23 Unique Things to do in Coober Pedy

Coober Pedy, South Australia, has a reputation for being a hot, dry, dusty, mining town – and it can be all of that – but that’s not all there is to this quirky, interesting, wild west town. Here are all the unique things to do in Coober Pedy on your Outback adventure.

There is plenty to do and see here in Coober Pedy to make the long drive – or a couple of days out of an even longer drive – worthwhile.

---

Have Questions? – Come and join the Facebook Group and ask any questions you may have about travel in South Australia. We can provide answers, make further suggestions and update you with the latest information. Click here to join now.

---

Best Things to Do in Coober Pedy

When I started researching all of the Coober Pedy attractions and activities I was surprised by how many I came across. Here I have compiled a huge list to help you decide what to do in Coober Pedy during your visit.

Do an Opal Mine Tour

This one is a bit of a given – you just have to do an opal mine tour while you are in Coober Pedy. The issue is, which of the may opal mines do you choose?

Below I will mention a few of them that are attached to other attractions, but the one I did was an evening tour at Riba’s Underground Camping & Caravan Park.

This was convenient for me because this was our accommodation in Coober Pedy.

The tour was run by the owner, Jason, who gave us a great overview of the history of the town and the mining process. He told some great stories about the town and some of the characters who live there.

You can see details on their website here.

Umoona Opal Mine & Museum

If you are looking for a mine tour, Umoona Opal Mine and Museum is one of the other places you can do it. They offer underground tours twice a day at 2 pm and 4 pm at quite a reasonable cost.

Here you will learn a little about the opal mining process, as well as a tour through the Aboriginal Interpretive Centre, an underground home.

We did this as the first part of our tour with Nobles and it gave us a great overview for the rest of our day.

The Umoona mine tour isn’t all that is here. They have an underground museum that explains not only the history of Coober Pedy and opal mining but has some great fossils and other displays too.

There is also an underground cinema showing a short film on Coober Pedy opal mining.

If you want to purchase some opal, there is a shop here to help you do this too – I liked the $88,000 black diamond ring, but it was a little out of my price range!

Old Timers Mine & Museum

This is another similar opal mine and museum on the Coober Pedy things to do list.

admit we only popped into the Old Timers Mine & Museum for a quick look, we did not do the tour – after all, two mine tours were enough! But this could be a better choice for your mine tour if you want to have a more hands-on approach.

During this tour, you get the opportunity to do a little noodling and perhaps find some opal for yourself.

You will still learn about the workings of an opal mine and see an underground home here too, and of course, there is a shop for opals and souvenirs.

Old Timers Mine & Museum is also a good choice if you don’t want to be locked into a certain time. Their tours are self-guided and can be done whenever you are ready.

Tom’s Working Opal Mine

Just one more opal mine for you to visit! Unlike the others, this one is a working opal mine just outside of town rather than one just for tourism purposes.

It has been recently taken over by new owner Paul who is redeveloping the mine area, recently opening a new reception area. Tours can be guided, or it’s possible to do a self-guided tour if you prefer.

These tours are pet friendly too, so if you are looking for things to do in Coober Pedy with a dog this could be a good option. See their website for the details.

Shop for Opal

Everywhere you go in Coober Pedy there seems to be an opal shop filled with the best of South Australia’s opals.

Almost all the museums have them, some of the hotels, there are dedicated shops, and some others with some interesting combinations – “Waffles & Gems” anyone?

The big question is, how do you decide which shop to buy opal jewellery from?

We were wondering the same thing, and when we asked our guide, he mentioned a few shops, but then he said those were the shops of people he knew.

While these were suggestions, none of the opal shops in Coober Pedy is actually “better” than the others, and the best thing to do is to walk down the main street, visit a few to have a look and get a feel for what is available.

Having said that, I want to mention one shop we enjoyed. I did not buy any opals but we loved looking around John & Yoka’s Opals & Art.

John is a local legend, and he just happened to be in the shop when we visited. We spent a good fifteen minutes chatting with him about all sorts of things.

We had called in to see his opalised fish fossil, one of SA’s hidden gems, the only one ever found in the world.

This is not John’s only unique find, he has recently sold a Belemnite (ancient opalised squid body) to the South Australian Museum, often described as the best opal specimen found in South Australia.

