Underground city in Australia Coober Pedy. Coober Pedy is the world capital of opal and underground city. Australia. Local residents settled here quite cozy. Some houses are underground only half, which only adds to them uniqueness. Stands out

Couper-Pedy - A small town under Earth in Australia, which is located in the central region of the country. The title of world capital Opalov, he received thanks to the huge deposits of these minerals, which are cast by rainbow colors. There are approximately 30% of all deposits of the planet's opals. No place on earth can be compared with it in this indicator.

This mining town is also known for its unusual underground houses. It is believed that his name has some attitude towards them. It originated from the language of indigenous people. The combination of "Kupa-Piti" is translated from it as a "smoke of a white man."
In the underground "holes" of the town of Cubeber-Pedy died at a depth of 4-5 meters, more than 1600 people live. The main case of local residents is the mining of precious opals.

The city is located in the Big Desert Victoria, in the south of the country. This is one of the most arid and incomplete areas of the continent. With the onset of the twentieth century, the precious opals began to produce there. Since in this place there was always a heat, drought and periodically raged sand storms, mines together with their relatives began to settle down in the houses in the mountains. Many of them had a direct move in the mine. The conditions in these "apartments" were quite comfortable, no worse than in traditional dwellings. At any time of the year, the temperature in them did not rise above 22-24 ° C. There were the same rooms we were familiar to us. It lacked only windows, because due to extremely high summer temperatures it was possible to make a maximum of two windows.

When building dwellings in the town with the largest deposit of noble opals, it is possible to get rich, because about 96% of these stones are produced here. Some time ago, the hotel back in Couper-Pedi is the hotel and found copies worth about $ 360.000.
The valuable field was unexpectedly discovered for a hundred years ago, in 1915, when in the area was engaged in the search for water sources. Already next year, prospectors began to go there. According to estimates of approximately 60% of the Couper Pedy population were from European countries. They moved there when the Second World War was over to work in mines. So the city became the largest manufacturer of high-quality opals in the world and still remains.
The distinctive properties of noble opals include rainbowes. This is due to the diffraction of light on its spatial grid. The high cost of the stone is not determined by its value, but how unique is this color game. The value of the opal depends on the number of rays.

The aborigines walks the legend that in a very long time, the spirits took her colors from the rainbow and hid in opals. The second legend says that the Creator descended to Earth and in the places where his leg came up, rainbow stones arose.
Now the mining of stone is carried out only by private entrepreneurs, but this activity still brings the country about $ 30 million a year.
Previously, OPALs were developed manually, with the help of a shovel and molding. Mountain breed was extracted by verts, and on the detected precious dwelling it was necessary to crawl in Plastanski.

The bulk of the mines is at a small depth. Their main passes were laid with the help of special drill vehicles that break through tunnels with a height of about two meters. Branch departs from tunnels. These devices consisted of engine and gearbox from a small truck. After that, they began to use the machine called "Blower". It was built into her high power compressor, which sucks the breed through the pipe placed in the depth. If you turn off, a barrel opens. So the new small hill arises, or the area. At the entrance to the capital of opal, you can see a big sign depicting this car.

In the 1980s, the city decided to build an underground hotel. From this time every year there is a surveillance of tourists. Here you can even go to two underground churches (one of which is Orthodox!).

Among the most visited attractions of the capital of Opalov, the house of the newly deceased person, whom the crocodile Harry was called. He gained popularity because of his countless lovely pretties and an eccentric lifestyle.
Couper Pedy is considered the most arid place in Australia. During the year there is only 175 millimeters of precipitation. This is three more than more than in European countries. It rains there almost never go, which means Couper-Pedy is not rich in vegetation. There are no large trees and beautiful flowers. You can meet only a few shrubs and plants holding moisture in their fabrics (for example, cacti).
However, such conditions do not interfere with local residents to find entertainment in nature. They love to play golf, but can do it only at night when the heat retreats. To do this, there are specially equipped fields with mobile grass and spherical lanterns, allowing to see in the dark time.
In the city you can go to underground shops, souvenir shops, museums, bars, in a jeweler's workshop, as well as see the cemetery.

