Coober Pedy is a small town in northern South Australia, 850 kilometers north of Adelaide on the Stuart Highway. On the surface, the place looks pretty deserted. A treeless plain on the edge of the Stuart Ranges, with a few sparsely spaced houses, a couple of inns and restaurants, a police station, a school and a hospital further north. But that’s only half the town. The other half lives underground in spacious caves and tunnels called “dugouts” where the town’s residents have built homes, hotels, restaurants, bars, churches and more.

Coober Pedy was established in 1915 following the discovery of opal by a 14-year old boy who was camping with his father's gold prospecting party. Within a few years hundreds of prospectors were tearing up the turf. But people who flocked here to mine the previous stones soon discovered life above ground was pretty tough. In the summer, the temperature often exceeds 40 degrees Celsius. On these hot days, the relative humidity rarely gets over 20%, and the skies usually remained cloud-free.

One of the most famous signs of Coober Pedy. The town has around 250,000 mine shafts and signs like this warn visitors about the dangers of walking without looking. This sign is now reproduced in t-shirts, coffee mugs, flags, bags and plenty more things which you can buy as souvenirs. Photo credit