A Unique Underground Outback Adventure

Situated 500 miles north of Adelaide and 400 miles south of Alice Springs in the vast Australian Outback is the quirky mining town of Coober Pedy where adventure seekers can come and live like the locals do – underground.

With temperatures reaching as high as 125 degrees, it’s a smart way to beat the heat. An estimated 80 percent of Coober Pedy’s population live in cave lodgings known as ‘dugouts’ where temperatures seldom stray from the mid-70’s – during summer or winter.

For visitors who’d like to sample this way of life, Coober Pedy offers motels, bed and breakfasts and at least one four-star accommodation – the Desert Cave Hotel – all of which offer underground bedrooms with modern amenities including minibars, coffee makers, laundry service and more.

The underground dwellings are reason enough to go to Coober Pedy, and its position as the opal-mining capital of the world makes it a fascinating destination for history buffs and jewelry-lovers alike.

In addition to taking tours of the several hundred opal mines that dot the region, visitors can get their hands dirty by practicing the art of ‘noodling’ (mining for opal) on their own. In a designated area called the Jewellers Shop, visitors can dig through mounds of dirt and rock that have been excavated from real mines in the area.