Coober Pedy and Flinders Ranges

According to the original plan, there should have been a report about our second Outback route (Coober Pedy -> Lake Eyre -> Flinders Ranges) by now. Unfortunately, we had to change our plans here because when we arrived in Coober Pedy, we learned that the unpaved road through the Outback is only open to four-wheel drive cars due to recent rainfalls. However, despite booking one, we did not receive a four-wheel drive car due to an error by our car rental company. So, we were knocked out and had to drive back the unattractive route from the even less attractive Coober Pedy to Port Augusta, just to then reach the southern corner of the Flinders Ranges (Quorn) from there. Although this route is still considered part of the Outback, it is actually a very well-built and fully paved highway (the Stuart Highway) that leads through boring pastureland.

As mentioned before, Coober Pedy is not really beautiful, but it has a special feature: The people here live in earth caves, which are created anyway during opal mining. Museums, shops, churches, and accommodations (including ours) can be found in these caves. The reason is quickly explained: In the heat, these caves provide reasonably well-cooled (living) spaces.

At least the stay in Quorn (southern Flinders Ranges) was very nice and everything from accommodation to the three hikes we undertook there was perfect.