Coober Pedy Part 3

So we had visited all we really wanted to see in Coober Pedy except on the way out we stopped at the Big Winch Lookout which is actually just a big winch and is also known as the big bucket, its about 8 mtrs high.
 You do get a good view of the town which I have to say looked similar to what I imagine places like Afganistan or Iraq might look like.It does have a weird feel to it, its eerie as you don't see many people around as its so hot, you see many air shafts and TV aerials.
And then there is the dog or dingo  fence which runs for over 5600kms to keep out the dingos and is the worlds longest fence, it has helped to reduce stock losses and was built in 1880s.

The Big Winch

The other main sight is all the heaped drilling piles from the opal  prospecting. It was interesting to hear thats its not mined on a big commercial level but usually 3 or 4 people using a drill and vacuum system on the back of a truck. It was interesting to hear all about the grading of the opals and see the beautiful colours, the black opal is the most expensive and thats the colour on the back of the stone.

The drilling piles are around Coober Pedy, you can see the buckets.