Cover-Pedy has a deserted climate. Summer time lasts from December to February, and the average temperature reaches 30-40 ° C. With the onset of the night, it decreases sharply (up to 20 ° C). This drops are very hard to get used to. Sometimes the sand storms are raging here. To escape from the heat, the locals grow for themselves underground apartments. Many descendants of the first mines draw out the interior of their dwellings in the style of "A la Naturel", which implies the wall covering the PVA glue solution. So you can eliminate dust and, moreover, keep the natural color and texture of stone. In these unusual apartments, the toilet and the kitchen room are located right at the entrance, because there is no sewage to the Couper-Pedy underground. All other rooms are usually dug deep. Columns are built to maintain ceilings in large rooms. Their diameter can reach one meter.

Fans of modern interior are applied to the walls and ceilings plaster. Thanks to such a design solution, the underground "apartment" looks quite as common. Residents of the city also prefer to establish a matter of luxury as the pool under Earth, is a real salvation for those who live in one of the hottest regions of the planet.

The capital of Opalov became one of the main points of most routes in Australia for tourists. Of particular interest in visitors is that the Kouber-Pedy itself and its surroundings are considered very photogenic, so cinematographers are often coming here. For example, in 2006, the Australian film "OPAL DREAM" was removed there. In addition, he became a place of action of the film "Black Hole", and in underground houses, the scenes of the movie "Mad Max: Under the Thunder Dome" took.
At the edge of the town is the largest livestock farm on the planet, as well as the famous Dingo Fence, stretching at 8,500 kilometers.

Each holmik, which can be seen on the surface, is connected to the dungeon with the mine. In such an adverse climate, you can survive only so.
Currently, over 45 nationalities can be found among residents of Cubeber-Pedy, most of which are the Greeks. Drinking water passes through the artesian well, which was drilled 25 kilometers from the city.
In the global capital of opalov there is no common power system. Diesel generators are used to produce electricity, and the rooms are heated with solar water heating batteries.
This unusual city under Earth in Australia from the height of bird flight can surprise the buildings that are not familiar with our eye, and dumps of rocks, dug up thousands of thousands dug in the Red Desert. This is an incredible sight, allowing you to feel like on another planet.

Coober Pedy is a small town in the central part of the Australian state of South Australia.

The population was estimated for 2008 amounted to about 2 thousand people.

uber-Pedy is about 800 km. From Adelaide, the railway from Adelaide to Alice Springs takes close to Alice Springs. The nearest major cities - Port Augusta (500 km south) and Alice Springs (600 km north).

The city is famous for his opala, it is the capital of Opal-Stone, casting with all the colors of the rainbow.

Deal developments a little less than 100 years old, their deposits were accidentally open when looking for water in 1915.

The noble opal is distinguished by iris game, the cause of which is the diffraction of light on the spatial grid and its value is determined not by its size, but a unique color game.

The more rays, the more expensive opal. One of the legends of the Aboriginal says that "the spirits have long been kidnapped by all colors from the rainbow and invested them into the stone - opal," on the other - that

The creator descended from heaven to Earth and where his leg stepped out, stones appeared, transfusing with all the colors of the rainbow.

Only private entrepreneurs are engaged in the extraction of opal. Nevertheless, this industry brings the Australian economy about $ 30 million annually.

The city is known as the world capital of opals, because here is one of the richest deposits of opals, about 30% of global reserves are concentrated here.

The name of the Cover-Pedy is translated from the Language of Australian Aboriginal as "Nora of a White Man" or "White Man under Earth".

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Due to the harsh temperature regime and the prevailing mining industry, people constantly live in underground caves, in the barrels of the mines left after mining.

More than the first settlers understood that in view of adverse weather conditions, when the earth is raised in the sun in the sun and on the surface of the heat reaches 40 degrees Celsius, and at night the temperature drops sharply up to 20 degrees (and sandy storms are possible) - you can live under the ground in the shaft trunks Mining opal.

The constant temperature of underground houses is kept in the area + 22-24 degrees at any time of the year. Today, more than 45 nationalities live in the city, but most part are the Greeks. The population of the city is 1,695 people.

Water comes from a bored 25 km. From the city of Artesian well and relatively expensive. There is no common power system in Couper-Pedi.

Electricity is made by diesel generators, and heating is carried out by solar water heating batteries.

At night, when the heat falls, the inhabitants are playing golf with balls glowing in the dark.

Previously, the development of opals was carried out by hand - kirk, shovels, and the breed was pulled out with buckets until they found the opal core, on which he was crawled in Plastanski.

Almost all the shafts are shallow and the main passages in them are laid by drill cars, which break through horizontal tunnels height into human growth and from it - branches in different directions. These are almost homemade devices - the engine and gearbox from a small truck.

