Most people won't have heard of Coober Pedy, even many Australians don't know where it is. However, this small town deep in South Australia offers the quintessential outback experience: colourful and vast landscapes, unique culture and incredible wildlife. We've previous written about the Northern Territory Outback, but this place is just as unique.
It's not easy to get to, but those who put the effort in will be rewarded.
Here's 17 amazing things to do on a trip to Coober Pedy.
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1: The flight in!
2: The Road to Oodnadatta
3: Stay in an underground hotel
4: Scope out the quirky sculptures
5: Josephine’s Gallery & Kangaroo Orphanage
6: The Big Winch at Sunrise
7: The Blower Sign at Sunset
8: Exploring the Opal Fields
9: The Breakaways
10: The golf course with no grass
11: The Pitch Black Spaceship
12: Checking out the Opals
13: See the underground Serbian Church
14: The drive in cinema
15: The other worldly opal mines
16: See the famous Dog Fence
17: Stargaze in the Opal Fields
The 17 best things to do in Coober Pedy
1. The flight in!
Your choices are two hour flight or a nine hour (840km) journey by car from Adelaide, so you have to put in some effort to even get to Coober Pedy! But the landscape you pass along the way is stunning. I flew on a little Regional Express propeller plane and was glued to the window all the way.
The shot above was taken about an hour into the flight when the land became incredibly flat and deep red. In all directions it was peppered with dried up salt lakes.
2. The road to Oodnadatta
Simply driving on the roads just outside of town is an experience. The bitumen stops and the gravel leads you into huge open flat plains like this. It's unlike anything you'll have seen before, with deep reds, oranges and an incredible panoramic view.
This photo was taken on the road to Oodnadatta, just outside of town. It didn’t take long to get an incredible landscape, so I had to fly the drone to take it all in.
For a wild outback adventure - Take the Indian Pacific Train, where you can explore the towns of Rawlinna (population 2) and Cook (population 4)!. You’ll travel across Australia in luxury and style over 4 days and experience the trip of a lifetime.
3. Stay in an underground hotel
Being in the centre of Australia, Coober Pedy gets pretty hot during the summer months! So the locals have adapted to this by living underground. A great way to experience this is in the Comfort Inn Experience Coober Pedy which was built in an old mine.
Being underground, the whole place has a consistent cool temperature (hitting you like air conditioning when you enter).
It's also likely you'll have the best nights sleep you've ever had as the lack of windows make every room pitch black and silent after dark.
4. See the sculptures around town
Adding to the quirky nature of Coober Pedy, you’ll find interesting sculptures all over town.
The best place to head is the Big Winch, which has a few artifacts including “the only tree in Coober Pedy”.
The only tree in Coober Pedy
However, you’ll see them in lots of places, including the mines. So keep an eye out for this town’s artistic side!
5. Meeting the cute joeys at Josephine’s Gallery
Josephine's Gallery and Kangaroo Orphanage is a humbling experience, where you can see the great work they're doing in giving orphaned joeys a fighting chance at a new life. Like the Kangaroo Sanctuary in Alice Springs, Josephine and Terry are dedicated their lives to rescuing joeys whose mothers have died (usually in car accidents).
The gallery became famous when one of Josephine’s kangaroos made her aware that she had skin cancer. Bella (one of her kangaroos) kept licking and nuzzling parts of Josephine which turned out to be a warning as she was later diagnosed with the deadly disease.
If she had waited any longer, then her condition could have deteriorated very quickly. You can see this incredibly close connection and loving relationship Josephine and Terry have with the kangaroos, and they work tirelessly to care for these iconic animals.
Twice a day, they open the orphanage to the public. It's well worth a visit to get up close to these adorable animals, especially when they're as cute as little Luke here.
There is also an art gallery, showcasing locally made Aboriginal art which you can buy and support the hard work they do.
6. Be blown away by an outback sunrise
You haven't seen a sunrise or sunset until you've seen it in the outback. The flat landscape means that if there's a little cloud the sky will light up as if on fire.
If you head up high to the Big Winch Lookout you'll be blown away by the view as the sun starts to rise. This is the best place in town for sunrise as it has a 360 panoramic view, which not only means you can see the sun creep above the horizon, but you can also see the Breakaways - just as it turns a deep red in the early morning.
7. See the sunset at the Big Blower Sign
If there’s one place to see the sunset in Coober Pedy, it’s at the Big Blower Sign. This may sound a little odd, but the landscape around the sign overlooks the opal fields and it’s incredibly picturesque at sunset.
It’s a beautiful place to be at the end of the day, overlooking this otherworldly landscape that turns every shade of orange and red before it finally melts away.
8. Exploring the opal fields
Taking a journey through the opal fields is like driving on the surface of the moon with a mole infestation. Along the flat rocky surface, you'll suddenly see little hills and holes from the miners who have drilled a hole and sucked the rock out the ground.
