We arrived at William Creek just before nightfall and realized we were not going to need a lot of time to check out the town, it was limited to just a pub. Conveniently the pub had an area where one could set up camp which we did, then surprisingly another vehicle pulled into the camp ground, a Troopy with a pop top, this led to conversation and ultimately some company to hit the pub with later. Our session in the pub was great fun, the place is the traditional outback style with an impressive display of totally useless paraphernalia and very friendly service. Far too late we parted company with our new acquaintances and staggered to our Paj and crashed.

Next morning we headed off a little later than planned on a diagonal journey to Coober Pedy. Coober Pedy is an amazing place, probably deserving of a greater share of Australia's tourism limelight. In history it is very young, only being discovered in 1915 by a party of explorers searching for gold, when they stopped and went in search of water. A 14 year old youngster in the party happened onto a surface opal, and the quest for gold ended. The quest for water however continued which combined with the high temperatures contributed to the towns boom or bust history. As excavation sites were abandoned after the opals were extracted the lack of facilities and heat forced the early settlers into the underground refuges. It quickly became a way of life. 

On our arrival it was a bit hard to appreciate the size of the community, while it certainly has above ground structures, a lot is hidden under the landscape. We found a reasonably priced motel and booked in and ventured to our room, underground of course. The natural hewn rock face and no window, made for a very different motel room, but beautifully cool.

After settling in we went and explored some more looking into many underground shops, and also spotted some movie props left over from the Mad Max movies. We took a tour of an underground mine which was fascinating, particularly the story about a new doorway being put in, in recent years resulting in their best opal discovery. Later that evening we went and dined out, yes underground again.

One of the best surprises was the discovery of a physiotherapist clinic. Avan had been having a bit of trouble with his neck, but after finding out he could get in without an appointment he was so happy. The guy was a genius and managed to rectify the problem with the one visit, fantastic. Next stop the Alice.