At Marla I discovered that my solar panels were no longer charging the batteries. I booked in at Marla for a second night on power to top up the batteries and to consider the problem.  I decided to push on to Coober Pedy and consult a mechanic. It turned out that one of the solar panel wire connectors had burnt out. Rejoined the wires and problem solved.

Coober Pedy is certainly different to any place I’ve been to Australia. People come here to mine opals and the tourists come here to see them mine opals. You don’t actually see all the town as much of it is underground. What you do see however is all the junk people hoard on their properties, junk hoarding is big in Coober Pedy.

The opal mining fields have also created a unique landscape with thousands of white mullock heaps covering the countryside. Apparently there is no requirement to rehabilitate the land after it has been mined.