Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

OUTBACK SOUTH AUSTRALIA 523
Moments
A Fabulous Four-Wheel-Drive Adventure
With a hired vehicle from Adelaide, it’s a day’s drive north through the
Clare Valley wine region to the Prairie Hotel (see above). Stop off along
the way for a traditional Aussie lunch at Bluey Blundstone’s Café in
Melrose (& 08/8666 2173). The next day it’s a 3- to 4-hour drive to
William Creek, an Outback town with a takeout restaurant, pub/hotel,
satellite phone box, camping ground, and general store. “Explore the
Outback” Camel Safaris (& 08/8672 3968; www.austcamel.com.au/
explore) offers 4-day camel safaris across the desert from here (check
their website for alternate ways to get to William Creek). Just 20km
(12 miles) before you reach town is a turnoff to Lake Eyre, a giant salt
lake which flooded in 2000, and again in 2001, and should hold water
for a couple of years. Wrightsair offers 1-hour flights over Lake Eyre
for A$110 (US$72) per person. Call & 0418/336 748 (mobile). Camping
beside the lake is a magical experience. The next day it’s a 166km (103-
mile) drive to Coober Pedy (see above), and then a 9-hour drive back
to Adelaide.
holidays). A good website, www.opalcapitaloftheworld.com.au, gives a run down
of other adventure operators in the area.
SEEING THE TOWN
Radeka’s Downunder Motel (see below) runs half-day tours of the opal fields,
including a visit to an underground mine. It costs A$30 (US$20) for adults and
A$15 (US$9.75) for kids.
If you want to see parts of Australia that most Australians never see, join an
honest-to-goodness Mail Run for a 12-hour journey out into the bush. Tours
leave every Monday and Thursday from Underground Books (& 08/8672
5558) in Coober Pedy (yep, it’s a bookshop underground) and travel along
600km (372 miles) of dirt roads to Oodnatta and William Creek cattle station,
stopping off at five different stations along the route. It can get pretty hot and
dusty outside (think endless horizons of flat lands), but it’s relatively comfortable
inside the air-conditioned 4WD, and you’ll have the chance to see such
wildlife as eagles, emus, and the ever-present kangaroos. Bring your own lunch,
or buy it along the way. Tours cost around A$120 (US$78) for adults and A$75
(US$49) for children under 12, though kids might find the long trip difficult.
This could easily be one of the most memorable experiences you have in Australia,
for its up-close-and-personal look at life in the bush.
WHERE TO STAY
The Backpacker’s Inn at Radeka’s Downunder Motel Whereas all
other “underground” rooms in Coober Pedy are actually built into the side of a
hill, the centrally located hostel here is actually underground—some 6.5m (21
ft.) directly below the topside building, that is. This makes for nice all-yearround
temperatures. Odd-looking dorms have no doors and are scooped out of
the rock. They contain just four beds, though there are two large dorms sleeping
up to 20 people. The twin rooms are simply furnished but pleasant. The
motel rooms are quite comfortable and come with attached bathrooms with a