COOBER PEDY
In the middle of the remote South Australian desert lies the small town of Coober Pedy, which houses strange underground residences and other facilities.
Coober Pedy is the world's only underground town where settlers live underground to escape the scorching summer heat as daytime temperatures touch a whooping 125°F or 51°C. Their homes, carved into caves, hills, and disused mine shafts maintain a comfortable year-round temperature of 23°C or 73°F.
A small mining town with a population of just under 2,000, Coober Pedy is the 'Opal capital of the world' that has been supplying the world's gem-quality opal since it was founded in 1915. In this waterless environment, not much activity happens above ground. Instead, the community exists inside some 1,500 underground residences seamlessly integrated into the desert's rugged terrain.
An average cave home at 8 to 22 feet below ground level with modern amenities, bedrooms, living area, kitchen and bathroom can be excavated out of the rock for pretty much the same price as building a house above surface. The homes have 40 inch thick support pillars and natural air shafts for ventilation. However, there is no sewage in underground Coober Pedy, so kitchens and bathrooms are always situated above ground, as the front rooms, which make the entrance of the house.
Every time you drill in Coober Pedy, you always have a chance to strike it rich. A local hotel opened in the town found opal worth $360,000 while digging out its rooms. Digging a simple rack into your wall could unexpectedly yield enough Opal to fill it with all the expensive things your heart desires.
In the 1980s, when the first underground hotel was built, Coober Pedy began attracting curious tourists. Now, it boasts a wide network of underground bars, shops, museums, and churches.