Then the so-called "fleeur" is used - a car with a powerful compressor installed on it, which is lowered into the pipe of the pipe,

as a vacuum cleaner, sucks the breed and boulders to the surface, and when the compressor is turned off - the barrel opens, it turns out a new mini-holmik - an area.

At the entrance to the city there was a huge sign with a fleeuer machine.

One of the attractions of the city is the iron tree - the children of the first settlers asked Pope of the tree, so he made a tree from iron.

Another first prospectors have realized that it is relatively conveniently convenient to get underground, in housing, which are almost nothing.

As for their successors, they and their families live in modern underground comfort.

Many of their homes are very high and just luxurious ...

Some have even underground swimming pools, while completely close, on the surface, the sun ruthlessly flutses the earth.

However, life on opal mines is still heavy, and many prospectors return with time with their families to easier life in other places.

By the way, the article about the city under Earth and people living in it, which appeared in the UK in 1927 pushed J. R. Tolkina to create in 1937, the second most popular after the Bible of the literary work "Hobbit", and then, and " The Lord of the Rings "...

Coober Pedy enters many tourist routes in Australia. Here come to look at the underground churches and the cemetery.

The first trees that could be seen in the city were cooked from iron pieces. The city has local golf courses with mobile grass and golfers linsely slightly pieces of "Run" around the wells for the first blow.

The scenery of the Couper Pedy is very facilitating to the onto the films of extraterrestrial civilizations ... Here films were filmed as "Mad Max 3: under the Thunder Dome", "Adventures of Priscillas, Queen of the Desert" and "Pitch Black".

The Amazing Race (The Amazing Race) is held in Couper Pedy.

In the area of \u200b\u200bthe Coober Pedy, approximately in 2012 are going to conduct an experiment-teaching of the expedition to Mars ...

From local attractions of Locradia allocate the world's largest livestock farm and the world's longest "Australian" fence.

Standard bedrooms in a home cave with a hall, a kitchen and a bathroom are located in the caves of drilled mountains, similar to the houses on the surface.
So the constant optimal temperature remains, while 40 ° C (maximum 55 ° C) reaches 40 ° C, many household appliances come into disrepair. But relative humidity infrequently reaches 20% on hot days.

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Much of those attracting interest in the Couper Pedy is located inside the mines, it is a cemetery and underground churches. The first trees that could be seen in the city were cooked from iron pieces.

The city has local golf courses with mobile grass and golfists linsely slightly pieces of "rod" around for the first blow.

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Coober Pedy enters many tourist routes in Australia. Against the background of Couper-Pedi, they filmed such films as "Mad Max 3: Under the Thunder Dome," Adventures of Priscillas, Queen of the Desert "and" Black Hole ". Approximately in 2012 here are going to conduct experiment-teachings of the expedition to Mars.

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What is common in these celebrities?

Rolling Stones Rolling Stones)

Ricky Martin (Ricky Martin)

Alanis Morissett ALANIS MORISSETTE)

Janet Jackson Janet Jackson)

Billy Joel. (Billy Joel)

Neil Daimond. (Neil Diamond)

Fleetwood IEC (Fleetwood Mac)

Matchbox Twenty (Matchbox Twenty)

Eysi Disti (AC / DC)

Well, it is clear that all of them are world-class musicians, fame, recognition, money, fans ... but it is not interested in us now.

They all visited Melbourne. It's already warmer ..

What you really need to know - all these stars (and many more others), during their tour in Australia, chose and bought the famous Australian precious opals from the same absolutely fantastic person and my good friend (what I am immensely proud of) - Nicholas Le Suff.



Nick Le Super against the background of himself in 25 years of age. The picture is made in the Kube Pedy - the underground city of the prospectors and the capital of Australian opals


Believe me - these people could afford to buy opals in any other store Melbourne or Sydney, but they all chose Nick.



Autographs and Domestic Inscriptions Rolling Stones (Rolling Stones) - Ricky Martin - Alanis Morissette (Alanis Morissette) - Janet Jackson - Billy Joel - Neil Diamond - Fleetwood Fleetwood Mac) - Matchbox Twenty - EiSi Disti (AC / DC) and other famous buyers Nick.



In 25 years, nickname knew perfectly how to look for precious opals


But the years take their own and when the nickname has already physically became hard to engage in the prey of opal, he opened the store and began to sell them.

