Andamooka Observatory — Local services in Andamooka

As part of an extended roadtrip through South Australia, my husband and I decided to visit Andamooka so we could do the stargazing & opal noodling nocturnal tour at the Andamooka Observatory. We have both been looking forward to this experience during our travels, and it really met and then exceeded our expectations. Leila and Conan welcomed us like old friends; they were so friendly and knowledgeable, and really understood and appreciated the land they worked on. The clouds on the night prevented any extended stargazing, but Leila took opportunities in the breaks in the clouds to point out the amazing glimpses we did see. However, the clouds meant we were able to spend our time doing more noodling! Leila and Conan taught us what to look for with our UV torches, and Leila pointed out little treasures along the way. They explained how opal mining is conducted, and how measures have been taken to ensure that the opal mining in Andamooka, Coober Pedy, etc. is done sustainability, ethically, and respectfully of the Indigenous land it takes place on. Unfortunately for us, we were only in Andamooka for one night, but with their knowledge of the area, Leila and Conan were happy to share more places to see and things to do in Andamooka. To anyone travelling through South Australia, this is definitely worth putting on the bucket list. This experience would also be great for families - we encountered a family noodling who had done the tour previously, and loved it so much they came back. We couldn't recommend this experience...

Went again April 2024. Very knowledgeable about opals and looking for opals. Have a daytime noodling (fossicking) tour for opals and a night time noodling and star tour. These guys will show you good locations for noodling for opal outside of the caravan park and will teach you how to do it safely.

Did the stargazing and blacklight noodling. Leila was friendly, polite, knowledgeable and encouraging. We looked at four different points of interest through the telescope plus the moon which we could photograph with our phone. The blacklight noodling was fun and everyone found some piece of colour as well as potch. Thanks for an...

We were looking forward to our trip with much excitement, after reading the brochure. We were shown examples of conglomerate stone containing opal seams. We were given a bucket and pick and taken up onto the hill to noodle for opals. This hill is open to everyone for free! We found small fragments. We asked to be taken to see the sculpted tiger constructed by Col the stonemason. Very interesting, although Col was on holidays. It would have been a nice gesture to offer a refreshment after wandering around for a couple of hours in the sun. $50 per person is expensive for very...