Almost as fascinating as the opal are the incredible zebra rocks for sale too – I was almost more tempted to buy one of those.

Find Your Own Opal

It’s important to remember, when looking for things to do Coober Pedy opal fields are very dangerous and tourists are not encouraged to go anywhere near them without a guide.

Not only are there up to 2 million holes where any unsuspecting person could accidentally fall to their death, but the miners are also particularly territorial.

If you wander into a staked claim, even through error, all sorts of mayhem could ensue.

Knowing this, the town has set aside a small area within its limits for tourists to have a go at finding their own opal. There are also a few other tourist attractions that have areas set aside for “noodling”.

This method of finding opal involves sifting, by hand, no tools are allowed, through the piles left over from the miners. It’s considered to be a “soft” form of mining, just like a soft noodle, hence the name.

There are still miners making their fortune using this exact method though, so you never know what you might find. When you get into town, ask the locals for a safe noodling location and try your luck.

Not only is this one of the best free things to do in Coober Pedy, but it could even make you money!

See the Underground Serbian Orthodox Church

Coober Pedy has a hugely diverse population with people coming from all over the world to mine opal here. One of the things they have brought with them is their underground churches.

The most impressive is the Serbian Orthodox Church of Saint Elijah the Prophet. It was completed in 1993 and has some loveley stained glass windows and  beautifully carved rock sculptures in the wall.

The complex the Serbian church is in includes a function area too, used by the community for all sorts of social events.

And the Catacomb Church

While not quite as spectacular, the Catacomb Church is yet another building dug into the side of a hill. The church is open 24hrs a day, so you can always call in if you need some down time or respite from the heat.

The Catacomb Church was dug out in the 1970s, and today it is designated as an Anglican church.

There are also a handful of other underground churches in town you can peek inside to see how they have built their worship areas.

The first – and also worth a quick look – is St Peter & Paul Catholic Church right in the centre of town. This underground catholic church is quite small, but is conveniently located and easy to visit.

Another one is St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.

Explore Boot Hill

This, strangely, was possibly my favourite of the weird things in Coober Pedy.

There are two cemeteries in Coober Pedy – the First Cemetery (or sometimes called the Old Cemetery), which is, well, the first cemetery, and Boot Hill, which started to be used in the 1970s when the First Cemetery ran out of room.

Boot Hill is an interesting place to take a look around and one of the quirkier things to see in Coober Pedy. Look out for the grave of Karl Bratz that has a keg for a gravestone.

When he realised he was sadly about to leave this world, he organised to have a headstone made out of a keg, including a message to his mates “Have a Drink on Me!”

That’s not the only interesting grave here though, look out for others for a cat, one shaped like a castle, one with dolphins and covered in shells, and the one for Crocodile Harry, deceptively plain for this colourful local character.

The Home of Crocodile Harry

Speaking of Crocodile Harry, if you like eccentric, quirky things – and this is quirky even on the Coober Pedy scale – take a short drive out of town to his home, one of the best-loved Coober Pedy tourist attractions and one of the most unusual things to do in Coober Pedy.

Crocodile Harry’s Nest & Dugout has been kept just as it was when he died in 2006. Visit any time, just drop the required payment into the honesty box to help with the upkeep. It was only a couple of dollars during my visit.

Harry was a crocodile hunter (yes, just like Crocodile Dundee!) in the Northern Territory before he retired to Coober Pedy, picking up the moniker along the way.

Choosing Coober Pedy as a retirement location already says something about his unusual personality because it wouldn’t be the choice of most people.

Of course, we can’t be too sure about many things about Crocodile Harry. Even his real name is disputed – perhaps something like Arvid Blumenthal – and then there were those claims he was a Latvian baron hiding out after WWII.

While we may never know the answers to some of his mysteries, we do know he was a veritable playboy and loved everything about women – and this can be seen, amongst the thousands of other bits of memorabilia decorating every inch of his dugout.

Some bits have been added by visitors, but most of the “decorations” were added by Harry himself.

You may also recognise this dugout from both Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and Pitch Black as it was part of both filming locations.

Play a Round on the Coober Pedy Opal Fields Golf Course

I am not a golfer, so to me, the Coober Pedy golf course simply looks like some bits of green carpet and some black circles out in the middle of nowhere with not a blade of grass to be seen.

