Coober Pedy
South Australia
Coober Pedy is in northern South Australia, 846kms north of Adelaide and 662km south of Alice Springs, and is a gateway to the outback communities of Oodnadatta and William Creek. It is surrounded by desert, with winter being the best time of the year to visit with warm days and cold nights. Summer daytime temperatures often exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), and can reach as high as 50 degrees Celsius. The average maximum temperature year round is between 30 - 32 degrees Celsius.
Coober Pedy comes from the local Aboriginal term kupa-piti, which means 'boys' waterhole. The town is famous for 2 things; it is the opal capital of the world because of the quantity of opals that are mined there; and because most of the residents live below the ground due to the scorching daytime heat.
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Coober Pedy Attractions
Umoona Opal Mine & Museum
The Umoona Opal Mine & Museum is an underground museum with an Aboriginal Interpretive Centre, an underground home and an on-site mine and opal showroom.
Open daily with tours at 10am, 12noon, 2pm & 4pm
Telephone: +61 8 8672 5288
www.umoonaopalmine.com.au
Underground Potteries
Meet the potters at work in their underground studio and gallery.
Open daily 8.30am - 6pm
Telephone: +61 8 8672 5226
Faye's Underground Home
This home is lived in and they open it up for tourists to look through. It was originally a one room house for the first mail truck driver for than 60 years ago. It was converted by Faye Nayler and two other women, using only picks and shovels, into a kitchen and bedroom. Later five other rooms were added, including a wine cellar and a swimming pool.
The Dog Fence
This is the longest continual construction in the world, stretching some 5,300 km. It begins east of Surfer's Paradise in Queensland and ends up north of Ceduna in The Great Australian Bight, South Australia. It was originally built to protect the sheep country in the south from the dingo in the north.
You can see the dog fence approximately 15 km north-east of Coober Pedy.
Open all year
The Catacomb Church
This unique Catacomb Church was originally built in 1977. It was cut out of the sandstone in the shape of a cross, with furniture fashioned from local mulga wood and an old miner's winch.
Catacomb Road, Coober Pedy
Open all year
Serbian Orthodox Church
This Serbian Orthodox Church is an underground church featuring rock carvings in the walls, high roof 'ballroom' style design and stained glass windows.
Flinders Street, Coober Pedy
Open all year
The Big Winch
A lookout above the town that gives a bird's eye view from the Big Winch across Coober Pedy. There is an opal shop next door that contains fully fossilised shells of opal still embedded in the wall.
Off Umoona Road, Coober Pedy
Open Monday - Saturday
Old Timers Mine & Museum
This is an original opal mine and underground homes dating back to 1916. In 1968 that the hidden mine was accidentally discovered when an underground home extension broke through, revealing much precious opal which is still there for you to see today.
Crowders Gully Rd, Coober Pedy
Open daily
Telephone: +61 8 8672 5555
www.oldtimersmine.com
The Underground Art Gallery
The Underground Art Gallery is completely underground and is carved out of solid sandstone, it is quite large and includes a hands on mining area where you can put on a hard hat and get a bit on mining experience right in the middle of town. There are arts, crafts, opals and jewellery for sale.
Hutchison Street, Coober Pedy
Open daily
Breakaways
This is a striking and unique example of arid scenery with flat-topped mesas and stony gibber desert plains.
Approximately 33kms north of Coober Pedy
Open all year - best colours at sunset.
Outback Mail Run
The Outback Mail Run is full day 4WD tour delivering mail to Oodnadatta and William Creek, as well as 5 remote cattle stations.
Tours departs from Underground Bookshop in Coober Pedy at 9.00am on Mondays and Thursdays. Bookings essential.
Telephone: +61 8 8672 5558
Moon Plain
This is a vast expanse of rocky plains unlike anywhere else. The lunar like landscape has been the set for many movies including Mad Max Beyond the Thunderdome, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, and The Red Planet among others.
Approximately 15 km north-east of Coober Pedy
Open all year
Coober Pedy Visitor Centre
Hutchison Street
Coober Pedy
SA, 5723
Telephone: +61 8 8672 5298 or Toll Free: 1800 637 076
www.cooberpedy.sa.gov.au
info@opalcapitaloftheworld.com.au
Coober Pedy Weather - Average Temperatures and Rainfall
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| Avg. Max (°C) | 36.5 | 35.4 | 31.8 | 27.1 | 22.2 | 18.4 | 18.4 | 20.7 | 25.7 | 28.4 | 31.7 | 34.0 |
| Avg. Min (°C) | 22.0 | 21.6 | 18.2 | 14.1 | 10.1 | 6.8 | 6.5 | 7.6 | 11.3 | 13.9 | 17.5 | 19.8 |
| Avg. Rain (mm) | 15.9 | 11.6 | 2.1 | 6.0 | 3.6 | 14.1 | 5.2 | 7.4 | 7.8 | 10.5 | 12.6 | 21.0 |
| Avg. Rain Days | 2.1 | 2.6 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 2.0 | 3.6 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 4.6 | 4.7 |