Has anyone taken the 1 day mail run tours from Coober Pedy to either The Painted Desert or Oodnadatta-William Creek? What was it like?
Wondering if its better to take the tour ($185p.p) or self drive.

The boss has informed me we are going up the centre for our major trip next year, any info on places not be missed between Port Augusta and Darwin would be appreciated.
Thanks.


Johnw

The mail run is the greatest, went last yr before wife got sick, was the monday the big dust storms started, the driver is one of the best blokes you could meet, tall tales &true, stop off at stations to deliver mail, interesting country, brilliant day, cheap at twice the price.. des 37

John, havent done the mail run thing, have done the Oodnadatta from Marree up to the turn off to the Simpson desert.
Very unusual country on the southern end with the mound springs in such a flat desert landscape. Interesting drive up the track with the old railway line & stations, good camp spot.

Lake Eyer south may still have water b y then as the track passes beside it.
Keep planning. 

April last year we left the van at Marla on the Stuart Hwy and drove down the Oodnadatta Track, stayed the night at the Pink Roadhouse in Oodnadatta and came back via the Painted Desert. Would recommend doing the same thing in 1 day, you could be in Oodnadatta for lunch, then back in the afternoon. The trip down was a bit boring, just a good dirt road, the trip back was fantastic, the Painted Desert is terrific, except for the millions of flies.

The Other Half did the track in '04 and he said it was brilliant to drive mate.

went from mt dare to dalhouse springs, onto william ck, lake eyre and out to cober pedy in 09. That was a good drive but will be back to do the painted desert, lovely bit of country with a lot of history with the old ghan railway etc. cheers blaze

G'Day Did the OOdnadatta(?) mail run from Coober Pedy to ooda and William Ck just a couple of weeks ago and loved it.Peter Rowe is the mail contractor and a mine of information about the history and geology of the area,in fact you couldn't shut him up.Great guy,great trip although the run to Oodnadatta seems to take ages.The beer at William Ck was luuuvely as was the steak.A big day,but well worth the $190(from memory). If in Coober Pedy you must see the Breakaways and the Painted Desert,fine to do in a 4wd and even 2wd in good conditions.Make sure you take your favourite beverage and cheese and bickies to enjoy the sunset. Loved Coober Pedy and surrounds,eat at the Greek Taverna,duck up to the Big Winch lookout,but beware of Steven who will try and sell you more opal than you can carry,but a lovely guy for all that.Faye's underground house is marvellous..the Old Timers mine..go to them all.A major highlight of my journey so far. Cheers David

jandas fun wrote:

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Has anyone taken the 1 day mail run tours from Coober Pedy to either The Painted Desert or Oodnadatta-William Creek? What was it like?
Wondering if its better to take the tour ($185p.p) or self drive.

The boss has informed me we are going up the centre for our major trip next year, any info on places not be missed between Port Augusta and Darwin would be appreciated.
Thanks.


Johnw

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Hi guys, we have just arrived home after our outback trip via Coober Pedy, Oodnadatta and Birdsville track, taking in the Painted Desert via Arkaringa station and it was just magical. I would check the weather in the local area as the roads change very quickly and can be demanding on driver and vehicle. It is important to check with locals for their knowledge and if you go the self drive route that you adjust your tyre pressure. 30psi was recommended by locals and for us that was fine, no punctures, drama's etc.
If you feel confident in driving yourself then go for it, or if you want to both sit back and take in the scenery and relax then thats not a bad option either.

 

Nice to hear from you, Peter n Margaret, have been missing your experienced posts!

Thanks. everybody for the replies. Anne has wanted to see the Painted Desert for many years now and the whole area sounds just great to us. May have to spend a few days there for a good look around. Johnw

Sounds great, we are gonna take the mail run next year after reading about it here. 

Thank you Jandas fun for this post, and to all the people who replied.

I do the male run every time she asks "how much do you love me". LOL

You are a naughty boy JRH.

Yeah I know, just can't help it.

I see the price is now $190. The price has doubled since 2003. We had a good trip. The problem with driving yourself is you miss the commentary. It's a full 12 hour trip. We learnt a lot about that part of the outback on our trip. Desert Diversity Tours

-- Edited by PeterD on Wednesday 1st of December 2010 07:23:27 PM

Another good Mail Run is Cape York.  Only if you don't mind small 'Planes. 
Can't remember the cost, as it's been around 25 years, so price will have gone up a bit since then anyway.

Cheers,
Sheba.

A few pics from the the Painted Desert area.







Cheers,
Peter

Thanks for posting those Peter. Always enjoy your photo's and your blog site. Johnw

The northern SA desert areas are one of our favorite places to explore. The area is very rich in history that goes back thousands of years as a result of the natural water supplies. More recent history saw cattle, the Overland telegraph and the Ghan follow similar routes for the same reasons. Add the natural attractions of the varied landscape and the inland lakes to all of that and the fact that it is different everytime you visit and I can't imagine anyone not being able to be enthralled for a few weeks. Cheers, Peter