Adel Aide & South Au

Str Ali A

OUTBACK

Adel Aide & South Au

Str Ali A

SIGHTS

&ACTIVITIES

Adel Aide & South Au

Str Ali A

COOBER

PEDY

Coober Pedy is actually very cosmopoli-

tan, with 44 nationalities represented. Few

locals make their living solely from mining,

so there’s a lot of ‘career diversification’

here (...the dude who drives the airport bus

also loads the baggage, mans the hotel re-

ception desk and works his opal claim on

weekends).

The surrounding desert is jaw-droppingly

desolate, a fact not overlooked by interna-

tional filmmakers who’ve come here to

shoot end-of-the-world epics like Mad Max

III, Red Planet, Ground Zero, Pitch Black

and the slightly more believable Priscilla,

Queen of the Desert.

1 ̈Sights ̈& ̈Activities

Opal ̈Mining

There are hundreds of working opal mines

around town, the elusive gems at the fore of

everyone’s consciousness. If you’re keen for

a fossick, tour operators or locals may invite

you out to their claim to ‘noodle’ through

the mullock (waste pile) for stones. Watch

out for unmarked shafts, and never wander

around the fields at night.

Tom’s ̈Working ̈Opal ̈Mine ̈ MINE

(www�tomsworkingopalmine�com �au;  Lot  1993, 

Stuart Hwy;  tours  adult/child/family $25/10/55;

htours 8am, 10am,2pm &4pm) The best place

to check out a working excavation is Tom’s,

3km southwest of town: miners continue

their search for the big vein while visitors

noodle for small fortunes. Self-guided tours

adult/child $10/5.

Old ̈Timers ̈Mine ̈ MUSEUM

(www�oldtimersmine�com; 1CrowdersGully Rd; self-

guidedtours adult/child$15/1;h9am-5pm) The

interesting warren was mined in 1916 but

was then hidden by the miners. The mine

6

666

666

666

#ô

#

#

#

#

#

ÿ

ÿ

ÿ

#æ

#â

#ï

#

#

#

#

ú

ú

S

Ü

#›

Public

Noodling

Area

Water

Conservation

Reserve

Hu

tc

hi

so

nS

t

Seventeen

MileRd

Wr

igh

tR

d

WillcoxSt

Ko

sta

St

VanBruggeSt

BeanSt

It

al

ia

n

Cl

ub

Rd

Al

pS

t

PostO

fficeH

illRd

Tr

ow

St

Ol

dW

at

er

Ta

nk

Rd

Ho

sp

ita

lR

d

StNicholasSt

PaxtonRd

Camero

n

Dr OliverSt

Brew

st

erS

t

Cr

ow

de

rs

Gu

lly

dR

Malli

otisB

lvd

Big

Winch

Spaceship

1

9

8

2

6

7

5

4

3

3

1

C

B C

2

3

1

2

B

A

A D

D

CooberPedy e#^000 .2mile^400 sm

D

SerbianOrthodox

Church(1.5km)

D

Tom'sWorking

OpalMine(1.2km);

#–(4.5km)

D

UndergroundMotel( 60 0m);

CatacombAnglicanChurch(800m);

MoonPlain( 17 km);

BreakawaysReserve(28km)

DStuartHwy(500m);

DowntoErthB&B(2.5km)

CooberPedy

æSights

1 Faye'sUndergroundDisplay

Home...................................................D 2

2 OldTimersMine....................................C1

3 StPeter&PaulCatholic

Church.................................................B2

ÿSleeping

4 BIG4OasisCooberPedy.....................B1

5 DesertCaveHotel.................................B 2

6 MudHutMotel.......................................B3

7 RadekaDownunder..............................B 2

úEating

8 John'sPizzaBar....................................B2

9 Tom&Mary'sGreekTaverna.............B3

Umberto's......................................(see5)