Getting Here and Around

REX/Regional Express Airlines flies direct to Coober Pedy from Adelaide Sunday–Friday. Because it's the only public carrier flying to Coober Pedy, prices are sometimes steep. The airport is open only when a flight is arriving or departing. At other times, contact the Desert Cave Hotel.

Greyhound Australia buses leave Adelaide's Central Bus Station for Coober Pedy daily. Tickets for the 12-hour overnight ride can cost A$148–A$180 each way.

The main road to Coober Pedy is the Sturt Highway from Adelaide, 850 km (527 miles) to the south. Alice Springs is 700 km (434 miles) north of Coober Pedy. The drive from Adelaide to Coober Pedy takes about nine hours. From Alice Springs it's about seven hours.

A rental car enables you to see what lies beyond Hutchison Street, but an organized tour is a better way to do so. Thrifty and Budget have rental-car outlets in Coober Pedy. Although some roads are unpaved—those to the Breakaways and the Dog Fence, for example—surfaces are generally suitable for conventional vehicles. Check on road conditions with the police if there has been substantial rain.

The most interesting route to Flinders Ranges National Park from Adelaide takes you north through the Clare Valley vineyards and Burra's copper-mining villages. For a more direct journey to Wilpena Pound, follow the Princes Highway (A1) north to Port Augusta, and then head east toward Quorn and Hawker. A four-wheel-drive vehicle is highly recommended for traveling on the many gravel roads around the national park.

Transportation

Coober Pedy Airport. Airport Rd., off Stuart Hwy., 2 km (1 mile) north of town, Coober Pedy, South Australia, 5723. 08/8672–5688.

Greyhound Australia. Hutchinson St., Coober Pedy, South Australia, 5723. 1800/801294; 1300/4739--46863; www.greyhound.com.au.

REX/Regional Express. 13–1713; www.rex.com.au.