Rolling to the Rock: Day 21

We’re back at arguably Australia’s most interesting outback town, although this time to enjoy it in daylight rather than just at night (see Day 3).

Unlike other fuel stop-offs along the Stuart Highway, Coober Pedy (688km south of Alice Springs) is worth at least a day or two of exploration – that’s of the many tourist sites, not underground for the elusive opals the mining town is famous for!

We’re staying at the Big4 Stuart Range Outback Resort, a top spot just off the highway and at $46 for a powered site, reasonable value (though you need a few 20c coins for the hot showers and to fill your RV tank with desalinated bore water from the town’s limited supply).

Like many tourist operations in town, the Big4 park was founded by immigrants who went to Coober Pedy to try their luck for opals, before seeking a more stable income.

Originally from Greece, Yanni (John) and Maria Athanasiadis opened a pizza bar and tour bus operation in town before building the park in 1989. ??Now run by their son Paul and his wife Felicity, the family business has been substantially upgraded with modern facilities though it’s nice to see the original Stuart Park camel signs remain.

Behind the welcoming reception area is an upmarket opal jewellery and gift shop, as well as a great little pizza restaurant that wouldn’t be out of place in downtown Melbourne or Sydney.

Catering for overnighters, most powered sites are drive-through, there's a pool, and the big, sandy playground is centrally located so kids can run and play within range of many sites.

Like most parks we’ve visited (except for the posh Big4 in Alice Springs) it’s dog friendly, while reception remains open to 10pm for late arrivals.

??The comfy lounge and big-screen TV in the well-equipped camp kitchen building also came in handy for catching the 4.30am kick-off of the World Cup soccer final during our stay.

The park offers guided bus tours to the town’s many attractions, but we opted for a self-guided tour after a visit to the information centre on the main street to get our bearings.

First up was an underground tour of the fabulous Old Timers Mine, which gives you some idea of how tough it was for the miners before the big machines took over, then on to the small but quaint Catholic chapel, one of five underground churches in town.

Around 80 per cent of Coober Pedy residents live in dugout homes, due to scorching summer heat, so next stop was Faye’s Underground Display Home, which incredibly was dug out by hand by three women over a 10 year period and features Coober Pedy’s first swimming pool in the living room.

Although 30km out of town, the drive out to the Breakaways is well worth it, for breathtaking views of multi-coloured hills and formations including the white and yellow ‘Castle’ mesa that featured in Mad Max III and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. ??

The graded dirt circuit also includes a section of the 5000km long, 1.8m high Dog Fence that keeps out sheep-killing dingoes.

Our brief but enjoyable tour of Coober Pedy finished at Tom & Mary’s Greek Taverna, one of many decent dining options in this very multi-cultural town, and rivaling the Big4 park’s Nostimo Pizza for lip-smacking appeal.