Date: 22-25th August 2025
Travelled: 340 kms from Ayers Rock to Cooper Pedy
Visited: Cooper Pedy
Stayed: Opal Inn CP, $37.50 pn, S29.01456, E134.75472
Escaping Ayers Rock its another long drive east for the Stuart Highway turning south at Ghan we stop for the night some 50 kms later at a free stop. We share the spot with several other campers and 500k flies.
After another quiet evening we continue south on the Stuart. Stopping for fuel at Kulgera Roadhouse you get the feel of roadhouse culture in the NT.
The road is relatively quiet and considering we are 300 kilometres from anywhere, in good condition. In the distance we see a black bird standing on some road kill in the opposite side of the road. Just another crow, shit thatโs a big crow it suddenly occurs to me, it was an eagle getting up just in time to suicide into the drivers rear vision mirror assembly and rip it straight off the Jayco.
We pull into a rest area 20 kms later at Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara for the night. I get the Starlink going and start trying to work out a replacement mirror. Itโs a great stop a few hundred metres from the main railway line. Mind you we spent the night alone our first spooky free stop this trip.
After waiting for the Ghan to pass, for a while, we ready the Jayco and hit the road another 300 kilometre drive we see the first obvious sign of Cooper Pedy. Small and large mounds of rubble showing where the search for opals has occurred. Twenty kms later we roll into town.
We soon find our spot in the Opal Inn CP, it certainly nothing special but our booking comes with two drink vouchers at the pub ..
The wind is up as is the dust, itโs not pleasant out there and itโs even worse on our second day in Cooper Pedy so the following photos are a compilation of two days.
The second afternoon was a real dust storm, so we bunkered in for the night. Our plans for a mine tour did not eventuate. CP has all the appearances of a post apocalyptic landscape of old broken down cars even older trucks, underground dwellings surrounded by a scarred moonscape. On the upside the IGA was surprisingly good.
Next morning the wind has dropped a little as we escape south.
Michael + Pam
2 thoughts on “Cooper Pedy, South Australia ๐ฆ๐บ 2025”
Great spelling of the local names and great report ๐ ๐โค๏ธ
Safe travels Johannes โค๏ธ
Wow…. it certainly did do some damage. Suppose it could have been worse though had it hit the windscreen. Hope it was killed outright.
You were certainly game standing in the middle of Hutchison St with all that traffic wizzing past ๐ ๐