# I've always wanted to go to Coober Pedy **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 1, 2007, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-to-go-to-coober-pedy/428466 "2007-12-01T16:53:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2007, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-to-go-to-coober-pedy/428466/1 "2007-12-01T16:53:28Z")
I know nothing about it other than it’s known for its opals, some people live underground, and temperatures are similar to where I lived in my teens and early-20s. But for some reason, I’ve always wanted to go there. ---
**Author:** ![Tully\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Tully\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tully_Mars)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2007, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-to-go-to-coober-pedy/428466/2 "2007-12-01T17:02:25Z")
I had never heard of it, so I looked it up. Heck, who wouldn’t want to go there. Any place that lists The Big Wench as a main attraction has to be cool. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2007, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-to-go-to-coober-pedy/428466/3 "2007-12-01T17:11:30Z")
After seeing it on one of the early seasons of _The Amazing Race_, I’ve decided that it’s one of those places it’s probably better to admire via video rather than in person. It’s _incredibly_ hot and desolate. And isolated. And it’s definitely in the middle of nowhere. And have I mentioned that it’s _incredibly_ hot and desolate? But they do have a Tourism Council and an Opal Festival. ---
**Author:** ![Tully\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Tully\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tully_Mars)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2007, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-to-go-to-coober-pedy/428466/4 "2007-12-01T17:36:19Z")
I think that spelling error in my earlier post was a Freudian slip. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2007, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-to-go-to-coober-pedy/428466/5 "2007-12-01T18:15:00Z")
Didn’t see it on _The Amazing Race_ or anywhere else. I should pay more attention if they’re showing it. [QUOTE=Mama Tiger] And have I mentioned that it’s _incredibly_ hot and desolate? But they do have a Tourism Council and an Opal Festival. [/QUOTE] I looked it up on Wiki and it says it gets over 104ºF. That’s not so bad. When I lived in the AV (mid-'70s to mid-'80s) there were a lot fewer people there than there are now. It was pretty desolate. And 103º-110º temperatures were common. Keep hydrated, and wear a hat. (And swamp coolers kept the house cool enough, except in the ‘monsoon season’.) I’ll have to look at the tourism site. I’ve been wanting to go there for a quarter of a century. I should think about using some airline miles in the next year or two. Getting back to weather: It’s snowing here now. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2007, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-to-go-to-coober-pedy/428466/6 "2007-12-01T18:49:03Z")
It’s a funny little town. The only reason it exists is the opals. If they ever run out, the town will close. The bedrock is close to the surface of the soil (dust, really, but we’ll give it the courtesy title of soil), so the houses don’t usually have basements. Lots of pre-fabs buildings. Dry, dry, dry. My skin was dry and dusty the entire time I was there - as if I’d been working with gyprock sheets. Water is very scarce - comes from deep wells, but they think it’s antique water, not being replenished. Showers in the campground were coin-op, because water was so precious. We had an eighth of an inch of rain the day I was there - the locals said that was the most they’d had in months. The mines were interesting, but I was glad to leave. ---
**Author:** ![Layla01](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/layla01/32/15552_2.png) [@Layla01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Layla01)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2007, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-to-go-to-coober-pedy/428466/7 "2007-12-02T00:30:48Z")
It’s hot, dusty and there’s a million holes in the ground for miles. The people are “interesting” for want of a better word, although it’s become more touristy in the last few years. It’s the closest you get to a frontier town these days. It’s also amazing how remote it is and how long it takes to get there. Lovely opals though. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2007, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-to-go-to-coober-pedy/428466/8 "2007-12-02T01:00:35Z")
I’ve always wanted to go there after it made a brief appearance in _Until the End of the World_ (the movie, not the U2 written for the film and later showing on up on the _Achtung, Baby!_ album). ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2007, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-to-go-to-coober-pedy/428466/9 "2007-12-02T01:57:35Z")
Besides the opals, pretty much all I know about it is, “There. Now you’re fucked.” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2007, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-to-go-to-coober-pedy/428466/10 "2007-12-02T02:04:00Z")
Had to look that up. Didn’t see the film. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2007, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-to-go-to-coober-pedy/428466/11 "2007-12-02T02:17:00Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] Had to look that up. Didn’t see the film. [/QUOTE] It’s a good flick (it has naked boobies in it), but a bit dated. It was shot in 1991 (or so) and takes place at the end of 1999, so some of the technology is a bit off. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2007, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-to-go-to-coober-pedy/428466/12 "2007-12-02T02:32:15Z")
They’ve made quite a few movies and TV shows there, because its desolate barren nature is suitably post-apocalyptic or alien to represent science fiction. ---
**Author:** ![Eolbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@Eolbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eolbo)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2007, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-to-go-to-coober-pedy/428466/13 "2007-12-02T02:33:12Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] Didn’t see it on _The Amazing Race_ or anywhere else. I should pay more attention if they’re showing it. I looked it up on Wiki and it says it gets over 104ºF. That’s not so bad. When I lived in the AV (mid-'70s to mid-'80s) there were a lot fewer people there than there are now. It was pretty desolate. And 103º-110º temperatures were common.[/size] [/QUOTE] Wiki is understating it somewhat. 104 Fahrenheit is only, what, 40 decrees celsius, which is not uncommon in summer in most parts of Australia, and certainly not hot enough to drive the population underground. At Coober Pedy though temperatures can (but do not usually) exceed 50 degrees celsius which is 122 Fahrenheit. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2007, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-to-go-to-coober-pedy/428466/14 "2007-12-02T02:34:28Z")
[QUOTE=GuanoLad] They’ve made quite a few movies and TV shows there, because its desolate barren nature is suitably post-apocalyptic or alien to represent science fiction. [/QUOTE] The antipodal Vasquez Rocks? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2007, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-to-go-to-coober-pedy/428466/15 "2007-12-02T02:36:10Z")
[QUOTE=Eolbo] Wiki is understating it somewhat. 104 Fahrenheit is only, what, 40 decrees celsius, which is not uncommon in summer in most parts of Australia, and certainly not hot enough to drive the population underground. At Coober Pedy though temperatures can (but do not usually) exceed 50 degrees celsius which is 122 Fahrenheit. [/QUOTE] That’s a little toasty. The hottest I’ve been in was 118ºF (in full leathers with an 80-100 mph breeze). ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2007, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-to-go-to-coober-pedy/428466/16 "2007-12-02T04:06:14Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] It’s a good flick (it has naked boobies in it), but a bit dated. It was shot in 1991 (or so) and takes place at the end of 1999, so some of the technology is a bit off. [/QUOTE] No, not that one. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2007, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-to-go-to-coober-pedy/428466/17 "2007-12-02T05:35:53Z")
[QUOTE=matt\_mcl] Besides the opals, pretty much all I know about it is, “There. Now you’re fucked.” [/QUOTE] 😃 That was the first thing I thought of too.