Normally a golf course would not make one of my lists of things to do, but this one has an interesting story.

A few years back the general manager of St Andrews – yes, the prestigious home of golf in Scotland – was in Coober Pedy filming a documentary.

One of the locals suggested that the Coober Pedy golf course would be ideal for reciprocal playing rights with the pristine, expensive, sought-after St Andrews course.

The executive replied, “If you give me an opal mine, I’ll think about it”.

It’s relatively cheap to set up an opal claim, so in no time one was pegged out and gifted, and St Andrews granted Coober Pedy Opal Fields Golf Club the only reciprocal playing rights it has ever given out.

Of course, there are some small stipulations – members can only play the old nine-hole Balgrove Course, and only in January! I wonder if anyone has taken them up on the offer?

Admire the views from the Big Winch Lookout

You can’t miss the Big Winch as you make your way through town. It’s on top of one of the small hills and provides a great viewpoint over the centre of town.

The Big Winch itself was originally built back in the 1970s to celebrate Coober Pedy being the “opal capital of the world”.

The story couldn’t be that simple though in a town like Coober Pedy, so the Big Winch has had its challenges. In 1986 it was destroyed by a storm and had to be rebuilt.

Today you will find a cafe and bar right next to the Big Winch, perfect for enjoying a sunset drink while admiring the view.

There is also a great gift shop here too for souvenirs, and the latest attraction is the Big Winch 360 Degree Cinema Experience which runs hourly during the day.

This circular cinema surrounds viewers from all sides with the sights and sounds of Coober Pedy and the Outback. For more details see the website here.

Before you leave The Big Winch, take notice too of the Steel Tree. This was built at a time when there were very few trees in Coober Pedy, and the builder wanted his kids to have a tree to climb. Typical Outback ingenuity.

See more of South Australia’s Big Things here

Catch a movie at Coober Pedy Drive-in

Coober Pedy has the ONLY drive-in movie theatre still operating in South Australia and this is one of the few things to do in Coober Pedy at night.

It was originally built in 1965 during the boom times and is probably the only place in the world where there was a message at the beginning (like we get today for phones at the cinema) asking for explosives not to be brought to the showings!

Over the years demand dwindled, and the drive-in was closed in 1984 but was reopened again in 1996, showing one movie a week.

So if you happen to be in town on a Saturday night, why not enjoy the nostalgia of the drive-in and take in a movie? The prices are very reasonable ($20 for a car of up to seven people) and you will be supporting the local community.

Go to the website here to see what’s on in Coober Pedy during your visit and support this great local institution.

Josephine’s Gallery and Kangaroo Orphanage

I was excited to check out the Kangaroo Orphanage, one of the must-do activities in Coober Pedy.

We called in early to find the details for a visit to see the kangaroos, and discovered that they happen at 5 pm – and unfortunately, that was when I would be on our sunset tour.

While I didn’t get to see the orphans, I did enjoy looking at the local Aboriginal art displayed here and learning about the didgeridoos from Terry.

Unsurprisingly there is opal for sale here too and a few other souvenirs and local products worth checking out.

If you would like to visit Josephine’s Gallery & Kangaroo Orphanage during your visit, I recommend contacting them in advance so you don’t miss out as I did. Find the contact details on their Facebook page here.

Faye’s Underground Home

If you are not visiting an underground home elsewhere (or perhaps even if you are but want to see something different) visit Faye’s Underground Home.

Named after Faye Naylor, the home was dug by hand by her and two other female friends over a ten-year time frame from 1962. They were mining for opal at the same time as digging out the place where they were living.

The house contains all the mod-cons of the time with plenty of space for living and entertaining – there’s even a small indoor pool!

Faye doesn’t live here anymore, but the home has been kept in its original condition and the couple who do live here open it up for visitors to see this attractive home.

It’s a real testament to the character of these three women who dug this out with determination and persistence and little else.

See the Spaceship from Pitch Black

With so many movies filmed in town, it’s no surprise to see a few of the props still laying around the place. One of the most obvious sits right on the main drag – the Pitch Black spaceship.

After the Pitch Black movie was finished, the spaceship was moved here and has languished on its mound ever since. It is becoming more and more derelict as time goes on, a big call for something made of scrap metal in the first place.

