We recently welcomed a Swedish television crew led by actor, writer and comedian David Batra, who travelled to the opal fields to film scenes for the series Hårt väder (“Hard Weather”).
In the series, Batra travels around the world to places known for their extreme climates, meeting the people who live and work in these environments and discovering what life is really like in some of the planet’s most remarkable locations.
During the Andamooka visit, David came to meet local artist and opal character Cal the Stoner, with filming taking place at Cal the Stoner’s Bar and Open Air Sculpture Studio, one of the town’s most colourful creative spaces.
The crew also filmed at several unique locations across the opal fields, including the Andamooka Observatory, where they explored the region’s famously dark desert skies and remote outback landscape.
David also interviewed Leila and Conan, who shared stories about the recent weather, what we do during the summer months, opal mining, and life in Andamooka, before taking the crew out for a nighttime opal noodling adventure using UV lights, revealing the hidden colours of opal glowing in the desert under ultraviolet light.
Additional filming took place with Margot Duke at the Andamooka Underground Art Gallery and the Andamooka Opal Showroom Underground Opal & Mineral Museum, capturing the distinctive blend of opal mining history, weather, and artistic creativity that makes Andamooka unlike anywhere else in Australia.
Andamooka’s remote location and minimal light pollution make it one of the best places in South Australia to experience the night sky.
At the Andamooka Observatory, visitors can explore astronomy, opal mining history and the unique desert landscape through guided tours that reveal both the geological and celestial stories of the region.
It’s fantastic to see Andamooka’s opal-mining heritage, local artists and dark night skies heading to Swedish television audiences
