Located in Australia lies a quirky underground town in the heart of the desert that is surrounded by gems worth millions.
Known as the “Opal Capital of the World” Coober Pedy is a town and mining field in central South Australia.
The 2,000 people that live here have an extraordinary way of life as beneath the surface there are shops, churches, houses, schools, libraries and there is even an underground cemetery.
All of this is located several metres and sometimes even tens of metres below the surface as the desert surface gets incredibly hot and reaches up to 45C.
Boasting a sun-baked lunar landscape, Opal was first discovered here in February 1915 by a young boy named Willie Hutchison who stumbled upon opal while searching for water.
This discovery sparked a rush of fortune seekers who flocked to the area in search of their own precious finds – many of them building homes – known as dugouts.
More than 60% of locals live underground to survive the scorching summer heat and freezing winters. Their homes -built into caves, hills and old mine shafts – stay a pleasant 23C all year round.
And their homes have all the modern comforts necessary including: plumbing, electricity, running water and even internet access. Some even have swimming pools, however due to their underground nature most have no windows.
People dug their homes so they not only have an exit to the street but to the multi kilometre mines where they worked.
Coober Pedy’s name comes from the aboriginal language and translates to ‘White Man’s Hole’ in reference to the large undergound caves which usually have a living room, kitchen, bathroom and several bedrooms.
The wild and wonderful town of Coober Pedy has become somewhat of a tourism attraction as eager holidaymakers flock to their area when exploring the red centre of Australia. Around 150,000 tourists each year come to Coober Pedy to experience its lunar landscape and underground lifestyle.
Thanks to its post-apocalyptic apperance the area has become a popular filming location – Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Pitch Black and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert were all filmed here.