It will only take a few minutes to have a look at it, and it is still an interesting piece of movie memorabilia.

Another Coober Pedy Space Ship?

If you take a drive around town you may discover another “spaceship” in the backstreets. This one is not a movie prop though. It started life as an upmarket outdoor entertaining area for the house below.

Unfortunately, the full plan never eventuated, and it has since fallen into disrepair.

When asking locals what is going on with it now, it seems every person has a different story, so I’m not sure what the future holds. But still, it’s a quirky sight to behold in Cooper Pedy.

Opal Cave Shop & Museum

Right where the spaceship sits is the Desert Cave Museum. This is mostly a shop to sell opals, but there are some interesting displays here too, particularly related to the movies and tv programs filmed in Coober Pedy.

Climb up to the top to have views over the town and the spaceship before exploring the shop.

Visit The Breakaways Conservation Park

The Breakaways Coober Pedy (or the Kanku Breakaways Conservation Park) is a national park area located about 30 km to the north of Coober Pedy and is, in my opinion, a must-see to admire the beauty of the Outback!

They are part of the larger Painted Desert and are located out on a dirt road. It is recommended that you have a 4WD to get here, particularly if there has been recent rain.

Often The Breakaways are recommended as a sunset location, but the best time to go is a little earlier, perhaps an hour before sunset.

This means that the sun is still high enough to shine on the colourful hills, bringing out the brilliant colours in the rocks and desert.

Once the sun gets too low, sure the sky will probably be pretty, but the hills will lose their magic.

Visting the Breakaways is a part of most of the Coober Pedy tours. If you need to organise a tour for yourself, take a look at my review of the Coober Pedy Town & Breakaways Tour that took us out to enjoy these incredible natural colours.

Note: If you are driving yourself to the Kanku-Breakaways Conservation Park you will need to pay an entry fee of $11 per vehicle (or $9 concession).

You can do that in advance online here (there is no phone coverage at the Breakaways), or you can get one from the Coober Pedy Information Centre in town before you go.

Look along the Dog Fence

If you are going out to the Breakaways, stop off to have a close-up look at the Dog Fence (or Dingo Fence) too. Okay, it may not be all that impressive to look at, after all, it’s a simple wire fence, but this dog fence is the longest in the world.

The fence stretches from Southern Queensland right across the country to the coast near the Nullarbor Plain, a total of 5614km.

Its purpose is to keep the dingoes to the north of the fence and outside of the part of Australia where sheep are farmed.

It’s not perfect, dingoes do occasionally still get through, but on the whole, it has done a good job since it was built in the 1880s.

Admire the Nothingness of the Moon Plain

Also out near the dingo fence, this area of gibber desert landscape is incredible in its bleakness. There is nothing but small rocks covering the ground as far as the eye can see.

Thousands of years ago glaciers in this area dropped millions of ironstones, which are now scattered over this flat, desolate plain.

This is a popular movie set location because the unique landscape looks more like the surface of the Moon or Mars than anywhere on Earth.

This is where the conspiracy theorists claim the moon landing footage was filmed as it really could be the surface of the moon!

Join the Coober Pedy Mail Run

I found out about this tour while I was in Coober Pedy, but if I had heard about it earlier I would have extended my trip by a day to join in on this unique experience and experience the fascinating history of the mail run!

Spend the day with the local mailman as he does his run. You will visit Oodnadatta, William Creek and five cattle stations along the way, traversing a small portion of the Oodnadatta Track too.

The mail is delivered twice a week, so the tour is only available on Monday and Thursday. Check out the Mail Run Tour website here for more details.

Take a Scenic Flight

Coober Pedy is a long way from anywhere, but it is also one of the easier places to get to that enables visitors to see some of the incredible natural landscapes in the north of South Australia.

The best way to do that is with a scenic flight. I recommend choosing a sunrise or sunset flight for the best desert colours.

WrightsAir offers a range of flights from Coober Pedy, including one over Lake Eyre and the Painted Hills. I did a similar flight with them from William Creek and cannot tell you enough how much I loved it.

So if this is the closest you are going to get, then seriously consider jumping on a flight to take a look. It’s not cheap, but it is worth every cent. Read about the flight I took here.

