Photos thanks to the Farina Restoration Group
In the heart of South Australia’s red, dusty country, something extraordinary is rising once again, warm and golden as fresh bread. Hidden beneath the stone ruins of an abandoned outback town, the Farina Underground Bakery is firing up its historic Scotch oven, ready to welcome visitors from near and far this May.
Farina isn’t your typical tourist destination. Located around 600 kilometres north of Adelaide, this remote, deserted town is normally an eerily quiet scatter of stone ruins, windblown silence and vast, starry skies.
But for eight delicious weeks a year, the town springs back to life with the smell of fresh bread, the chatter of happy campers, and the kind of community spirit that warms you from the inside out.
The Farina Bakery is the beating heart of this transformation. It’s built underground in what used to be a meat store in the 1880s, repurposed into a bakery during Farina’s early settlement days.
These days, it’s run entirely by volunteers from across Australia, who descend on the town with a mission to preserve history and serve up some of the best pies, sourdough and sticky date pudding you’ll ever taste.
The oven itself is a story worth the drive. Built over 130 years ago, the massive Scotch oven is fired with wood and managed like a piece of antique machinery, carefully brought to life each morning to bake treats that disappear almost as fast as they’re pulled out to serve.
There’s a certain charm in watching the team work underground, their hands moving to massage the dough and stir the fillings, the scent of sweet and savoury drifting up through the cracks to the world above.
What’s even more special is what this bakery means to the people who keep it running. The volunteers don’t just bake. They preserve, they restore, they connect.
Every pie sold helps fund the Farina Restoration Group’s efforts to rebuild and protect the town’s history, from its cemetery to its railway heritage and everything in between. Last year alone, the bakery attracted over 12,000 visitors, many of whom camped nearby and explored the broader Flinders Ranges region.
Families especially love the Farina experience. Kids can peek into the oven room, run among the ruins, and munch on fresh caramel slice while parents enjoy coffee brewed on-site.
There’s something beautiful about seeing little faces covered in icing sugar while their parents take in the stories of a town that refuses to be forgotten.
The 2025 season runs from Saturday 24 May to 20 July, drawing thousands of visitors each year, especially during school holidays and major outback events like Bash, Marree Camel Cup, and the Finke Desert Race.
Located in the Lake Eyre Basin, Farina is 26km north of Lyndhurst and 55km south of Marree, near the junctions of the Birdsville, Innaminka and Oodnadatta Tracks. It’s about a 6-hour drive from Adelaide, with upgraded bitumen roads making it the perfect road trip destination.
If you’ve been looking for a unique winter road trip or a taste of something different, Farina is more than just a stopover. It’s living history, good food and great people wrapped into one unforgettable adventure.
Just don’t hit snooze on the morning bakery queue — the bread sells out fast, and you won’t want to miss a slice of outback heaven.
Farina Underground Bakery
When: Saturday 24 May to 20 July, 2025
For more information, click here.
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