First off we checked out the old timer mine, and shop.

This was a shop underground and the an old mine that we could go and look it. Finally we got to walk through their workshop, also underground and then an underground house that was lived in until the early 2000's.

Here there are still many houses underground and many living underground. In fact they are still building new underground houses, churches, shops, bars etc as it is much cooler in the hot summer, and warmer in the cold winter when you live underground.

After lunch we joined up the a local tour to see some more of the area. First stop was the Cathlolic underground church. Then off to the town and cemetry. There certainly were some sad cases of death here and our tour guide Jimmy knew many of the people burried here. Jimmy seemed to be a bit of a local celebraty. One fellow had spoken so much in life that that had put a metal top with large bolts on his grave to try to stop him talking!

Then off to Mining fields out of town. Here the ground was like hundred of rabbits had doug holes. A real mess, but apparently it is safer to leave the holes open and not filled in for the miners. Not safe if you fall down one, but much safer if you are mining as you simply run into an open chamber, rather than an unstable filled in area that falls on you and collapes and causes a cave in. Here we got also to do a bit of a fosic (noodling they call it).

 Then off to see the moon scape (unfortunately for us, due to the good rain season this year it was covered in grass!), the dog proof fence, not to be confused with the Rabbit proof fence which is in another state.

Also got to drive on a ancient sea bed, in the middle of the desert. Aparently the whole area was covered with water, and where Cooper Pedy is now was the shore where there was a sandy beach. It is the sand that caused the Opals to be formed and infact there are opalised sea creatures found in the mines there. On the other had just a few km's away where the sea floor would have been (and down a few km's lower), there are fosilised sea creatures here. We were no longer able to stop and vist the fosils on the old sea floor as this area had been claimed by the aboriginals (even though they never lived here, just passed through when the weather was ok ie there was water).

Finally we returned to town driving down the Oodnadatta track (well 10km or so).

Back in town we visited the underround bar for a drink, as one must do when in Coober Pedy, cause you can!