Over 70 per cent of the world’s opal is chipped out of the ground in Coober Pedy, so if you are keen to have a go at finding your own gem (and it’s easy!) head out to South Australia.

Opal was discovered in 1915 but it wasn’t until the 1960s that hundreds of enthusiastic young men from Europe headed to Coober Pedy to mine small parcels of land with the hope of striking it rich.

One miner certainly did! The largest opal in the world was found in the town in 1956.  

The “Olympic Australis” weighs 17,000 carats (3450 grams and is valued at AUD$2,500,000! It is housed in a special security safe at Altmann & Cherny’s showroom, 128 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, and you can see it during showroom hours.

After decades of mining the opal fields are covered with mounds of debris from prospecting shafts and the hills are a warren of underground dwellings – it looks a little bit like the surface of the moon.

Over half of the town’s 4,000 or so residents live underground with homes that range from one-room hand-dug bedsits to rambling subterranean mansions with swimming pools and fancy fixtures.

In summer, when outside temperatures can reach a sizzling 50˚C, these underground homes keep cool (around 22-26˚C), while in winter the homes are warm without the need for artificial heating. You can even stay at an underground hostel in Coober Pedy.

Opal mining is pretty good fun, and you can try your hand at it by taking the Down ‘n Dirty Opal Tour. On the tour visitors are given hard hats, torches and hand picks and a chance to hack at the walls of the Quest Mine to find opal.

And when you do find it, the rivers of light are unmistakable.

- Australian working holiday visa will allow you to work and travel your way around Oz!

©Visa Bureau 2003-2009

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.

There is a small town about 300km west of Brisbane, Queensland, that holds a bizzare festival every two years.

For four days the little town of Chinchilla (and visitors) ski, bungy, spit, eat, slurp and smash their way through as many melons as possible. And in most creative ways.

Chinchilla is the melon captial of Australia, producing a quarter of the countries melons, and to celebrate almost everything imaginable that can be done with the fruit is given a go. Melon cocktails and pip spitting are some of the tamer exploits, moving to the more full-on events.

Take melon skiing: A half of a melon is stuck on each feet, and a rope drags you along on a tarp laced with slippery melon pieces. Some get further than others.

Or there is the melon iron man event, melon bungee, melon bullseye, pip spitting and melon tossing, and a real headache ... melon smashing.

Get a really hard head, smash it on to as many melons as you can in a minute and you have yourself possibly the stupidest reason for a headache. John Allwood, a melon picker, broke his record in melon smashing earlier this year in Chinchilla.

In 2007 he smashed 40 melons in one minute, but this year the 29-year-old cracked 47 with his noggin. All chances to officially challenge his record will have to wait for the Chinchilla Melon Festival on 17 - 20 February 2011.

Meanwhile, there is time to perfect your melon skiing technique.

©Visa Bureau 2003-2009

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.