I took a tour of Coober Pedy my last day there, learning a few interesting
things about the town. We stopped in the nearby minefield to do some
noodling/fossicking/opal-searching. I was the only one to actually find a
tiny piece of opal. It's greenish and glittery but cracked and worthless.
Later that afternoon, I walked into a few opal shops (the town is full of
them) and couldn't believe how expensive they were. A piece the size of a
quarter was going for almost $8,000.

Tons of movies were made in the surrounding area, including Mad Max: Beyond
Thunderdome and Priscilla: Queen of the Desert. And they're supposed to
begin shooting the new Star Wars movie there pretty soon.

I was hoping to have more people on the next bus out of Coober Pedy, but
there are only five. Two Americans, an English girl, and a Dutch guy. The
driver, nicknamed "Duck", seems pretty charismatic and fun. He's a lot
better than Marc was, that's for sure.

Our first overnight stop was a small town named Quorn (pronounced CORN). We
stayed in a renovated hospital which had very comfortable beds. I had one
of the best night's sleep I've had in a while.

The next night, we stayed in Parachilna, a town (hardly) with an official
population of five. It hasn't rained there in three years, so, naturally,
it got bloody cold and started to rain as our bus pulled up.

For dinner, we had a kangaroo stir fry. It was pretty good. Kangaroo, for
the record, is very lean and tastes like lamb. They had us sleep in old
railway cars that were fitted with bunk beds, and once again they were
extremely comfortable. I have finally figured out what makes a comfortable
sleep: a very fluffy pillow, soft sheets, a thick but light comforter, a
soft mattress, and a cool room.

Yesterday evening, we drove into Barossa Valley, the wine capital of
Australia. We picked up a few bottles of wine and stopped at a renovated
school house for the night. I checked a map and discovered that we actually
backtracked a bit from Adelaide to get here.

This place seems like a waste of time. We made our own dinner, and
tonight's entertainment involves dressing up in tiny school uniforms and
indulging in prepubescent, transgender fantasies. At the moment, Duck,
the two girls who work here, and the rest of the kids on my bus are sitting
outside smoking pot. It's all very high-schoolish. Since smoking pot is
something I rarely do (once in my life), I find that I only enjoy it with
people whose company I truly enjoy. Does that make me a snob?

While making dinner, I got into a short conversation with one of the girls
who works here, and it took three seconds for me to figure out she's lesbian.
She's really into theatre and has her own drama group, which is a strong
indicator, but it was her defensive stance on transgender humor that
clinched for me. After suggesting that sober, grown men dressing in
schoolgirl's clothes for kicks was perhaps a bit unhealthy, she got very
defensive and stand-offish, almost as if she was trying to hide and perhaps
was ashamed of her own guilty pleasures. I've never met a lesbian who can
leave me and my heterosexual opinions alone.

This morning, we rolled into Adelaide. At last, a real city. Haven't been
in a real city for over a month. How refreshing it was to see Pizza Hut and
a car dealership. Seems like a nice place so far. Right now I find myself
on Hindley Street, the King's Cross of Adelaide. Lots of adult shops,
electronics stores, and dodgy restaurants. I'm hungry. Almost time for
lunch.

While I'm in Adelaide, I might spend a day or two over at Kangaroo Island, a
wildlife sanctuary just off the coast. While bussing across Australia, I've
seen a zillion kangaroos, wallabies, emus, and crocs, but I have yet to see
a koala or a wombat in the wild.

From here, I begin the home stretch of my Australian tour, turning east and
heading to Melbourne, then veering north and heading back to Sydney for the
finale. Once again, I am considering a visit to Perth. I have met too many
travelers who consider Perth their favorite Australian destination.

No Regrets.

Jeff