This is 20 years :))



At 70 years old nickname knows how to take care of your customers target \u003d "_blank"\u003e https://www.factroom.ru/facts/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/10-300x225.jpg 300W "style \u003d" border: 0px; width: 730px; Height: AUTO; "width \u003d" 550 "/\u003e

The underground art gallery is devoted to the art of aborigines. Here are exhibitions that tell about the production process of OPAL. Visitors are given the opportunity to dig up their own gem.

In the central part of Australia there is a small mining town of Coober Pedy, one of whose main attractions are his underground houses. The city is known as the world capital of the opal, because it is here that about 30% of the global reserves of these stones are concentrated, more than anywhere on the planet. I suggest you make a small photo progress in the world capital of opal.

Most likely and the name of the city of Couper Pedy is connected with his unusual houses underground. In the language of Aboriginal Kupa-Piti, from which the name of the Cubeber-Pedy is the "hole of a white man". About 1700 people will live in the city, who are mainly engaged in the extraction of opals, and their homes are nothing more than underground holes, made in sandstone at a depth of 2.5 to 6 meters.

It is located in South Australia, on the edge of the big desert Victoria, in one of the most deserted and incomplete places of the continent. At the beginning of the 20th century, the prey of noble opals began, 30% of the global reserves of which focused on the territory of the Cuber Pedy. Due to the constant heat, droughts and frequent sandy storms, the prospectors and their families initially began to settle in the dwellings, cut down in the mountainside - it was often possible to get into the mine directly from the house. The temperature in such a "apartment" did not exceed 22 ° C all year round, and the level of comfort is not much inferior to the traditional "ground" homes - there were bedrooms, living rooms, kitchens, bathrooms. But the windows did no more than two - otherwise the summer became too hot.

Due to the lack of underground sewage in the Coober Pedy, a restroom and a kitchen in homes are immediately at the entrance, i.e. At the ground level. Bedrooms, other rooms and corridors root are usually deeper. The ceilings in large rooms support columns, the diameter of which reaches up to 1 meter.

The construction of the house in the Couper Pedy can even make his owner rich, because there is the largest deposit of precious opals. At the deposit in Australia, mainly in the Couper Pedy, accounts for 97 percent of the global production of this mineral. A few years ago, during the drilling of the underground hotel, stones were found worth about 360 thousand dollars.

Roofs Coober Pedy. The usual sight and distinctive feature of the underground city are the ventilation holes sticking out of the ground.

The opal deposit in Couper Pedy was discovered in 1915. A year later, the first miners began to come there. It is believed that about 60 percent of the inhabitants of the Couper Pedy - these were people from South and Eastern Europe, which came there after the Second World War to work in mines. For almost a hundred years, this city is the world's largest manufacturer of high quality opals.

Since the 1980s, when an underground hotel was built in Couper Pedy, thousands of tourists are visited annually. One of the most visited places in the city of Opaalov became the house of the newly deceased of his famous resident in the nicknamer Crocodile Harry - Eccentric, an alcohol lover and an adventure seeker who became famous for his numerous love stakes.

In the photo: Underground Church in the Couper Pedy.

Both the city and its suburbs, for various reasons, very photogenic, so attract the cinematographers there. Coober Pedy became a place of filming in 2006 by the Australian Drama "Opal Dream". Also in the underground houses of the city, the scenes were removed for the film "Mad Max. Under the thunder dome. "

The regenerative amount of precipitation in the Cover-Pedy is only 175 mm (in the middle lane in Europe, for example, about 600 mm). This is one of the most arid regions of Australia. It almost does not happen to rain here, therefore the vegetation is very scarce. In the city, not to find high trees, only rare shrubs and cacti are growing.

Residents, however, do not complain about the lack of entertainment outdoors. They spend their free time on the game of golf, though due to heat they have to play at night.

Two churches, shops with souvenirs, jewelry workshop, museum and bar are also located in Couper Pedy underground.

Couper Pedy is located 846 kilometers north of Adelaide - the capital of South Australia.

In the coober pedi desert climate. In the summer, from December to February, the average temperature is 30 ° C, and sometimes it reaches up to 40 ° C. At night, the temperature is greatly reduced, about 20 ° C. Sand storms are also possible here.

Underground souvenir shop in Coober Pedy.

From the heat, the townspeople are saved, swarm at home underground.

Underground bar in Couper Pedy.

