TRAVEL
COOBER PEDY
Coober Pedy is the opal capital of the world supplying 85% of the world's opals. Approximately 75% of the population live underground in Dugouts for protection from the scorching heat and dust storms of summer.
The name 'Coober Pedy' comes from the local Aboriginal term kupa-piti, which means 'boys' waterhole'
Roughly halfway between Adelaide and Alice Springs, Coober Pedy has become a popular stopover point and tourist destination, especially since the completion of the sealing of the Stuart Highway in 1987. It is home to about 3500 people who directly or indirectly make a living from the success of the town's opal miners, and the nearly 100,000 tourists who call in each year to marvel at what is still regarded as the last frontier of Australia's wild outback. Coober Pedy has one of the most multicultural communities in Australia with an estimated 45 nationalities.
Nearly half of the population live in inexpensive underground homes called 'dugouts'. Many of the dugouts are elaborate with all modern conveniences and sustain an all year temperature of 25 degrees Celsius. During the height of Summer temperatures can reach into the 50's outside whilst in winter the temperatures can fall below 10 degrees. Most of the year it is glorious weather averaging mid 20's. The annual rainfall is only 110mm making water as precious as the opal that is mined.
Opal was first discovered by fourteen year old Willie Huchison from Mount Gambier in February 1915. As a member of his father's prospecting party, he and the others left Maree in December 1914 in search of gold. In temperatures often exceeding 45 degrees the party looked for gold while Willie was assigned camp duties. Being finished with his duties and rather bored Willie went exploring himself. He did not find any gold.... just the richest opal field in the world.
Coober Pedy is situated at the edge of the Stuart Range on a treeless plain, which is covered with only sparse scrub and thousands of working and abandoned mines as far as the eye can see. This desolate landscape was chosen for the shooting of many feature movies. These
include: Mad Max one, two and three, Beyond Thunderdome, (starred Tina Turner and Mel Gibson), Mars The Red Planet (starred Val Kilmer (Batman)), Pitch Black , Down & Under and many others.
The mysterious lunar landscape makes Coober Pedy a unique and special place where you could arrive with just the shirt on your back and leave a millionaire. Many people have found opal whilst walking around, kicking stones over, or noodling (fossiking) in the disused mining dumps.
Underground Church in Coober Pedy
Attractions in Coober Pedy include the mines, the graveyard, and the underground churches. The first tree ever seen in the town was welded together from scrap iron. It still sits on a hilltop overlooking the town.
The local golf course - mostly played at night with glowing balls, to avoid daytime temperatures - is completely free of grass and golfers take a small piece of "turf" around to use for teeing off. As a result of correspondence between the two clubs the Coober Pedy golf club is the only club in the world to enjoy reciprocal rights at The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.
Nearly half of the population live in inexpensive underground homes called 'dugouts'. Many of the dugouts are elaborate with all modern conveniences and sustain an all year temperature of 25 degrees Celsius. During the height of Summer temperatures can reach into the 50's outside whilst in winter the temperatures can fall below 10 degrees. Most of the year it is glorious weather averaging mid 20's. The annual rainfall is only 110mm making water as precious as the opal that is mined.
Opal was first discovered by fourteen year old Willie Huchison from Mount Gambier in February 1915. As a member of his father's prospecting party, he and the others left Maree in December 1914 in search of gold. In temperatures often exceeding 45 degrees the party looked for gold while Willie was assigned camp duties. Being finished with his duties and rather bored Willie went exploring himself. He did not find any gold.... just the richest opal field in the world.
Coober Pedy is situated at the edge of the Stuart Range on a treeless plain, which is covered with only sparse scrub and thousands of working and abandoned mines as far as the eye can see. This desolate landscape was chosen for the shooting of many feature movies. These
include: Mad Max one, two and three, Beyond Thunderdome, (starred Tina Turner and Mel Gibson), Mars The Red Planet (starred Val Kilmer (Batman)), Pitch Black , Down & Under and many others.
The mysterious lunar landscape makes Coober Pedy a unique and special place where you could arrive with just the shirt on your back and leave a millionaire. Many people have found opal whilst walking around, kicking stones over, or noodling (fossiking) in the disused mining dumps.
Underground Church in Coober Pedy
The local golf course - mostly played at night with glowing balls, to avoid daytime temperatures - is completely free of grass and golfers take a small piece of "turf" around to use for teeing off. As a result of correspondence between the two clubs the Coober Pedy golf club is the only club in the world to enjoy reciprocal rights at The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.
Coober Pedy Golf Club ............ St Andrews Golf Club
TRAVEL to COOBER PEDY
- Travel By Car
Adelaide to Port Augusta (308 kms), Port Augusta to Pimba/Woomera(171 kms ), Pimba to Glendambo (114 kms), Glendambo to Coober Pedy (252 kms) total of 846 kms.
- Travel By Coach
Greyhound (Phone: 131499) offer service in and out of Coober Pedy arriving around 6am and 7pm. To have a room available on arrival, at least 2 nights may have to be reserved.
- Travel By Plane
Regional Express (REX Airlines) operate a daily service to and from Adelaide arriving mid afternoon, you can then be transferred to our door by shuttle bus, collected and returned to the plane when ready to leave.
- Travel By Rail
The Ghan serves the town through the Manguri Siding, 42km from Coober Pedy, with trains twice weekly in each direction. Passengers on The Ghan are not usually allowed to disembark at Manguri unless they have prearranged transport due to the siding's isolation and the extremely cold temperatures at night.
Taxi Service
There is no taxi service in Coober Pedy, transfers must be arranged when making your reservations.
For further travel information for Coober Pedy, click on the following links:
Accommodation:
Great Australian Cattle Drive
Relive a very real part of Australian history on this Outback adventure - book early for six 5 day / 4 night tours between Friday 30 July and Sunday 29 August in 2010.
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