Scenery

Kupi Gliding

Coober Pedy's volunteer gliding club - soar engine-free over the opal fields and gibber plains in some of the clearest, most thermal-rich air in the country.

Manguri 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.

Stargazing 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

The Eight Mile Opal Field

The rich historic opal field north of town where the world's most valuable opal was found - quirky sculptures, old diggings and a scattering of people still living out there.

William Creek

One of Australia's smallest towns - a historic pub on the Oodnadatta Track and the gateway to Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre, about 167km east of Coober Pedy.

Kanku-Breakaways Conservation Park

Stunning Aboriginal-owned tablelands and colourful hills, 30 min north - unmissable at sunrise or sunset.

• Good with kids

Moon Plain

A vast, lunar gibber-stone desert used as a film location - utterly otherworldly.

• Free

Painted Desert (Arckaringa Hills)

Remote, multi-coloured hills about 2.5 hours away - a spectacular 4WD-friendly day trip.