Such beautiful precious minerals are mined in the Cover-Pedy - the city, which is called the "world capital of opal".

Some descendants of the prospectors prefer to issue their underground houses "A la Naturel" - they cover the walls and ceiling with a solution of PVA to get rid of dust, while maintaining the natural color and texture of natural stone. Proponents of modern solutions in the interior cover the walls and ceiling by plaster, after which the underground housing becomes almost indistinguishable from the usual one. And those and others do not refuse such a pleasant little things as the underground pool - in one of the hottest places on the planet, this is especially pleasant "luxury".

In addition to the dwelling in Cubeber-Pedy there are underground shops and museums, galleries and workshops, restaurants and a hotel, a cemetery and church (including Orthodox!). But there are little trees and flowers here - a hot dry climate of these places can only carry cactuses and other succulents. Despite this. The city has golf courses with mobile grass.

Couper Pedy is the invariable item of many tourist routes in Australia. Interest in the underground city is heated by the fact that in Cubeber-Pedy filmed such films as "Mad Max 3: Under the Thunder Dome", "Adventures of Priscillas, Queen of the Desert" and "Black Hole". And on the edge of the world capital Opalov is the largest livestock farm in the world and the well-known "Dingo fence" with a length of 8,500 kilometers.

The city is famous for his opala, it is the capital of Opal-Stone, casting with all the colors of the rainbow. Deal developments a little less than 100 years old, their deposits were accidentally open when looking for water in 1915. The noble opal is distinguished by iris game, the cause of which is the diffraction of light on the spatial grid and its value is determined not by its size, but a unique color game. The more rays, the more expensive opal. One of the legends of the Aborigines says that "the spirits have long been kidnapped by all colors from the rainbow and put them in a stone - opal", on the other - that the creator came down from heaven to Earth and where his leg came down, stones that iridescent of all colors appeared Rainbow. Only private entrepreneurs are engaged in the extraction of opal. Nevertheless, this industry brings the Australian economy about $ 30 million annually.

The Kuber-Pedy Area is the most out of the most arid, deserted and unclosed in Australia. On average, for the year falls only about 150 mm. Precipitation, and very large difference in day and night temperatures.

If you bring to fly over the coober pedies, then you will not see the usual building of the building, but only dumps of rocks with thousands of pits and hilly on the background of rocky red desert, which creates an unearthly landscape, a stunning imagination. Each hilly-cone with a hole in the middle, visible on the surface, is connected by a mine with an underground world.

More than the first settlers understood that in view of adverse weather conditions, when the earth is raised in the sun in the sun and on the surface of the heat reaches 40 degrees Celsius, and at night the temperature drops sharply up to 20 degrees (and sandy storms are possible) - you can live under the ground in the shaft trunks Mining opal. The constant temperature of underground houses is kept in the area + 22-24 degrees at any time of the year. Today, more than 45 nationalities live in the city, but most part are the Greeks. The population of the city is 1,695 people.

Water comes from a bored 25 km. From the city of Artesian well and relatively expensive. There is no common power system in Couper-Pedi. Electricity is made by diesel generators, and heating is carried out by solar water heating batteries. At night, when the heat falls, the inhabitants are playing golf with balls glowing in the dark.

Previously, the development of opals was carried out by hand - kirk, shovels, and the breed was pulled out with buckets until they found the opal core, on which he was crawled in Plastanski. Almost all the shafts are shallow and the main passages in them are laid by drill cars, which break through horizontal tunnels height into human growth and from it - branches in different directions. These are almost homemade devices - the engine and gearbox from a small truck. Then the so-called "fleeor" is used - the car with a powerful compressor installed on it, which is lowered into the pipe, as a vacuum cleaner, sucks the rock and boulders to the surface, and when the compressor is turned off, the barrel opens, it turns out a new mini-holmik.

At the entrance to the city there was a huge sign with a fleeuer machine.

They live under the ground, in their gardens they grow cacti, and they play golf at night - the life of the inhabitants of a small town in the Australian desert looks like. We are talking about the world capital of opals - the mining town of Coober Pedy (COOBER PEDY). Residents of the town located in the southern part of the Australian desert, temperatures in which in the summer sometimes exceed 40 ° C in the shade, found a simple way to cope with heat. In their homes, even in the most terrible heat is always cool, but not at all because they use air conditioners, moreover, they do not need to wash windows or hang on them blindness to avoid curious views of the neighbors, and all because residents of Couper Pedi build their homes ... underground.

