Discover Coober Pedy: Opals, Dugouts and Churches

Coober Pedy offers unusual insights into opal mining and underground construction; churches, golf and a drive-in cinema are also among the town’s distinctive features. The experiences differ in whether you want to get hands-on, take a guided tour or explore independently. When looking for a holiday rental, you can therefore consider which of these aspects of Coober Pedy you would like to shape your stay.

Search for opals yourself or explore a mine

The Unearthing Opal Experience takes visitors to a nighttime dig on an active opal field. The experience includes a freshly opened mining area. There, visitors work with a pickaxe and scan the mining face with a UV blacklight. If you’re interested in opal mining, this experience offers more than an explanation of the subject: you can search for opals yourself and use both tools.

Another option is the Old Timers Mine. It offers ongoing self-guided tours, with maps available in several languages. You can explore the tour at your own pace, using the maps to find your way. Visitors can also search for opals in the mine’s noodling pits. This makes the visit different from the nighttime dig on the active opal field: here, the experience includes a self-guided tour and searching in the noodling pits. If you’re considering different ways to search for opals during your stay, you can plan these experiences separately.

Churches and the history of dugouts

The churches also tell different stories. The Church of Saint Elijah the Prophet is a Serbian Orthodox church in Coober Pedy. Built in 1993, it was dedicated to Saint Elijah. The Catacomb Underground Church came about in a different way: in the mid-1970s, it was excavated underground and later consecrated by the Anglican Church. These two sites therefore highlight different denominations and building histories.

Faye's Historic Underground Home offers another perspective on Coober Pedy’s underground construction. On a guided tour, visitors can explore an authentic dugout. Together with the Catacomb Underground Church, this visit makes underground construction a tangible part of the town’s history; the church and the home remain distinct stops, each with its own function. So alongside opal fossicking, visitors interested in history and building styles can find a very different focus for their stay.

Other aspects of the town

The Coober Pedy Opal Fields Golf Club gives visitors the opportunity to play a round of golf. This is a different way to spend time in Coober Pedy than visiting a mine or taking a tour. The Coober Pedy Drive In, meanwhile, is one of Australia’s last remaining drive-in cinemas. This distinctive form of cinema alone makes it a cultural attraction in its own right. Together, golf and the drive-in offer two separate options alongside opal mining, churches and dugouts, though they need not appeal to everyone’s interests.

The Coober Pedy Visitor Information Centre provides detailed information about local attractions and areas in South Australia and the Northern Territory. This can be helpful if you want to consider your interests beyond individual experiences in town. When looking for a holiday rental, you can use the kind of stay you have in mind as your guide. That way, you can plan your stay around the things you actually want to discover.

For the broader travel overview: District Council of Coober Pedy.