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Coober Pedy provides the ideal stop-over for travellers heading from Adelaide to Alice Springs and Uluru (Ayers Rock).
The town is located approximately 850km north of Adelaide and 680km south of Alice Springs on the sealed Stuart Highway, one of the best highways in Australia.
Climate
Coober Pedy has a hot, dry desert climate. The weather is at its most gentle from April to October with warm sunny days and cold nights. Summer temperatures range from 35 to 47 degrees Celsius. Summer nights are balmy. The Outback stars are a sight to see. Current weather information is available from the Bureau of Meteorology.
The annual rainfall in this area is only 175mm. Four Wheel Drive vehicles are urged to take care or avoid unsealed roads after rain. Transport SA provides the region's current road condition report.
Underground accommodation at the Desert Cave Hotel is in the 'dugout' style for which Coober Pedy is famous. Experience this unique and stylish accommodation. The Desert Cave Hotel is built into the side of a sandstone hill and the underground walls are natural cream and red colours. Temperatures remain between 22 and 26 degrees Celsius underground all year.
Population
Coober Pedy is bigger than you think with a population of more than 3500. It is a multi-cultural town with residents of more than 44 different nationalities. The town delights in its multi-cultural elements, and visitors are very welcome to enjoy the facilities of the various ethnic community clubs around the town.
The Nature of the Country
Coober Pedy is situated on the edge of the Stuart Ranges, on beds of sandstone and siltstone at the edge of the ancient 'inland sea' which once filled much of Central Australia. These sandstone beds are some 30 metres deep and it is within these that the precious opal gemstones can be found.
The country around town is a stony, treeless desert. The low rainfall and lack of topsoil makes it difficult to grow anything. Australian native and desert plants are featured in the Desert Cave gardens. South Australia's spectacular floral emblem, the Sturt Desert Pea, can be seen flowering for some of the year in the hotel's garden.
Water is precious
South Australia is the driest State on the driest continent on earth and Coober Pedy is in one of the very driest parts of South Australia. The average annual rainfall is only 175mm. Water supplies have to be brought from Sub Artesian Bores some 26km north west of the town. Water is very expensive - locals often say that water is more precious than opal. Please, when you stay in Coober Pedy, remember how precious our water is.
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