Let's look at the opal underground city of Coober Pedy.

1. Most likely the name of the city is connected with his unusual houses underground. In the language of Aboriginal Kupa-Piti, from which the name of the Cubeber-Pedy is the "hole of a white man". About 1700 people will live in the city, who are mainly engaged in the extraction of opals, and their homes are nothing more than underground holes, made in sandstone at a depth of 2.5 to 6 meters. (Photo: Les Pullen / South Cape Photography).

It is located in South Australia, on the edge of the big desert Victoria, in one of the most deserted and incomplete places of the continent. At the beginning of the 20th century, the prey of noble opals began, 30% of the global reserves of which focused on the territory of the Cuber Pedy. Due to the constant heat, droughts and frequent sandy storms, the prospectors and their families initially began to settle in the dwellings, cut down in the mountainside - it was often possible to get into the mine directly from the house. The temperature in such a "apartment" did not exceed 22 ° C all year round, and the level of comfort is not much inferior to the traditional "ground" homes - there were bedrooms, living rooms, kitchens, bathrooms. But the windows did no more than two - otherwise the summer became too hot.

2. Due to the lack of underground sewage, restroom and kitchen in homes are immediately at the entrance, i.e. At the ground level. Bedrooms, other rooms and corridors root are usually deeper. The ceilings in large rooms support columns, the diameter of which reaches up to 1 meter. (Photo: Les Pullen / South Cape Photography).

3. The construction of the house in the Couper Pedy can even make his owner rich, because there is the largest deposit of precious opals. At the Deposit in Australia, mainly in the Coober Pedy, accounts for 97 percent of the global mining of this mineral. A few years ago, during the drilling of the underground hotel, stones were found worth about 360 thousand dollars. (Photo: Les Pullen / South Cape Photography).

4. Roofs Coober Pedy. The usual sight and distinctive feature of the underground city are the ventilation holes sticking out of the ground. (Photo: Robyn Brody / Flickr.com).

5. The opal deposit in Couper Pedy was discovered in 1915. A year later, the first miners began to come there. It is believed that about 60 percent of the inhabitants of the Couper Pedy - these were people from South and Eastern Europe, which came there after the Second World War to work in mines. For almost a hundred years, this city is the world's largest manufacturer of high quality opals. (Photo: Les Pullen / South Cape Photography).

6. Since the 1980s, when an underground hotel was built in Couper Pedy, thousands of tourists are visited annually. One of the most visited places in the city of Opaalov became the house of the newly deceased of his famous resident in the nicknamer Crocodile Harry - Eccentric, an alcohol lover and an adventure seeker who became famous for his numerous love stakes.

In the photo: Underground Church in the Couper Pedy. (Photo: Jacqui Barker / Flickr.com).

7. Both the city and its suburbs, for various reasons, very photogenic, so attract the cinematographers there. Coober Pedy became a place of filming in 2006 by the Australian Drama "Opal Dream". Also in the underground houses of the city, the scenes were removed for the film "Mad Max. Under the thunder dome. " (Photo: donmcl / flickr.com).

8. The regenerative amount of precipitation in the Cover-Pedy is only 175 mm (in the middle lane in Europe, for example, about 600 mm). This is one of the most arid regions of Australia. It almost does not happen to rain here, therefore the vegetation is very scarce. In the city, not to find high trees, only rare shrubs and cacti are growing. (Photo: Rich2012

9. Residents, however, do not complain about the lack of entertainment outdoors. They spend their free time on the game of golf, though due to heat they have to play at night. (Photo: Les Pullen / South Cape Photography).

10. Two churches, shops with souvenirs, jewelry workshop, museum and bar are also located in Couper Pedy underground. (Photo: Nicholas Jones / Flickr.com).

11. Couper Pedy is located 846 kilometers north of Adelaide - the capital of South Australia. (Photo: Georgie Sharp / Flickr.com).

12. In the coober pedi desert climate. In the summer, from December to February, the average temperature is 30 ° C, and sometimes it reaches up to 40 ° C. At night, the temperature is greatly reduced, about 20 ° C. Sand storms are also possible here. (Photo: doctor_k_karen / flickr.com).