Head out for some Stargazing

One benefit of being out in the South Australian Outback is that it’s not too hard to get away from all the light pollution and have incredibly views of the night skies.

The treeless surroundings means views for miles too, so that big sky here is really big, with nothing to obstruct the view.

If you are not from the Southern Hemisphere, then you should absolutely include this on your Coober Pedy what to do list.

You will get to see not only the awesome Milky Way above your head but the Southern Cross too, which means so much to us here in Australia that it’s on our flag.

What is Coober Pedy Famous For?

The town of Coober Pedy Australia can be found well into the South Australian Outback. It is best known as the Opal Capital of the World. Australia produces 95% of the world’s opal, and most of that comes from the underground mining around Coober Pedy.

In 1915 a 14-year-old boy was looking for water with his father but instead found opal. Word spread and the first mines were built in 1916.

Since that discovery, thousands of people have tried their luck in Coober Pedy, some have made their fortunes, others, not so much!

A close second thing the town is known for is the Coober Pedy underground houses.

As the mines were dug out, the miners discovered it was much cooler being underground during the harsh summer temperatures, so the dugout houses began to be constructed.

These homes stay a constant 23-25 Celcius without the need for air conditioning.

Some underground homes are little more than caves, others veritable mansions! Today a good portion of the town is underground, including houses, hotels, shops, and churches.

Coober Pedy and the surrounding area have been the film sets for many movies over the years, particularly those set on other planets, on the moon or in alternate realities.

Some of the best-known are Mad Max, Pitch Black, Red Planet, and more recently, Mortal Kombat. It has also been part of the TV show Outback Opal Hunters and has been featured in The Amazing Race.

Coober Pedy sits on the traditional lands of the Arabana people but it is also significant to the Kokatha and Yankuntjatjarra people too. The name comes from the Kokatha words “Kupa Piti”, literally “white man’s hole”, which is fitting!

The Coober Pedy population sits at around 2000 people, but that is only an estimate as people tend to come and go, living here only for part of the year.

This also seems to be a town for those who want to get away from their old life, and people can slip under the radar here.

The weather in summer can get over 50 degrees Celsius so the best time to visit Coober Pedy is in the cooler months.

It’s probably not even worth trying to visit between November and March as many of the tours and attractions will not be operating. Even many of the locals pack up and leave town for cooler climates in summer thanks to the harsh Coober Pedy temperature.

Why Visit Coober Pedy

You might be wondering, is Coober Pedy worth visiting if you have to drive all this way? The answer to that, is, of course, it depends.

If you are looking for something different, to see something a little quirky and rough around the edges, to experience a little of real life in the outback, then a trip to Coober Pedy is certainly for you.

If you are looking for nightlife, luxury, gourmet food and designer shopping, Coober Pedy is not the place for you!

Visitors often ask, is Coober Pedy safe? The answers to that, again, is yes and no. If you stick to the main town and follow any instructions given to you, then yes, it is safe.

There is a very real danger if you wander off though, because with possibly 2 million mine shafts in the area, if you happened to fall down one, you may never be found.

I also recommend being respectful of private property and keeping off of it. Remember there is opal everywhere here, and you would hate to be accused of infringing on someone’s claim for inadvertently walking in the wrong place.

How to Get to Coober Pedy

Where is Coober Pedy in Australia? It really is out in the middle of nowhere.

It is about 850km from Adelaide and is the biggest settlement between Port Augusta and Alice Springs, so a popular stopover for those travelling between South Australia and the Northern Territory.

Where is Coober Pedy on the map?

Most people will come to Coober Pedy by car, many of them travelling along the Stuart highway to or from the Northern Territory. Caravans and campers are a common sight too.

While it’s not totally necessary, I would recommend a car during your visit as it will make it easier to get around.

It’s a long 9-10 hours drive from Adelaide, and I recommend doing it over two days, stopping in Port Augusta for a night along the way.

If you are going to do it in one, take a friend and alternate the driving. Beyond Port Augusta, it is a long, potentially boring, drive.

Common Driving Distances To Coober Pedy SA

• Adelaide to Coober Pedy 850km
• Port Augusta to Coober Pedy 540km
• Alice Springs to Coober Pedy 685km
• Uluru to Coober Pedy 750km
• Darwin to Coober Pedy 2185km

It is possible to fly to Coober Pedy and rent a car once here.

