Coober Pedy is a small Australian town with population of about 2,000 people. It is well-known as an underground town.
Coober
Pedy is also known as the world's opal capital with 30% global opals
mined here. As for the town name, it is translated as "whitemans hole"
from the Aboriginal term kupa-piti.
The
severe desert climate made a lot of residents move to live underground,
in caves. A cave home usually has three bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom and
lounge that are excavated out of the rock in the hillsides. Such homes
don't require air-conditioning, because they remain at a constant
temperature while summer temperatures on the surface can reach 40-50
degrees Celsius (over 100 degrees Fahrenheit).
Coober
Pedy attracts tourists from all over the world. The mines, underground
churches and graveyard are the most interesting attractions here. The
trees you can find in this town are iron welded. You can play golf at
night only to avoid hot temperatures. The local golf is free of grass
that is why players take a small piece of tee-off turf with them.
Coober
Pedy is featured in many movies, including Opal Dream, Mad Max Beyond
Thunderdome, Red Planet and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. NASA is
planning to train astronauts for a planned mission to Mars here in 2012.
Coober Pedy Church
Coober Pedy Homes
