Outback Mail Run: The Mail Run day tour travels over a triangle between Coober Pedy, Oodnadatta and William Creek, visiting points of interest and delivering mailbags to all cattle stations on the way. The route covers 600 kilometers of colorful terrain, passing historic ruins and monuments and part of the Overland Telegraph Line. Also visit, bores and cattle station homesteads.
Painted Desert Tour: A one day 4WD tour to the spectacular breakaway country of the Painted Desert (Arckaringa Hills).The Painted Desert is an area of spectacular colorful hills that Mother Nature has taken 80 million years to create. Sediments originally laid down by the ancient inland sea have eroded away over time. This erosion, combined with the leaching of minerals from the soil, create this magical area whose colors change during the day, making it a photographer's delight.
To get there, Desert Diversity Tours leaves the world-famous Opal mining town of Coober Pedy, past the last of the underground homes and through the Dingo Fence (the world's longest structure). You travel over an area that was once the ancient inland sea bed, but today is commonly known as the Moon Plains.
This area is a very important marine-fossil bed that has become of great interest to paleontologists since the recent discovery, by the operators of Desert Diversity Tours, of the partial backbone of a 5-6 meter long Ichthyosaur (ancient marine reptile) which swam in the ancient sea 120 million years ago.
See some of the vast cattle stations of the Outback, bush walk through the Painted Desert, experience the beauty of Outback landscapes and waterholes. Learn about the Great Artesian Basin, the early explorers and the pastoral industry. Morning/afternoon tea & lunch are supplied.
Down 'N' Dirty: For those who want to experience the thrill of digging for a fortune, this tour offers a comprehensive hands-on opportunity.
The 4-hour tour includes:
- Informative, instructional and entertaining video on opal mining to open up the mysterious world of discovering the stone of fire "The Coober Pedy Opal"
- A visit to a working mine field to understand the various styles of opal mining, and to relive the hardship and joy of earlier times of Opal mining
- Entry to the Quest Mine where you will be supplied with a hard hat, torch and handpick. Get down and get dirty fossicking for your own fortune
- Access to the "Jewellers Shop" mullock heaps for an experience in noodling (fossicking)
- Experience the safe, fun, informative way to mine your own opal
