Fletcher: Today we left Marla, we packed up the van quickly and left to go to Coober Pedy. We got there quickly and went to a nice caravan park. Later on we went to some ranges called the Stuart Ranges also known as the Breakaways, they were in the movie Priscilla. Then we went to a restaurant called Johns Pizza Bar, we ordered a spaghetti pizza with cheese and marinated lamb and spaghetti bolognaise on it, we went to the Drive in and watched The Croods.
Most Coober Pedy houses and shops are underground
Today we packed up and as we were still hooked up we were off pretty quickly for us. We always seem to take the longest, with some camper trailers packing up quicker than us. It doesn't help that the kids love hot breakfasts and I make a point of doing them at home as its a great way to start the day but when you are trying to pack up a caravan its the last thing you want to do. One of the hardest things about being in the van and having limited preparation space and pots is that the kids, well you know what not just the kids, all of us are fussy eaters! One doesn't like this, one doesn't have butter well any dairy at all, one is intolerant to that etc etc, which is fine at home, I always try to avoid cooking 2 meals at home but its easier as you can do the same meal with a little variation with an extra pot or scoop out boiled potatoes before you mash the rest, but with only a table that the kids mainly draw at or Bentley can steal food from there isn't much option than to all eat the same thing and wait for the complaints! Breakfast is no different, cereal to my kids is a swear word so I am now compromising and if it can be microwaved it can be had for breakfast. We got to Coober Pedy before lunchtime and could chose any site so a quick lap to chose a good spot and feel sorry for the people we pull in next to, its always great to see peoples faces when 2 kids climb out followed by a dog! We pulled in next to a lovely couple who gave us "the look" but after chatting and seeing that the kids weren't crazy monkeys tearing around on push bikes they were pleased to have us there. I remember my grandparents talking about Coober Pedy when I was young and I had in my head a completely different picture, as a child it sounded wonderful and romantic to have beautiful jewels and stunning opals but as a child you don't think of or listen to the story of the hard work that goes with getting that beautiful opal. It is a mining town and there is mines absolutely everywhere, not just the commercial ones you can tour through but spread far and wide. We have been to White Cliffs so we have stayed underground but to see these homes built into the side of hills is still amazing and exciting to see. We made a quick lunch and headed out to the Breakaways, which were absolutely gorgeous. Part of the movie Priscilla was filmed out here and the landscape was amazing, freezing cold even though the sun was out. The road in was still quite wet from recent rain and the road to the dog fence was closed due to the wet. We stopped at the IGA for water as water out here costs, the washing machines are $6 a go, which are normally between $2-$4 and showers are 20 cents for 2 mins, there is also pumps on the side of the road and in the caravan park like a petrol pump that you can purchase water. Our tank is full so we just got a 10litre box of drinking water. We did a lap of town and went up to the look out. We also went into an opal miners house who was selling his opals, he had been mining for 45years and they were beautiful, so many colors, he was doing his best sell to us but although they were lovely we just weren't going to buy any. We had found out that the drive in still works and shows a film once a fortnight and surprisingly it was tonight. We went into town to read the bill board for the movie and it was The Croods a kids film they had wanted to see since starting the trip. So tonight was take away pizza in the car while at the drive in. We went home and rugged up and grabbed blankets and pillows. We ordered our pizza from an award winning pizza shop, best pizza in Australia 2010 for Good Food and an award winner 2012 for lifestyle good food. Have you been to Coober Pedy? It is in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by piles of dirt, houses built into the sides of the dirt and did I mention dirt and they have this amazing pizza shop, well it lived up to its name, it was fantastic. The drive in had the old style speakers that you put on your car, it was awesome, I think Dan and I were more excited than the kids and when an old V8 Monaro pulled up next to us we felt like we had slipped back in time. We all enjoyed the movie and at $20 for all of us, and we had Bentley it was a cheap and great family night out. As for the pizza it was so big we have some left so guess what kids, hot breakfast for you in the morning !
The old speakers at the drive in
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