A Night in a Five Star Dugout

Coober Pedy is desert space. In the winter the temperatures get down to freezing while in summer it is not unheard of to exceed 45 degrees.

On the other hand average temperatures are more pleasent. This means that ground temperature is a more even 18 to 22 degrees all year around.

In the early days there was no air conditioners and the opal miners discovered that underground was always cool in summer and warm in winter. Dwellings were setup in worked out mines to escape the harsh climate. These early dwellings were quite rough and roof height was a few inches more than the tallest family member.

Over time mining machinery was deployed to dig out new dwellings. A bench was cut into a hill and then the dwelling was dug out of the side. Some go straight in while others dig a ramp down. The more cover above and the further in the more even the temperature will be. Air conditioning or heaters are not required in a well designed dugout. That's a considerable saving on power bills.

Since we were visiting Coober Pedy is seemed like a good ide to experience a day underground. We managed to find a B&B that was not already booked. Not having any idea what this would be like we arrived just before lunch.

This dugout is extremely well designed and set out. By the time we arrived the outside temperature was around 25. In the dugout was pleasently cool but after a couple of hours we found we needed a light coat.

With the constant temperature we slept very well. The experience was a good one and we felt too short.

All of the amenities were what we would expect of any good B&B. Soon we will be back to reality and on our way north towards Uluru.Read more