13. Underground souvenir shop in Coober Pedy. (Photo: Lodo27 / Wikimedia).

14. From the heat, the townspeople are saved, swarm at home underground. (Photo: Lodo27 / Wikimedia).

15. Underground bar in Couper Pedy. (Photo: Les Pullen / South Cape Photography).

16. Such beautiful precious minerals are mined in the Cover-Pedy - the city, which is called the "world capital of opal". (Photo: James St. John / Flickr.com).

Photo 1.

Some descendants of the prospectors prefer to issue their underground houses "A la Naturel" - they cover the walls and ceiling with a solution of PVA to get rid of dust, while maintaining the natural color and texture of natural stone. Proponents of modern solutions in the interior cover the walls and ceiling by plaster, after which the underground housing becomes almost indistinguishable from the usual one. And those and others do not refuse such a pleasant little things as the underground pool - in one of the hottest places on the planet, this is especially pleasant "luxury".

In addition to the dwelling in Cubeber-Pedy there are underground shops and museums, galleries and workshops, restaurants and a hotel, a cemetery and church (including Orthodox!). But there are little trees and flowers here - a hot dry climate of these places can only carry cactuses and other succulents. Despite this. The city has golf courses with mobile grass.

Photo 2.

Couper Pedy is the invariable item of many tourist routes in Australia. Interest in the underground city is heated by the fact that in Cubeber-Pedy filmed such films as "Mad Max 3: Under the Thunder Dome", "Adventures of Priscillas, Queen of the Desert" and "Black Hole". And on the edge of the world capital Opalov is the largest livestock farm in the world and the well-known "Dingo fence" with a length of 8,500 kilometers.

Photo 3.

The city is famous for his opala, it is the capital of Opal-Stone, casting with all the colors of the rainbow. Deal developments a little less than 100 years old, their deposits were accidentally open when looking for water in 1915. The noble opal is distinguished by iris game, the cause of which is the diffraction of light on the spatial grid and its value is determined not by its size, but a unique color game. The more rays, the more expensive opal. One of the legends of the Aborigines says that "the spirits have long been kidnapped by all colors from the rainbow and put them in a stone - opal", on the other - that the creator came down from heaven to Earth and where his leg came down, stones that iridescent of all colors appeared Rainbow. Only private entrepreneurs are engaged in the extraction of opal. Nevertheless, this industry brings the Australian economy about $ 30 million annually.

Photo 4.

The Kuber-Pedy Area is the most out of the most arid, deserted and unclosed in Australia. On average, for the year falls only about 150 mm. Precipitation, and very large difference in day and night temperatures.

If you bring to fly over the coober pedies, then you will not see the usual building of the building, but only dumps of rocks with thousands of pits and hilly on the background of rocky red desert, which creates an unearthly landscape, a stunning imagination. Each hilly-cone with a hole in the middle, visible on the surface, is connected by a mine with an underground world.

Photo 5.

More than the first settlers understood that in view of adverse weather conditions, when the earth is raised in the sun in the sun and on the surface of the heat reaches 40 degrees Celsius, and at night the temperature drops sharply up to 20 degrees (and sandy storms are possible) - you can live under the ground in the shaft trunks Mining opal. The constant temperature of underground houses is kept in the area + 22-24 degrees at any time of the year. Today, more than 45 nationalities live in the city, but most part are the Greeks. The population of the city is 1,695 people.

Water comes from a bored 25 km. From the city of Artesian well and relatively expensive. There is no common power system in Couper-Pedi. Electricity is made by diesel generators, and heating is carried out by solar water heating batteries. At night, when the heat falls, the inhabitants are playing golf with balls glowing in the dark.

Photo 7.

Previously, the development of opals was carried out by hand - kirk, shovels, and the breed was pulled out with buckets until they found the opal core, on which he was crawled in Plastanski. Almost all the shafts are shallow and the main passages in them are laid by drill cars, which break through horizontal tunnels height into human growth and from it - branches in different directions. These are almost homemade devices - the engine and gearbox from a small truck. Then the so-called "fleeor" is used - the car with a powerful compressor installed on it, which is lowered into the pipe, as a vacuum cleaner, sucks the rock and boulders to the surface, and when the compressor is turned off, the barrel opens, it turns out a new mini-holmik.

At the entrance to the city there was a huge sign with a fleeuer machine.

Photo 8.

Photo 9.

Finally, I got to photographs of COOBER PEDY (Cuber-Pedy). We drove it earlier when they were still traveling on the staff of South Australia.

To virtually stroll around the city, click on the green inscription "View Larger Map" in the lower left corner. When the map opens, drag the little yellow little man to the streets of the city.

