That is what Kupa Piti means. Coober Pedy, white man in a hole. Of course Coober Pedy has no station so we drew in at Manguri a siding about 40 km out of town. We rolled in and were met by Ghan branded coaches and staff ready to take us on the tour of the town. There were options for half day tours taking in just the Breakaways or just the mine but naturally most people want the full trip. We were sent to our numbered vehicle and the whole beautifully choreographed operation swung into action. Each coach took the tour in a different direction so as not to swamp the destinations.

Today was a very different experience. Beautiful scenery and great photo ops but also restricted by the care the Australians are taking of their country. (Now in Pricilla Queen of the Desert the bus breaks down and our heroes find themselves in need of rescue…. that’s the Breakaways). Our driver for the day 26 years old with a bucket full of dad jokes. It felt odd to be on a 50 seater especially on dirt roads. Breathtaking is the only way to describe the view from our hill (several were being used). Champagne, well, of course. Stories of the various landmarks and their names. Honestly, I could have stayed there all day. WOW!

This is a fragile area. Many different colours of soil and rock. I swear you can see the curve of the earth from up here and I don’t think I’ve ever been able to see so far. We were carefully kept in the designated viewing areas so as not to erode any more of this place. The road is now about 18 inches below the desert surface and there’s not stopping outside the carefully placed stops. We literally had a couple of metres square to stand in at some places. Its sad to know that the very thing which people come to see is being destroyed by them being here in modern machines. (Bit like the Barrier reef when we saw that a few years back). We stopped to see the two dogs (aka salt and pepper) but were asked not to publish photos out of respect for the true owners. On then to the Moon Plain, which looks like … the surface of the moon and is much coveted by NASA and film crews alike for its lunar similarities. Whilst Australia works closely with the USA on space monitoring it is not about to give up this area for destruction. on the edge of all this we stopped to see the Dingo Proof Fence. 1.8m high and with 1.8m below ground in places it is almost constantly under repair it runs for 5614km although it does not entirely stop dingoes nor did it stop rabbits when it was known as the rabbit proof fence.

Coober Pedy sits on the border between Kokotha and Arabana land. The town is small and mining may only take place within a 20 x 50 km area though not, anymore, within the town limits as the dust is bad for your health. Coober Pedy means opals. I have loved opals for as long as I can remember and this grubby, messy mining town was, for me, the thing I had wanted most to see. We were due down a mine … for lunch!

After lunch we did get to look around the museum (for this was an underground museum and historic mine as well as out restaurant). There were examples of historic and modern dugout living. Most people here live underground where it is a comfortable 25C year round. As I say mining id not allowed in town but any opal found whilst extending your home is saleable. Some single fellas have 16 bedroom homes with a bunch of en suite bathrooms! LOL. Opal glows in black light and I’d come prepared with a UV feature on my torch.

Our final visit of the visit of the day was to church. The Serbian Orthodox church. Coober Pedy had more churches per capita than anywhere in Australia reflecting the huge range of nationalities drawn to the mines. This one is spectacular with its nave sitting 15m below the ground. Noodling around outside I found, not opal, but a small meteor chunk of iron. No one in Coober Pedy looks away from the ground for long.

We were first back to the train and were driven to the wrong side of the tracks to get the classic Ghan photo before a little more champagne by with our Red Centre chums as the light faded and the bonfires were lit. This was to be our last night aboard and we arranged to head for the tail (Snowpiercer reference) for drinks after dinner.

Our view as we sat for our meal was sunset over the red desert of South Australia. Drinks later were fun and a little bittersweet. We would be moving ever closer to Adelaide overnight and to the end of this outback adventure.

For anyone who thinks this journey is expensive we worked it out. 10 nights accommodation plus all the food and drink you could want (we paid for two meals in Alice) plus your guides and transport and all the entry fees and coaches to venues etc. it came to around £250 per night, Platinum. (2021 prices) Frankly you would struggle to get just the luxury hotel in London for that. I cannot recommend this highly enough.

Next stop Adelaide and the rain.