The next day dawned with me realizing two things.
It was the first blue sky day since I arrived nearly two weeks ago.
And I am in a new time zone.
First glimpse of the Burra mine.
Old train station.
The rail was a big deal to this town.
Smithy.
Nope, no hobbits here.
Vintage fire trucks.
The town is very well organized.
You go to the info center, get a key and then can let yourself into each unique site.
First stop, the lock up!
Oh crap, are those clouds?
This was the Goal then later a girl's reformery.
A few families lived here after the detainees left.
Gives new meaning to 'junior! you've been a bad boy, go to your cell'!
This was an area that miners built their own homes rather than pay for company housing.
Stone by stone, laid by hand.
Paxton Square cottages.
I almost stayed here but opted for the older, authentic experience.
These families had it really hard.
Holes in the ground, near the river.
Smallpox.
Typhoid.
Typhus.
Next the brewery. Seems the tower was dismantled to build the nearby houses but the tunnels remain with really big spider webs.
Martindale Hall.
Why not another fancy place....after my mud nap the day before I was determined to see this place.
Only original piece of furniture...they built the room around it.
Back to town for another amazing meal.
Meet Anthony....notice the sign above the doorway to the kitchen.
Nothing could be more true.
Girls night out.
Next day left and...you guessed it stopped at a pool (port pirie) on my way to Glencambo roadhouse.
I arrived expecting the worst.
Turns out the room was about as bad as I expected.
Glad I took a shower at the pool....the food better than I expected.
The best part? When they gave me a key to a room with a guy passed out face down on the bed.
I did enjoy these clouds as I walked back to the office to get a different room key.
The next time I knocked first.
Next stop, Coober Pedy.
Underground city.
Opal mining town.
And a very luxurious experience....they tunnel out the rock for accommodations.
It gets to 50+C in the summer so it's the only way to live.
Don't worry, I had these guys to keep me warm.
OK ok the actual place.
The bedroom was so quiet and so dark, I had a hard time falling asleep!
Motorcycle friendly.
Met up with a fellow ADV rider Greg.
He invited me to the shooting range the next day.
He didn't tell me eggs and bacon were included!
2nd breakfast.
I prefer rifles to handguns.
So I stayed back and watched the fun.
They place musical chairs between rounds of shooting.
That's someone's house over there.
Saw this in Turkey too but that was hundreds of years ago that people live underground.
First stop. Old Timers Mine.
Glad I used the hard hat.
Bonk!
Opal 'vein'.
Veritable maze of hand carved out sediment.
This was at the bottom of a sea millions of years ago.
They explained that you could tell the size of the man who dug the shaft by the shape and size of it.
Reminded me of the practicality of Alaska. Nothing went unused.
Serbian Orthodox Church.
Turns out the Serbian Ambassador is staying here and visiting this church for a special event.
Last stop for the day.
The Kanku Breakaways.
Pricilla Queen of the Desert.
Mad Max Thunderdome.
Yep...many movies filmed here.
The dog fence. Mom won't like this but it doesn't just protect cattle from dingoes, it also helps other animals from the road.
Back to the amazing, totally quiet, totally dark, hole in the ground and lamb chops on the grill.
Next stop...Uluru!
