We’re mole people who live under mysterious sand pyramids…the barren surface hides a whole town & it’s cheap to buy here
THE Australian town of Coober Pedy is like no other as living underground has become normal for its inhabitants.
Located in northern south Australia, around 526 miles north of Adelaide and 1,000 miles from the capital city of Canberra, is the “opal capital of the world”.
Temperatures here can soar up to 48C in the peak summer months, which make it almost impossible to live in for humans.
But this mining town and its residents have found a way to overcome such harsh conditions.
Many of the people here live in underground dugouts in order to escape the heat and have built their community beneath the surface as a result.
With it being far cooler underground, other town amenities such as a hotel, church and even bars have been built down below.
But subterranean buildings must be at least four metres deep to prevent their roofs from collapsing.
Apart from comfort, one major advantage of underground living is money.
During a recent auction, the average three-bedroom house sold for around £21,000, according to ABC, although many of these properties were extremely basic or in need of renovation.
Although Coober Pedy generates all its own electricity, running air conditioning is often impossibly expensive above ground.
Jason Wright, a resident who runs Riba’s – a campsite where people can pitch their tents in niches several metres below ground – confirms this.
As reported by the BBC, he said: “To live above ground, you pay an absolute fortune for heating and cooling, when it’s often above 50C (122F) in the summer”.
“Coober Pedy” is an Aboriginal word and roughly translates to “white man in a hole.”
And it appears the townspeople of this outback settlement have taken that quite literally.
Even in the shade, unbearable temperatures still remain, while the minimal rainfall each year provides next to no relief.
To battle this issue, Coober Pedy has to source its water from the Great Artesian Basin located about 15 miles away, as reported by ABC.
Believe it or not, this town was once underwater rather than underground, as it used to be covered by an ocean.
This is what helped to create the town’s opal mines, which in turn help to form part of the underground structure to this day.
According to the District Council of Coober Pedy, it is home to around 2,500 residents, of which 80 per cent have made homes inside the sandstone.
And those homes offer near enough everything it would if it were above soil.
The underground homes have all the amenities of the traditional one’s, including internet access, electricity and water.
But natural sunlight is the obvious thing which is lacking for the people of Coober Pedy.
People can pay to have a tour of one of the underground homes, while they can also visit the town’s church which is located 55 feet below the Earth’s surface.
Elsewhere, a 1930s-era mining shaft has been converted into a small bookstore and the Desert Cave Hotel is available to stay in for £118.
It features a bar, pool room, restaurant and gift shop, and bills itself as “quiet, cool, dark and airy” on its website.
However, when it comes to buying food, you have to head up and above ground to access both of the town’s supermarkets.
There are also shops above ground, catering for both locals and tourists.
To reach this bizarre little town, you can come via a coach tour or private car, or on the Ghan railway line running between Darwin and Adelaide.
One other option is to fly, with Coober Pedy having its own small airstrip.