Coober Pedy Stories


Coober Pedy to Port Augusta

[b]Tuesday[/b] Well, after a weird evening, we take off. I decide to ride with Les in the van so that he has someone to talk to. We take off slowly, Stu in the Camry and Jed and Marion behind us. Boy, I'm glad they warned us that she bounces! We drove carefully down the Williams Creek Rd to the Stuart Highway then Stu led us into Coober Pedy for ...


Adelaide to Coober Pedy

[b]Sunday[/b] Well, we arrived in Adelaide at 10.10pm. What a long walk from the gate to the baggage claim! Anyway, we got to the car rental place only to find that the car that was going to cost $40 per day had no insurance and any minor scrap or ding whether it was our fault or not was going to cost $2500! So, we spent an extra $30 per day for...


To the moon and back.

Adelaide is a long way from Ayres Rock, two days drive in fact, so we broke up the time with three stops; Coober Pedy; Heart Lake and Woomera. Driving into Coober Pedy is like driving through a lunar landscape. The area is mined for opals and is covered by holes and mounds of dirt. It’s famous for its underground living to beat the heat and opal shop...


Feeling Tyred (The Flinders Ranges to Coober Pedy)

A challenge lay ahead then, in the form of 500km of dirt track to Coober Pedy, across the barren and dry centre of Australia. Technically a Ford Falcon should be able to do this without too many problems. Technically, I could also breakdown and die of thirst. I stocked up on spare parts in Broken Hill, a tool kit, and plenty of water just in case. I...