Driving from Adelaide to Coober Pedy
Tuesday, 25 January 2005
Even though there's a bitumen road all the way from Adelaide to Coober Pedy, 850 km, isolation is still a hazard once you leave Port Augusta.
It is 170 km to the first roadhouse, Pimba, then another 115 km to Glendambo, the next roadhouse. After that there are no roadhouses for the next 250 km to Coober Pedy. The photo below shows one of the two emergency roadside phones that connect to the Port Augusta police. This one is 90 km south of Coober Pedy, the other is 80 km north of Glendambo.
Cattle, sheep and kangaroos can stray onto the road at any time.
Heading north, on the right hand side, are small kilometre posts used by Department of Transport workers, every kilometre, showing the distance to the Northern Territory border. On the left hand side are the standard green road kilometre signs, every 5 or 10 kilometres.
Emergency water supplies are available at several roadside parking bays.
The best time of year to travel is from April to September, the coolest time. If you ever break down, stay with your vehicle.
