Page 5 - 2018 Coober Pedy Visitor Guide

General Information Why visit Coober Pedy?
People are attracted to Coober Pedy for a
How to get there range of reasons. Some are fascinated by our
underground lifestyle which is like nowhere
Coober Pedy is situated in the Outback of else on earth. Many of our homes, hotels,
South Australia, 846km North of Adelaide churches and restaurants are tunnelled into
and 685km South of Alice Springs. hillsides and are almost invisible on first
inspection.
By Car
The Stuart Highway is one of the best Others are drawn by the very thing that has
highways in Australia and the journies north pulled people from 47 nations to this desert
and south of the town is both comfortable region over the past decade – opal. Then there
and interesting. From Adelaide, the journey are those who come to see the landscapes: the
takes approximately 8-10 hours and 6-8 hours majesty of The Breakaways, the spectacle of
from Alice Springs. Please be aware that, the Painted Desert and the bizarre, moon-like
when venturing off the highway, roads are surface of the mining fields.
unsealed and often impassable after heavy Of course it’s the combination of all these
rain so please check weather forecasts and elements that truly make Coober Pedy a place
road conditions before you travel. like nowhere on earth. We encourage you to
explore all of Coober Pedy and understand how
By Coach they are in fact all quite intertwined.
National coach Greyhound travel through
Coober Pedy, providing various daily services. Climate Between March and November,
www.greyhound.com.au the weather is very pleasant. Typical
By Air of a semi-desert climate, the days are
warm but the desert nights are cold.
Regional Express Airlines operate a service to From December to February, the weather
and from Adelaide. www.rex.com.au warms up and summer temperatures
Wrights Air for Charter Flights. range upwards from 35ºC in the shade.
www.wrightsair.com.au The annual rainfall is minimal, at around
175mm (5 inches) per annum, so summer
By Train dust storms can occur.
The Ghan stops at Manguri, 40km West
of Coober Pedy, allowing passengers to Terrain Coober Pedy lies on the edge of
disembark, transport from the rail siding to the erosional scarp of the Stuart Ranges,
Coober Pedy must be specially arranged. on beds of sand and siltstone 30m deep,
Since 2015, The Ghan is also offering day topped with a stony, treeless desert. Very
tours into Coober Pedy as part of a travel little plant life exists in town due to the
package. www.greatsouthernrail.com.au region’s low rainfall, sandstone and lack
of topsoil. A popular attraction is the golf
course which, despite its full 18 holes, is
entirely grassless.

Coober Pedy

by Melinda Aylett 5