Curated field list
Coober Pedy for Photographers
Otherworldly landscapes and big skies - the Breakaways at golden hour, Moon Plain, the Painted Desert, and a night sky thick with stars.
Few places photograph like Coober Pedy. The light on the Breakaways at sunrise and sunset is the headline - mesa cliffs glowing in bands of ochre and white - but there’s also the lunar flatness of Moon Plain, the colour of the Painted Desert, the whole town from the Big Winch, and after dark, a Milky Way you can almost read by. Bring a wide lens, a tripod for the stars, and shoot the edges of the day.
8 places in this collection
Map view
Day tripsKanku-Breakaways Conservation Park
Stunning Aboriginal-owned tablelands and colourful hills, 30 min north - unmissable at sunrise or sunset.
- Good with kids
Day tripsMoon Plain
A vast, lunar gibber-stone desert used as a film location - utterly otherworldly.
- Free
Day tripsPainted Desert (Arckaringa Hills)
Remote, multi-coloured hills about 2.5 hours away - a spectacular 4WD-friendly day trip.
Open field note
AttractionsThe Big Winch Scenic Lookout
Coober Pedy's highest point - 360° town views, a café and the famous Big Winch sculpture.
- Free
- Good with kids
AttractionsStargazing in Coober Pedy
Some of the darkest skies in Australia - the Milky Way, the Southern Cross and two naked-eye galaxies, best seen a short drive out of town.
- Free
- Good with kids
AttractionsThe Spaceship (Pitch Black Prop)
A film prop spaceship from the movie Pitch Black, parked in town - a fun free photo stop.
- Free
- Good with kids
Day tripsManguri Siding
The remote rail siding 42km west of town where The Ghan stops - your chance to glimpse the legendary outback train on its run between Adelaide and Darwin.
Open field note
AttractionsBoot Hill Cemetery
Coober Pedy's main cemetery - a moving, very Coober Pedy place where miners of dozens of nationalities lie, including the famous beer-can headstone.
Open field note