They're often packed together really close, making for some great photo opportunities. Just be careful when walking around as none of 20 metre mine shafts are marked.
9. Seeing the colourful landscape at The Breakaways
The Breakaways are a truly unique landscape, that are so amazingly colourful! In the early morning light, they turn a dark red, making it look like the surface of Mars.
However, if you go and take a closer look in the middle of the day, you’ll see the incredible multi-colours revealed. The two lookout points in the centre are the best place to see them up close, and it requires driving down a 5km dirt road from the highway.
You can also combine The Breakaways with a trip to the lookout at the Dog Fence which is very close by.
10. Visit the golf course with no grass
I doubt there's a golf course quite like the one in Coober Pedy anywhere else on earth. Firstly, it has no grass. You carry a piece of turf around to place the ball on and stop your clubs being ruined by the gravel.
The "greens" are marked out by oil being poured onto the surrounding area, helping the golfers see where the flag is. Finally, it's also paired with the legendary St Andrews, with a reciprocal membership in place between January and February every year (the time when both places are near unplayable!).
11. Check out the local spaceship
If you wanted proof of alien life, then head straight here! The movie Pitch Black was filmed in Coober Pedy and one of the spaceships from the film can be seen just parked in the town centre.
Just one of the quirks that make this place unique.
12. Learn about Opals!
So this was the big reason the town of Coober Pedy was formed and it has since become the opal capital of the world. These stones are incredibly valuable with the one in my hand being priced at $50,000.
You can see why many miners drove themselves to bankruptcy in the hope of finding a big payout.
There are plenty of places you can visit to learn more about the history of Coober Pedy and the opal mining industry, including the Old Timers Mine & Museum and Umoona Opal Mine & Museum.
13. Visit the underground church
Like a lot of things in Coober Pedy, even religion has to go underground! The Serbian Church is a great example of how Coober Pedy has taken the oppressive heat and used it to as a reason to create something beautiful.
The church, built into the hillside just outside of town is pretty small but has beautifully carved icons in the walls and even has stained glass windows to the outside world!
A $5 donation is suggested when you visit.
14. Catch a flick at the desert drive-in
What better way to finish the day than a drive-in movie in the outback? Coober Pedy shows films every weekend and all you have to do is simply buy a ticket and drive on in.
Going to the drive-in is more about the experience as unless you manage to tune-in to your radio, the sound quality is pretty bad (the speakers I drove up to were incredibly quiet!). However, it was a fun evening something different to include on your visit to Coober Pedy.
15. Explore the other-worldly epic mines
If you want an expert to show you a side of Coober Pedy that few people see, then get in touch with Wayne at Arid Areas Tours. He not only knows the main places better than anyone else, but he has a few hidden gems up his sleeve too.
His knowledge of the area is so good that he once took a film crew to a place they loved so much they changed their whole production schedule to fit it in the movie.
16. See the famous Dog Fence
This is a pretty unusual thing to do in Coober Pedy, but the Dog Fence is no ordinary fence, it’s a huge feat of engineering. Designed to keep Dingos out of the farmlands of South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland, the dog fence stretches over 5,300km!
You can see a section up close just outside the Breakaways. It’s been surprisingly effective for an old rickety fence, but we were told parts of it will be upgraded soon.
17. Go stargazing in the opal fields
If you live in a city, then the night sky in Coober Pedy is going to blow you away! Whilst Uluru is known as one of the best places to stargaze in the world, Coober Pedy is also up there with its dry climate and clear skies.
If you take a trip to the opal fields, you’ll escape the minimal light coming from the town and suddenly see more stars than you could possibly count. It can be a little creepy to be in the opal fields at night (you’ll hear all kinds of noises to put you on edge) but the views are incredible.
Where to stay in Coober Pedy
The Comfort Inn Coober Pedy
The Comfort Inn is an tourist attraction in itself and a superb place to stay. Built underground, this hotel stays incredibly cool no matter how scorching hot it gets outside. The rooms are really clean, comfortable and its fun to sleep in what feels like a cave!
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How to organise your trip & Frequently Asked Questions
How many days do you need in Coober Pedy?
We recommend having 2-3 days to make the most of Coober Pedy. This is not just because there are a lot of things to do, but the extreme heat will mean you wouldn’t want to do many activities (apart from those underground) in the middle of the day.
What is Coober Pedy most famous for?
Opals! Coober Pedy is the opal capital of the world and the whole town was created in the hunt for this precious gemstone. You can visit the numerous mines, museums and shops dedicated to opals in the town.
What are the most popular things to do in Coober Pedy with kids?
Coober Pedy is a great place to take kids as there is a lot to learn and plenty of fun things to do. We’d recommend the following as the best things for kids in Coober Pedy:
How hot does Coober Pedy get?
Very hot! The daytime temperatures in Coober can go well above 40C in the Summer (with a record of 47.8C) and this is the reason why many residents live in houses underground. The temperatures in the winters are a lot cooler, so we recommend avoiding the Summer when you visit.
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