8 hours. We pegged them down in the Martian dirt and in two waves of mini-bus transfer set off for our underground Hotel. There are 3000 people in CP and 1.5 million holes. They should have built one of those Chinese Walls to keep the rabbits out. Anyways our hotel was excellent with its polished rock walls and maze of tunnels, grottoes, and rooms. The lady at the desk suggested we leave a fan running all night as the air is so still and underground so dark that waking in the middle of the night can be disorientating. Not sure it had the desired effect but I may get them to bury one with me just in case it works in the afterlife.

A local pizza place was recommended and so our tribe of 14 went walkabout on the streets of Coober in search of sustenance. To cut a long story short: the pizza was great and it was huge but it took a bloody long time to come and they would not provide water. John the owner rescued the situation by driving most of the girls home after diverting to show them a pretty amazing underground Serbian chapel. Sorry I missed that.

 We had internet coverage and so in spite of tiredness I wandered back to the reception and uploaded a few photos. It would be a long time before the opportunity arose again. Sleep underground was not as long or as total as I had imagined so maybe there is a Great White Wizard in the sky after all? Anyways it wasn't too bad. Come morning we ate and I arranged the luggage and recharging devices while most of the others went to the Mining Museum next door. Later we walked around the town, took a few snaps and did some shopping at this eccentric little Greek's opal shop. He gave me a shot glass saying 'Welcome to Coober Pedy' and asked me to have a drink on him. But when I unwrapped it there was nothing in it.

Some of our party got a tour back-cave in our hotel and testified to the size and complexity of its tunnel system.  But it was no Moria and no horde of orcs surfaced to trouble them. The guide did try to convert them to his religion.  But we had formed our own Fellowship through the bonds of shared adventure and we made a pact to save ourselves for Trevor - but that story is still to come. Lunch was pasta back at Johns who teamed up with the hotel to run us out to the airport for the next leg. Nice guy and all in all I'd have to say that the town of many holes has much to recommend it.