Coober Pedy to Adelaide, 5-Day Outback 4WD Safari

Overview

Coober Pedy is a town where people live underground to escape the heat and mine opals for a living, and it's just the starting point. This five-day small-group 4WD safari runs from there to Adelaide along the Oodnadatta Track, one of Australia's legendary outback routes, with real beds every night and a guide who knows the country's stories. The first days are pure frontier: a guided opal mine tour and dugout residences in Coober Pedy, crossing the Dingo Fence (the longest man-made structure on Earth), Anna Creek Station, a beer at William Creek's historic pub, the vast salt stillness of Lake Eyre South, and Marree's Afghan mosque and pioneer relics. Then the land rises into Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary and the Flinders Ranges, where the guided Brachina Gorge tour walks you through 'the Corridors Through Time', hundreds of millions of years in one gorge, before the Clare Valley eases you back to civilisation. Cabins, lodges and motel rooms throughout, continental breakfasts and select meals included, with optional scenic flights over Lake Eyre and the Painted Desert. This is the outback of the postcards, minus the guesswork.