Driving the road from Port Augusta to Cooper Pedy started on the morning of the 3rd of November 2018. We started the drive from Shoreline caravan park and headed North on the Stuart Highway. It was a surprisingly cool morning a refreshing change to the hot wether we had just recently had. The road North is reasonably smooth and of a good quality to our surprise. On the way the fauna we spotted were rock wallabies, two big eagles, tons of crows, sheep and the usual squashed kangaroos, the smell of them decomposing is not something you can get used to, it hits you every time. However we were delighted to see a group of emus running away from the road when we beeped at them.

The landscape goes from being flat with silvery bushes and changes to small hills, distant large rocks, salt lakes and beautiful red earth. We stopped for photos at the island lagoon lookout. This lookout had a mix of salt and mud flats which small to medium dirt mounds scattered throughout. The stop itself was a little rough looking which a smashed up car and graffitied bins. We stopped at the stunning Lake Hart which is a huge white salt lake white is a perfect photo opportunity and you can walk down to it. They have information signs about explorers way and local sights.

We drove on the royal flying doctors landing pad, which was just a marked out section of the highway. There are a lot of mirages on the highway and is quote difficult to see incoming traffic. Having your headlights turned on is an important part of helping each other out by being able to spot each others vehicles 200m away.

We stopped for a bite to eat at Bon Bon rest stop and checked over the van and car. Then it was back on the road again to push forward to reach Cooper Pedy.

Thirty kilometres from our destination it became evident that this was a opal mining town. Big and small piles of potch and dirt were piled everywhere and a slight sweet smell lingered in the air. We pulled into the Big 4 campsite and stepped out to a nice cool breeze and set up quickly. We then headed out to see the town. There are cute sculptures and many establishments carved into the earth. After a lap of the town and a few quick pics of sights we headed back to the campsite to relax and wind down for the day.