This is an amazing city. We had very pleasant memories about it.

COOBER PEDY is called the "opal capital of the world", and in the language of the Aboriginal means "white man in the pit."

Up to 90% of the global production of noble opal, accounted for Australia, and about three quarters of this number comes from South Australia.

At first glance, COOBER PEDY, much different from other mining towns. The ground roads crosses the entire territory and the dumps of the spent breed are visible. But there are neither tips nor lifts over mines and there are no buildings.

Strange round chilms with a hole in the middle, create the impression of a volcanic area, destroyed by small ashist cones.

Each of these small holmikov is connected by a mine with a whole underground world.

Soft, sandstone breeds of the desert, it is completely difficult to dig with the help of kirk and shovels, although they are used here and explosives. Most opals are found at a depth of up to 24 m, but many developments are much smaller. Each diligence allocates a small area on which it works. Technique, mostly, traditional. The prospecter goes his land plot, hoping to find a large custody that will bring him a condition.

In addition, the houses of local residents, Dugout (Dugout) are greatly popular, are tremendous, dugout - underground dwellings in which natural temperature control is carried out.

Another first prospectors have realized that it is relatively conveniently convenient to get underground, in housing, which are almost nothing. As for their successors, they live in contemporary underground comfort. Many of their homes are very high and just luxurious, and some have even underground pools.

These areas for underground dwellings. Such sites are located on the outskirts of the city. You can buy, and dug your home or motel. In season, here all motels and hotels are busy. As elsewhere, you need to book a room in advance.

It should be noted that in the Cover-Pedy there is absolutely no water - how much they drowned, they have not reached the water. If we take into account that this is one of the most lowborn regions of Australia, it will be clear that initially the water was very expensive, because it was delivered for many kilometers with a binding animals, mainly camels. Currently, the water pipe is carried out, but the water is still relative to the road ($ 5 per 1000 liters).

Coober Pedy is one of the hottest places on the planet. And in the underground house, the temperature is held all year round at 22-26 degrees. In one of these houses we were prey to visit. 60% of the city's population live under Earth.

Host home is the name of George Russell (George). He is the owner of the Oasis tourist park

A good man, very sociable. Made a decent discount when we stayed in his motel on the first night.

Nutro, George showed his home.

This is a living room.

Indeed, very pleasant coolness, after the burning sun.

This is a guest house. On the right of the forester, there is a kitchen and 2 rooms of the host house.

Left from stairs 3 guest bedrooms, toilet and bathroom.

All underground rooms are spacious, with high ceilings and are well ventilated.

Very cozy and comfortable.

I wanted to have here like a house. Sometimes come to live in absolute silence, without radio and electromagnetic waves that surround us everywhere.

There are not only underground houses in the town, but also numerous underground hotels, restaurants, shops and even churches.

In 1988, the world's first underground hotel was solemnly opened. This hotel has become so popular that many local residents began to open large and small motels throughout the city, as well as guest houses with 3 and 4 bedrooms.

One of the first underground motels, which we saw the Radeka Down Under Motel, is located on the main street of the city.

This is a middle class motel.

On the clock 11 in the morning, and already +36.

We were met by the owner of Martin Motel (Martin).

Very colorful uncle.

There are rooms in Rock, and rooms with 6.5 meters near Earth.

We chose a number, of course, under the ground. There is much more interesting to sleep.

It was a valid mining mine in the 1960s.

And in the mid-80s, the mine was converted to the underground complex - the motel.

The cost of living in a motel from $ 32.

This is our room. They took it for $ 70 (by $ 10 made a discount).

Everything is very simple. There is everything you need here. The very fact that you sleep underground, already sounds unusual. And most importantly, what is cooler here than at the top. And it was one of the reasons, because of which we descended underground.

In general, in this room we slept well. The only inconvenience is a strong hearing. I heard all the neighbors. Therefore, here you need to settle the one who has iron nerves and good sleep. Gabriel, for example, slept well. And I, midnight listened to the snoring of a neighbor and crying a little baby. So, if anyone needs to sleep, set up at the top in the rock.

In these rooms, mostly students are stopped who have no money to the room, or single tired travelers who quickly fall asleep, and do not hear anything.

And in this room, you can talk a large company, and remember the pioneer camp. It would be fun.

To be continued…

To see photos in a large size, click on them 1-2 times.