First we pass the the world's longest fence, the 5320km dingo fence, which for all its size has apparently failed to keep dingoes out of South Australia.
Then we cross the Moon Plains, an ancient seabed where you can find fossilized marine life and petrified wood, including the partial backbone of a five to six-metre long ichthyosaur which swam in the ancient sea 120 million years ago.
If the scenery seems familiar, Rowe explains, it's probably because it has formed the backdrop to films like Mad Max, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Pitch Black and Stark.
There are huge, glittering plains of gypsum which look as though they're the repository of a million broken car windscreens. Emus and kangaroos make frequent appearances along the way and cattle, looking surprisingly well-fed, forage on rare clumps of trees and shrubs.
The cattle, Rowe says, come from either Arckaringa or Mt Barry stations, farms so big they muster their beasts with the aid of light aircraft.
And finally we are in the desert itself, a giant canvas where the forces of nature have been at work for perhaps 80 million years, creating extraordinary pictures in varying shades of rusty brown, abstract shapes that look as though they could have been painted only by an artist tripping on LSD.
Above, in the brilliant blue sky, jetstreams twist the clouds into strange patterns, creating the perfect frame for the dreamtime vision below.
At the Arckaringa Hills, a heritage site with restricted access, Rowe leads us on a 1 1/2-hour walk through a landscape which has been carved by millions of years of weather into artworks which are both paintings and sculptures.
The scenery is spectacular, but so is the heat, and there's not much left in my water bottle by the time we return to our four-wheel-drive.
On the way back to Coober Pedy we stop at a billabong to rest under the shade of the coolabah trees; and while we wait for the billy to boil I can't help looking round for jolly swagmen.
There aren't any swagmen to be seen but the tea is great and the reflection of the trees in the still waters create a wonderfully tranquil effect ... or maybe it's just me feeling the result of long hours spent driving through such a demanding environment.
The second of these artworks, the Painted Hills, are even harder to reach because they lie in the giant Anna Creek Station, all 2.5 million ha, whose owners have barred public access in order to preserve their pristine condition.
To see the hills you have to make your way to Williams Creek, which proudly proclaims its status as the smallest town in South Australia, population 9 or 10 depending on who you ask.
The corrugated-iron pub, dating from 1887, is worth a visit on its own with its display of souvenirs left by drinkers over the years - from business cards and scrawled notes to bras and jockstraps.
The town is the base for pilot Trevor Wright whose four-seater Cessna plane is the only way to enjoy this extraordinary place which, although known to locals for years, has only recently been revealed to the general public.
The hills are truly extraordinary - long-dead rivers, and the occasional torrential downpour which still fall on the desert now and again, have carved the soft sandstone into amazing sculpted forms and then coloured them with patterns of red, yellow and white, the result of dissolved minerals such as iron and manganese.
Occasionally, this pastel landscape is ruled off by lines of greenery created by rows of trees which survive by sucking the moisture buried deep beneath the creekbeds which may carry water only once a year.
At times you can see the santa gertrudis cattle which run on Anna Creek, but it's a telling commentary on the land that such a vast station runs only 3000 head.
It's a place you can't help feeling would be better left alone, as nature obviously intended, to serve as a vast outdoor art gallery.
Paul Estcourt was a guest of the South Australia Tourism Commission.
Getting there: Air New Zealand offers non-stop flights from Auckland to Adelaide. Airfares start from $509 one-way online.
For information, visit airnewzealand.co.nz.
More information: Australian airlines offer flights from Adelaide to Coober Pedy.
For Wrightsair tours see www.wrightsair.com.au/william.htm.
To get details of the Desert Diversity Tours from Coober Pedy visit www.desertdiversity.com/paint.htm.
General information about South Australia can be found at www.southaustralia.com.
