Explore Coober Pedy: Underground Living In An Australian Mining Town

This is the small town of Coober Pedy, where residents live underground. 

The town is located in Southern Australia, and many refer to it as the “opal capital of the world.” “Coober Pedy” comes from an old aboriginal term, which has a rough translation meaning “white man in a hole.” It’s a pretty fitting name, as you’ll soon find out.

While it may look like a scene from a post-apocalyptic movie such as Mad Max, it’s simply because you’re looking in the wrong place. Most of the people in the town have wandered far beneath the ground.

Even if you spend time underneath a shaded structure, you can still feel the 10-degree-plus weather beating down on you. Unfortunately – for the locals and tourists – there is very little rainfall here throughout the year, meaning they don’t get much reprieve from the unforgiving outback sun.

Around the town, you may see signs telling the people in Coober Pedy to preserve water. The Great Artesian Basin is the closest water source, a little over 15 miles from Coober Pedy.

However, miners moved into the town in 1916 as they heard about the presence of opal in the mines. After WWI, many soldiers returned to the territory and began to mine for opal, a very precious gem at the time.

Thanks to these oceans, the region’s opal mines formed. When they eventually receded, the seabed minerals slowly filled the cracks of the Earth, creating the wonderous and colorful terrain that we now call opal. It is a shimmering sight to behold in person. 

This slow decline prompted residents of Coober Pedy to start turning their old opal mines into long-lasting homes and dugouts. Many residents altered these underground dugouts into makeshift houses to protect themselves from the harsh heat.

The town certainly has an otherworldly vibe, even though 2,500 residents have normal lives, just like the rest of us. Of course, there is one glaring difference.

The residents there say they will probably spend their lives in these underground caves, as they offer protection from the oppressive sun and the dangers of living in Australia’s outback.

There are rooms like the one above, which is the bedroom of a woman named Faye Nayler. She is one of the many people in the town who shoveled their homes in the 1960s. Many of the homes in Coober Pedy look very similar to this one.

She and her friends constructed a full kitchen, a living room swimming pool, and a bar. Most homes in Coober Pedy have access to your typical home amenities, including water, electricity, and even internet access.

The difference between homes like Faye Nayler’s and everyday homes that regular people live in is that they do not have direct sunlight access. This means that they need to run electricity during the day and night to navigate their homes.

If you want to travel to Faye Nayler’s Underground Home, there’s a fee to go inside. However, travel experts say it’s one of the must-visit spots for tourists visiting the town.

The church was beautifully constructed with tile floors and high ceilings, and the traditional amenities you would expect from a Catholic church.

This cave-like bookstore (Underground Books) was originally altered from a 1930s mining shaft. You’ll find plenty of books with information regarding Coober Pedy’s history and much more.

It’s worth noting that the town can only be accessed by a relatively small airstrip. Once there, you take a private car or tour van or hop on the Ghan train line, which runs between Adelaide and Darwin.

All that and more comes to about $150 per night, depending on the season you decide to travel there.

Luckily, there are two fairly large supermarkets in Coober Pedy, both of which can be found on one street outside of the caves. Here, you’ll find everything that you would expect to find at your local grocery store, from snacks to liquor to produce and beyond.

The Opal Bug – as you may have guessed – is a Coober Pedy opal shop that deals with everything from watches to jewelry to gems and beyond. Many visitors go there to catch a glimpse of the opal-covered Volkswagen Beetle, which is built onto massive steel spider legs.

One of those shops is Spiros, which provides everything from opals to fossils to video games and beyond. Residents can even get their internet access from this little tourist shop.

This is because there are several holes in the ground scattered throughout the town, where many old mine shafts used to be.

They have put signs up all around the town, noting unmarked holes and telling people not to run or walk backward when outdoors.

As with many far-out desert towns, plenty of abandoned vehicles and mining equipment are scattered around the town. It’s almost impossible to know what kind of treasure you’ll stumble upon that day.

Though it might not be the easiest way of life from an outsider’s perspective, the townspeople have happily lived beneath the ground for many decades.