WHAT a day!
You know how up until now the Australian animals have been practically throwing themselves at the Ligas?
It didn’t stop.
I’ve never seen anything like it. But before all of this happened, as we left our room, I handed the car keys to Liga and said, “You want to drive?”
She replied with a smile, “Yes! But are you scared to let me?”
“I was,” I said. “But you’re not jet-lagged and you’ve been on the left hand side of the road long enough to get used to it. Enjoy!”
None of us have a photo of this, but it happened. It’s the stuff you hear about but never expect to see.
A couple of hours later, we were driving along and Liga said, “There’s something in the middle of the road that isn’t moving….” And then a wedge-tailed eagle flew up from the middle the road as we approached, then flew back AND GRABBED A GOANNA IN ITS CLAWS and flew off to the left with it.
All three of us yelled “WHOA!!!!!!”
We were so excited.
It was iconic. An eagle dangling a lizard below it as it flew away.
Omg.
We also experienced the first real roadhouse of the trip. Liga has been dying to see “ a real greasy roadhouse” and this came close.
As sandyg predicted in the comments on one of the blogs, we saw the first of many salt lakes on the drive to Coober Pedy, this one being Lake Hart. We got out of the car and walked around, looking at the lake and the information boards.
A bit later, Liga and I both said “LIZARDS!” At the same time. Three little brown lizards were sunning themselves in the middle of the road. We got around them ok, but over the next hill a road train was coming.
Liga and I looked at each other and I know we were thinking the same thing…
Around lunch time we drove up the main drag of Coober Pedy. And then guess what happened?
A willy-willy whipped itself up o the right hand side of the street, moved across to the left across the road directly in front of us and then died away. It was as if the spirits of Coober Pedy were welcoming us.
The things these girls are seeing are incredible.
After lunch, we went to a couple of opal shops, but the only person who bought something was Liga2, and she only bought a little gift pack of rough opals. Liga fell in love with a black opal that a guy showed her, but she refused to pay the 6K price tag. Liga is a bit of an all or nothing person, so she chose to walk away with nothing.
I looked, but I’ve never been drawn to opals and I was happy not to buy just anything as a souvenir. I’m getting better at this!
After the abortive opal shopping, we went on a self-guided tour of an opal mine.
We were underground, stumbling around clutching maps of the place and trying to work out where we were. It turns out that I’m not the only one who is challenged by maps.
” In the army, they say that if you want to lose Liga, just take her out to the forest and give her a map!” Liga said.
The museum had some interesting bits. I learned that the Coober Pedy opal fields were discovered by a 19 year old boy, who tragically drowned the following year.
The Ligas were mesmerised by a row of jars containing pickled poisonous insects and reptiles. I think they were working out what to avoid!
I finished the tour a little before they did, so I went outside and called a kangaroo sanctuary I noticed on the drive in for the mine tour.
The owner of the sanctuary told me that she’d be open for us at 4:45 and assured me we could cuddle a joey. I knew that this would blow the Ligas’ socks off, so I kept it a secret.
To fill in time, we went to drop our things off at the campsite. I’d booked an underground room. After all, it’s Coober Pedy! You HAVE to sleep underground.
When we got here, the awful reality hit us. There was no ensuite – the amenities were a walk away ( in the black night if you’re like Liga2 and usually go to the loo in the middle of the night.)
I felt awful. I was looking at the romance of sleeping underground and didn’t really notice the “camp” part of the name “Riba’s Underground Camp Site.”
Oops.
CooberPedy is a funny place. There’s nothing here but dirt and all of the piles of dirt outside each opal mine. Pipes sticking up from the ground indicate that there is a dugout house under the hill.
It’s also hot. Heat the beats down on you as you’re walking along the road.
Liga was keen to stay and rest for a bit at our new “home”, while Liga2 was stressing that the only place that has wifi is The TV room. (I’m not going to lie… I was quietly thinking the same thing.)
”Come on!” I said. “ We’ve got 10 minutes to get to the surprise I’ve planned for you!”
Two suspicious faces looked at me.
”What surprise?” asked Liga2.
”You’re going to LOVE it!” I said, crossing my fingers in hope.
We jumped in the car and I drove to the sanctuary.
And yes. They loved it.
This Kangaroo is 14 years old, and when she was young her jaw was injured.
Liga is feeding a younger one.
I’ll be posting a video on the other blog, where you can hear Josephine talking about these kangaroos.
Then she brought out a 6 month old joey.
oh! My heart!
Here are some better photos:
His Mum was run over by a car and he was found standing beside her. He was lucky that caring people came before the eagles and crows.
She had another, younger joey that we didn’t see. When we asked Josephine what happened to that mother, she replied simply, “Dinner.”
The name of the place is something like Josephine’s Kangaroo Rescue and Sanctuary. It’s worth a visit as it’s clearly a labour of love. She opened up the place to us and only charged me $10 each for what I hope will be a cherished memory for us all.
She also has a shop attached to the place, and the Ligas each bought a boomerang. If I hadn’t already bought my Central Australian art from my Ghan trip 2 months ago, I would have bought art at hers. There were some beautiful pieces on display.
We had dinner at a pizza place, then on the way home Liga said, “I want to walk back to where we’re staying. “
I looked at her. The sun was going down. Soon it would be black. I know I wouldn’t want to walk 4 kms over stony, uneven ground in the dark. But this wasn’t about me.
Liga looked at Liga2.
“Are you coming with me?”
“Um…. Ok. Yes, I’ll walk with you,” said Liga2.
They got out of the car, and Liga grabbed her boomerang.
“I’ll learn how to throw it,” she said. I probably made a mistake by telling her that she’d need to be taught how to throw it by someone who knew. Liga loves a challenge.
Anyway, they’re free independent women, so if they want to walk home in the pitch black, that’s their choice. It obviously wouldn’t be mine, but I’m very lazy.
I got back and took these pictures as I was getting ready for bed. I walked out of the toilet block, turned in a half circle and caught all of this:
Like I said… I’m lazy.
They arrived back safe and sound, of course, though they saw a snake. Liga2 saw it first and she was petrified when it started to move away from her but straight towards Liga!
Liga learned very quickly how to throw the boomerang so that it curved back towards her and she only stopped throwing it when she saw that she was chipping the paint.
They had a lovely time, though I think Liga enjoyed it more than Liga2.
Meanwhile, I was enjoying the room under the ground. Look at this hallway!
Tomorrow is the last full day the three of us will be together.
Yes, tomorrow is when we drive to Uluru.
Dad Joke of the Day:
“Dad, are we pyromaniacs?”
“Yes, we arson.”
Wedge-tailed eagle and a goanna – what an amazing experience! I also love the opportunistic pigeons in the kangaroo enclosure. Coober Pedy is a ‘one day’ trip for me, so it’s good to have an idea what it’s like from the pictures. Sounds like an overnighter is probably enough, or would you have stayed another if you had the chance?
Interesting question. I was really keen to see the Serbian Church, but the town was preparing for Bobby’s funeral the next day, who was a man in his 40’s as I found out by reading a flyer put up in the local supermarket. I thought they might be decorating the church or something.
But the most important thing was that, realistically, it was either the Serbian Church or the kangaroo sanctuary, and I knew which one the Liga’s would prefer.
I felt that I’d “done” Coober Pedy, though if I was more interested in both opals and mining, another day would’ve been perfect.