Crocodile Harry

Crocodile Harry's Underground Nest

Useful Information

Location:	Coober Pedy, 850 km north of Adelaide and 680 km south of Alice Springs.
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Classification:	Cave House
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
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As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1975	Crocodile Harry moved to Coober Pedy.

Description

Crocodile Harry's Underground Nest is one of the weirdest dugouts of Coober Pedy. The walls of the dugout are covered with the addresses of girls who he claims to have seduced. It was used as a movie location for Mad Max - Beyond the Thunderdome and is featured in Lonely Planet's "Guidebook to Australia". So this is one of the most famous dugouts of the world.

Crocodile Harry claims that his real name was Arvid von Blumentals and he was a Latvian Baron who was forced to leave his country after World War II. He explains his name with the fact that he worked as a crocodile hunter in Northern Australia before coming to Coober Pedy in 1975. Roger Jose was called the Hermit of Borroloola because he lived in a damaged 1,000 gallon tank at Borroloola on the Gulf of Carpentaria, Northern Territory. He reportedly sold it to a crocodile hunter named Harry Blumental. Some believe Harry's stories, some do not.

One highlight of the dugout is a singing sculpture made of metallic trash, which is called The Orchestra. It was created by the mad Max film team.