Painted Desert Tour

Itinerary:

Valid for 01APR11-31MAR13:
A one day 4WD tour to the spectacular breakaway country of the Painted Desert (Arckaringa Hills).The Painted Desert is an area of spectacular colourful 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, created this magical area whose colours change during the day, making it a photographer's delight.

To get there, the tour 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). 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 palaeontologists 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.