Eight hours north of Adelaide in the South Australia outback, is Coober Pedy - the opal capital of Australia. The harch climate has made the town famous for its underground homes, mines and museums, and you can even experience a night in some of the underground hotels. Here is some information about the town's attractions, and in the end of the page is accommodation and a map of the town.
Coober Pedy Underground Homes It’s a harsh country – winters are freezing cold and summer temperatures exceed 50°C. Add the dust storms, and you understand why half of the population lives in underground homes. Underground homes that you can visit are Faye’s Underground Display Home and Diggers Dream. There are two underground mine museums: the Old Timers Mine & Museum and Umoona Opal Mine & Museum, which also offers tours. You can also visit the Underground Potteries, and the Crocodile Harry’s - a differently decorated underground home which was featured in Mad Max III.
Coober Pedy Fossicking Would you like to have a go at fossicking yourself, a good place to do it is at the Jeweller’s Shop Opal Field in the northern end of the town. Visitors Centre is on the main street, not far from the Roman Catholic Church. Across the road from the Roman Catholic Church is the Post Office Hill Road, where there is an underground bookshop.
Coober Pedy Lookouts and Moon Plain There is also a bare-earth golf course, and some strange views over the moonscape of the town at the Big Winch Lookout. More strange landscapes with lovely sunset colours are found at the Moon Plain 15km north of the town, and the Breakways Reserve, 35km north, off the Stuart Highway.
Tours in and around Coober Pedy South Australia Local day tours are offered by Stuart Range Tours and Radeka’s Downunder Dugout Motel & Backpackers - both take you around the town and to the Breakaways. Martin’s Star Gazing that takes you for a night tour to the Moon Plain, and Desert Diversity Tours that take you for a one-day ecotour to Painted Desert. If you like to get around on your own, you can rent a 4WD from Budget, Thrifty or the local Coober Pedy Rent-a-car.
Map of Coober Pedy South AustraliaHere's the map of Coober Pedy, where I have tagged the places that I mentioned on this web page. You can click on the tags to see what places they are, and double-click anywhere on the map to zoom it in and see the places closer. Drag the map to move around, and if you want to see the satellite image with Google Earth, click on "Sat" in the top right hand corner.
NOTE: This website is written in British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all correct in the language used in Australia.
