The Breakaways, Moon Plain and Dog Fence

Where are the Breakaways and what are they?

A 14,300-hectare conservation park about 25 km north of Coober Pedy, with coloured hills, flat-topped mesas and gibber plains locally called the moon plain.

The District Council of Coober Pedy describes the park as coloured hills, mesas and plains of gibber, the polished desert stones that cover so much of the outback. The mesas are banded in white, cream, yellow and deep orange, and from the lookouts they run off in a broken line towards the horizon. It became a reserve in 2001, a conservation park on 4 July 2013 and took the name Kanku-Breakaways in 2015.

The council's photo gallery names the Angkata lookout. One formation, often called Salt and Pepper or the Castle, is named Papa Kutjara in the park's management plan.

Do you need a permit to visit the Breakaways?

Yes. Self-drivers need a vehicle entry permit: A$13.50 per vehicle, or A$11.20 with a concession, from the council's online booking site or the Coober Pedy visitor centre.

The permit is per car, not per person, so buy it before you drive out. The visitor centre on Hutchison Street sells permits and gives road conditions; it opens 9am to 5pm on weekdays and 9am to 1pm at weekends and public holidays. On a tour the fee is handled for you: licensed operators pay a visitor use fee of A$4.80 per person from 1 April 2026, which is usually part of the tour price.

Can you drive to the Breakaways in a 2WD?

The council says the road is unformed dirt, and after rain the park, or parts of it, can close or open to 4WD only. Check conditions before you go.

The council warns that the road varies a lot and is affected by weather, especially rain. Road updates go out through the council and the park's own Facebook page, and the visitor centre can tell you the day's conditions. Drive slowly on the corrugations, stay on the marked tracks, and carry water.

Camping, hunting and firearms are not allowed without the board's approval, per the management plan, and the board can close all or part of the park for up to a week for ceremonies or cultural activities.

When is the best time to see the Breakaways?

At sunrise or sunset, says the council, when the low sun lights the bands in the mesas. From April to September the days are mild.

Midday light flattens the colours and the heat bounces off the gibber. At dawn and dusk the mesas glow orange and red, and the shadows show their shape. Coober Pedy's average maximum is 36.7°C in January and 18.7°C in July, with July nights down around 6.3°C, so pack a jacket for a winter sunrise.

Allow about an hour at the lookouts, more if you want to walk and photograph. The 7-day tours come through in the morning: the camping tour from Adelaide on day four, heading north.

What is the Aboriginal story of the Breakaways?

To the Antakirinja Matu-Yankunytjatjara traditional owners, the hills called Salt and Pepper are Papa Kutjara: two seated dogs, one yellow and one white, with their owner and a father emu nearby.

The management plan tells the outline of the story: a peaked hill to the right is the man who owns the dogs, and to the left a father emu watches over his chicks. It also says that Aboriginal culture does not permit all the details of the Kanku's story to be shared, so what you hear on site is the part meant for visitors.

The park is protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 and the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988, and it is co-managed by the Antakirinja Matu-Yankunytjatjara people, the District Council of Coober Pedy and the South Australian Government through a co-management board. Respect the signs, stay on the tracks and leave every stone where it lies.

See the Breakaways country, the Moon Plain and the Painted Desert in one Saturday by 4WD from Coober Pedy, with a picnic lunch. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.

★ 4.4 · 10 hours · from $225

Explore the Painted Desert day tour → Tour details

Where is the Dog Fence near Coober Pedy?

It runs through the Kanku-Breakaways area north of town. The fence is about 5,614 km long, from the Darling Downs in Queensland to the Nullarbor cliffs.

The Dog Fence, or Dingo Fence, was built to keep dingoes out of the sheep country to the south. It runs from Jimbour on the Darling Downs to the Nullarbor cliffs near Nundroo, which makes it one of the longest structures in the world. Near Coober Pedy it is a plain wire fence crossing an empty plain, and that is the point: it shows the scale of the country better than any sign.

Many drivers make a loop of the Breakaways, the Dog Fence and the Moon Plain on the dirt roads north of town. The camping tour from Adelaide passes the Dingo Fence on day four on its way to the Breakaways and the Northern Territory.

What is the Moon Plain, and which films were shot there?

A flat, stony gibber plain north-east of town. Ausfilm lists Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Pitch Black and Red Planet among the films shot in the area.

The Moon Plain looks like another world because nothing grows tall on it: just gibber stones, low saltbush and a huge sky. Ausfilm's location notes add Mortal Kombat and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome at the Breakaways, and the management plan mentions Priscilla and Mad Max as well. The television series Firebite was shot in town.

The Painted Desert day tour crosses the Moon Plain on the Kempe Road on its way north to the Arckaringa Hills every Saturday, and comes home through the Breakaways country. It is limited to four guests and not suitable for children under 5 or people over 70.

Which tours visit the Breakaways?

The camping tour from Adelaide on day four, the Explorer's Way tours on their Coober Pedy days, and the Painted Desert day tour through the Breakaways country.

• The camping tour from Adelaide drives past the Dingo Fence and through the Kanku-Breakaways on the morning after the night underground.
• The Explorer's Way tour north stops at the Breakaways on day three, after Old Timers Mine and Josephine's.
• The Explorer's Way tour south stops there on day five, on the way into town from Marla.
• The Painted Desert day tour comes back through the Breakaways country on its Saturday loop.

On all of them the park fee is covered. The council also lists local licensed operators that run short Breakaways trips from town, booked in Coober Pedy.

Frequently asked questions