About Coober Pedi

Coober Pedy provides the ideal stopover for travellers heading from Adelaide to Alice Springs and Uluru (Ayers Rock). 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 cool nights. Summer temperatures range from 35 to 47 degrees Celsius. Summer nights are balmy.
The annual rainfall is only 175mm. Four Wheel Drive vehicles are urged to take care or avoid unsealed roads after rain.

Population
Coober Pedy is bigger than you might think. Coober Pedy has a population greater than 3,500. It is a multicultural town with more than 45 different resident nationalities. It is a town that delights in its multicultural 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 precious opal gemstones can be found.

The country around 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 throughout the area. South Australia's spectacular flora emblem, the Sturt Desert Pea, can be see flowering for much 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 one of the very driest parts of South Australia. The annual rainfall is only 175mm. Water supplies have to be brought from Sub Atresian Bores some 26 km north west of the town. Water is very expensive limited commodity. Locals often say that water is more precious than opal. Please, when you stay in Coober Pedy, remember how precious our water is.