Thursday 26 November 2009

The painted Desert;

Please click the pictures to realise the vastness of the desert and to see the colours.


The bitumen road turns into a desert road.


Very picturesque.

The stones are millions of years old, slowly integrating, not in my lifetime or the next...next...to us humans whom are only a short time walking this planet it is infinite.

The painted desert comes into view, it is breathtakingly beautiful in its abstractness.


Where does it begin and where does it end?


After taking in all this strange beauty, our driver asked us would you like to have lunch here?
We all said, yes it would be nice to have lunch now. He, Guenther, started to prepare the table to cook on, the food etc. only one little thing was missing the frying pan, it was forgotten to be packed! Meant as a joke, I said we could go to the next homestead and ask for a frying pan, as we had driven many hours without seeing a house or people. Guenther said, ok, packed everything up and off we went. We drove and drove and drove, the only sound some rumbling tummies! Suddenly like aFata Morgana a homestead and outbuilding came into view.
Guenther went to the door, knocked and came back triumphantly waving a huge, black frying pan. Well to make a long story short, we had a good lunch, even as we had to hold on to the lettuce leaves, as it was so windy.

Patsie's car is another story; Patsy was a Governess and drove for many years every Sunday, attired in her sunday's best, hat and white gloves to church. When she died, they left her car on the side of the road where she used to drive to church.
Sometimes there was a grave along the road; this one was for a little boy, only four years old; so sad.
Plants are very tough buddies in the desert. They have adapted to hot and cold, strong winds and no water.

The stony desert is an awesome place.


In the desert this is a good way to go; home!

Sunday 22 November 2009

Today's Flowers; if a tree falls in the forest, does anybody hear...


My son in law and my daughter send me this message;

This song made it to the charts 20 years ago and not much has changed since then. Heard it again today and then found this on you tube.
See you 2morrow

Please click here and listen to it. ( I generally do not post you tube, but this one is important.)


Click here for Today's Flowers;


Friday 20 November 2009

Friday 13 November 2009

Monday 9 November 2009

Coober Pedy;

Mining started in 1915. In 1920 the town was named from the Aboriginal word Kupa Piti;
white man's hole or water hole. ( for a better view please click to enlarge the pics.)

The mining areas look like anthills from a birds eye view.


The desert Cave Hotel where we stayed. some of the rooms are dugouts.

I had a dugout room, or cave room. No windows. It is pitch black. It was very comfortable and very quiet. The stone is soft and crumbly. In an emergency I probably could have dug my way out!


The town looks like a perpetual construction site.


Most people live in dugout houses. Summers are very hot more than 50 degree C and winter is cold. The cave houses keep an even temperature of about 23 degree C.

A pretty arrangement at the entrance of the church.

One of the many cave churches.

The cemetery for all religious nominations. The Christian graves face the desert and the Muslims face Mecca. There are about 45 Nations in Coober Pedy.


No this is not Egypt, this is a mining area.

They never lose their sense of humour.

The holes are very deep, it is dangerous, because there are so many and generally one can't see them. Our driver drove very close to them!


The stony desert;
Everybody wants one!

A splash of beauty. The aptly named Desert Pea.

continued;