Currently, Regional Express (Rex) flies return to Coober Pedy airport four times a week, but with the ever-changing nature of air travel right now, it is best to check the Rex website here for up-to-date details.

Another bonus to flying instead of driving is the incredible aerial views over the outback you will see along the way.

Greyhound buses stop at Coober Pedy on their way from Adelaide to Alice Springs. It will take you 11.5 hours to reach Coober Pedy from Adelaide, and 8 hours from Alice Springs. See the Greyhound website for details.

Would you love to visit Coober Pedy but either don’t have access to a car or you find the driving daunting? Take a look at the five-day tour from Adelaide to Coober Pedy that the fabulous folks at SA Eco Tours have put together.

You will see and experience many of the things on my list without the worry of planning or all that driving.

How Long to Stay in Coober Pedy

I recommend at least three nights and two full days in this Outback town as a minimum.

It’s such an effort to get here that when you are planning what to see in Coober Pedy, you want to include absolutely everything in this one trip in case you don’t get back here again.

To do everything on the list below you will need at least one extra day. Here is a brief Coober Pedy itinerary to help you plan. More details of each activity can be found further down.

Day One: Explore the attractions in Coober Pedy town centre before joining in on the Coober Pedy Town and Breakaways Tour to see the unique landscape.
Day Two: Join the Mail Run Tour, visit Josephine’s Kangaroo Orphanage when you return.
Day Three: Do some noodling for opal and take a scenic flight. Watch a movie at the drive in if you are in town on Saturday.
All the days can be swapped around, and the drive in and orphanage can be switched too if it works better, these are just some ideas.

Where to Stay in Coober Pedy (Underground Hotel)

When I visited Coober Pedy I wanted to have the unique experience of camping in the world’s only underground campground, so I took my tent and stayed at Riba’s Underground Camping and Caravan Park.

It was a unique experience for sure, and I recommend it if you also want to give it a try.

For those less adventurous, you just have to stay in one of Coober Pedy’s underground hotels. The best Coober Pedy hotel is the Desert Cave Underground Hotel.

The Desert Cave Hotel has both above and below-ground rooms available, and a swimming pool (which is a nice bonus if it is warm).

The Comfort Inn Coober Pedy Experience is popular for those looking for a known chain and they have family rooms available.

For the budget traveller, stay at Radeka Downunder Underground Motel, which also has dorm rooms available.

If you would like to stay in a whole underground house, Di’s Place looks fabulous with all the mod-cons while still experiencing the underground lifestyle. There are three bedrooms, and it sleeps up to nine people.

Looking for more places to stay in Coober Pedy? See my Coober Pedy Accommodation post here.

Where to Eat in Coober Pedy

There were three places recommended to me during our stay in Coober Pedy, but we only had the opportunity to eat at one of them, the Outback Bar and Grill.

This bistro-style Coober Pedy restaurant is attached to the Shell service station and serves a good range of typical pub food. Think good wholesome food.

Our meals were generously portioned, and they were able to accommodate my plant-based requirements. Even though there was nothing vegan on their menu, they were happy to adapt something for me.

I was a little disappointed we didn’t get to try John’s Pizza Bar, when I discovered that they have appeared on some of those “best pizza bars in Australia” lists.

They don’t just do pizzas, there is a whole range of takeaway food available, including burgers, pasta, seafood and all sorts of hot packs.

We also had Downunder Gallery & Cafe recommended to us by one of the locals who declared it to be his go-to place for breakfast and lunch.

I would also consider the Big Winch Cafe – the food there smelled delicious during our visit, and there were a good amount of customers enjoying their meals.

For more information while you are in town, the Coober Pedy Visitor Information Centre can be found in the Coober Pedy Council offices on Hutchinson Street.

So will you be coming to visit Australia’s opal capital soon?

Looking for more great posts on Flinders Ranges & the Outback? Try these.
Outback Road Trip Itinerary
Flight over Lake Eyre from William Creek
Coober Pedy Town and Breakaways Tour Review
Things to do in the Flinders Ranges

---

Don’t forget to come on over and join the Facebook group for more South Australian inspiration and to get all your questions answered. Click here to join now.

---

Please share Coober Pedy South Australia with your friends and pin for later