Coober pedy and absolute weirdness

Well, I never thought this was real. First a quick recap.

We didn't go to Robe. We left Melbourne and after traffic we ended up arriving at a place called Kingston S.E. south of Adelaide on the coast (250km). We pulled into what we thought was a car park and we got bogged in the sand. We we slept on the beach for free and then got towed out by a caterpillar drive who was hire to push sea grass into the ocean. We then photoraphed a seal and drove to adealide.

Adelaide was nice. We stayed at Jess's cousins house and got the rest of the supplies we needed. Adelaide is quite like Canberra but with a real frontier feel becuase it is the gateway to the center.

We left Adelaide after finding out we had the wrong time due to the timezone difference and crashing into a carparking structure becuase the load on the van was too tall and we didn't realise. Becuase of this we left without buying chess or connect four, however we did get a sherriden to kick around.

From Adelaide we drove and when we got to Port Augusta the change in landscape was phenomenal. The sky had 10 hues of blue. The salt and emu bush 20 shades of green. We stopped at the arid zone botanical gardens and I was able to investigate the flowers and plants that we would be subject to. That evening (saturday) we pulled into the WOMERRA caravan park and played some footy and had dinner with some prim and proper poms who kept telling us how collonial people (ausies, zimbabians, kiwis) we ingenuitive and that all cultures and people other than the english are idiots.

This morning we checked out the womerra missile park (missiles were teh reason the town was founded) and then the old detention center. As we pulled up to the gates a defence force car drove up from the Roxby Downs direction and asked us if we were "Geographically misplaced". We got to Coober pedy at about 3 and are staying at the only underground campground in the world. This town has to be the weirdest place in Australia. 45 nationalities with half the stuff in the ground and amazing surrounds (but also alot of holes). We went to the moon planes where they filmed mad max and then to crocodile harry's house.

Crocodile harry is a latvian baron who emigrated to Australia after the second world war and spent 20 yrs hunting crocs in the top end and Queensland. Now he lives here in a cave house and is 80 with cancer. The walls of his house are covered with underpants and bras from women who donated them as well as a lot of porn. He had Tina Tuners bra until it was nicked and he has Olivia Newton Johns panties. So weird I can not convey it. Anyway, now I'm writing this from an internet terminal in a cave. Tomorrow we are going to check out the underground churches, houses, opal mines and potters society before driving to (potentially) Uluru but we will have to see what time we get off.

The desert is amazing and changes a person in more ways than they can imagine. It takes me back to New Mexico.

Peace, Harris