After the Tom's Opal Mine Tour we went out for a drive through the Kanku-Breakaways Conservation Park to the north of town. There were some amazing rock formations and a chance to drive along a section of the dog fence that runs through this area separating the stock animals to the south from the dingoes to the north.
We went on two ople mine tours. There was one at the camp site. And one at the out scerts of the town. We got a few oples that were pritty good. I got a lizard called Opal!
While in Tom's Opal Mine (the one on the outskirts) I found the "X" rock that meant you get to choose a capsule full of opals for free. I also got a few other pretty good opals that I found there. At the end of the tour we got to trade and sell the opals we found on the tour. The tour guide wetted and sorted through the opals that I found. Then I attempted to bargain for one opal (a special rainbow opal) for $700 and the tour guide (who was pretending to be an opal buyer) said maybe - but in the end I didn't get it. Instead I kept the opal and got $3, 3 chocolate bars and 2 lollipops for the other opals that I sold to him.
Our first full day in Coober Pedy. We spent the morning wandering around the opal shops and checking out the quirky street art around town. On the way home we stopped by the large public noodling area where we spent an hour or so digging through the large mounds of debris looking for opals. Sadly we did not find much.
Then in the afternoon we toured the Old Timers Mine. It was a self guided tour through an old opal mine followed by several rooms of a house that the previous owners of the mine lived in. To watch the sunset we drove up to the "Big Winch" and its attached cafe for drinks and NY Times puzzles while the sun set over the dessert.
Today we drove from William Creek to Coober Pedy. In Coober Pedy there was a metal tree, a tree with lots of helmets, and a big winch. We camped in the carpark of the Old Timers Mine. For dinner we went to Dad's Pizza bar.
