Where The Hell is Copley?

What to do in Leigh Creek and Copley, in South Australia

At times, while traveling you find yourself in the most unusual places, one of those places happened to be Copley Why is Copley unusual? I never planned on being there. It is completely out of the way for 99.9% of backpackers and travelers to South Australia. It is a coal mining town, an occupation which I have no interest in. But it is charming.

What what does a city that advertises itself as having "more services than you can poke a stick at", actually have to offer? Well, I have poked a lot of sticks and here is what we find in Copley.

The Quangdong Cafe has the best coffee I have ever experienced in Australia. Hands down. Got it with a Quangdong Pie, also excellent. I am always impressed when I find places like this in such remote places.

Other features of Copley's Main Street include Cooke's Outback Motors, the Leigh Creek Hotel(Located in Copley), and a hardware store. Are you excited yet?

Of the two places to stay, the Copley Caravan Park is tops. They have individual units for a reasonable price and very clean. This is also the gateway to Arkaroola and a the Gammon Ranges and the folks at the Camper van Park are great with recommending tours.

Copley's distant history is with the Adnyamathanha people, (the Rock People). They are the indigenous owners of the lands. To get a real Adnyamathanha experience, you can head north from Copley to Iga Warta and learn about their indigenous history from the people themselves.

More recently, Copley and Leigh Creek is a coal mining town. While the coal here will eventually run out, they do still mine coal that gets sent to Port Augusta.