Woomera

We are in the Outback.

The road north from Port Pirie tracks along Spencer Gulf with the Southern Flinders Ranges to our east. There isn't a lot to see, until we reach Port Augusta at the head of the gulf. This is another mining town, with smelter beside the gulf. It is the gateway to the South Australian outback.
We only stop in Port Augusta for a fuel top up, then are back on the road. No reflection on Port Augusta, we just don't have the time for another smelter town stop. We are immediately amazed at how the scenery has changed to flat open plains and red earth. There is no doubting we are now in the outback. You can see for miles. The road trains loom in the distance, then take an age to get near, such is the distance you can see. Along the road we stop at a couple of road side parking areas, just to take in the magnificent scenery. The only people on the road, are caravanners like ourselves, or the huge road trains.

You can see for miles.

Our destination is Woomera. With the after burners on, we arrive mid afternoon. The caravan park, Woomera Travellers Village, is a red earth paddock with a fence around it, a few kerbs define the sites and there is water and power. Along the bottom boundary is a two storey brick building that serves as office, motel accommodation and managers residence. The building is one of dozens around Woomera, left over workers accommodation from the boom days of yesteryear. Robyn gets to keep her marine theme going, this time in room C2 (Sea, get it? Ho Ho).

Rocket Display at Woomera.

Woomera itself is quite amazing. It looks like a large booming country town, with rows of relatively new houses and two storey apartment buildings, government  buildings, shops, hospital, school, theatre, bowling alley, playgrounds and much much more. The only thing missing is the people. Current population is around 70! So all this is left over from when Woomera was the centre of Australia's space program, along with weapon testing. There is a full air base, but it only gets used occasionally, when the air force needs to get a little practice. Apparently we just missed the Hornet Jet Fighters, having a great time in the skies around Woomera. There are left over displays of old rockets and other types of missiles and aircraft, and there is a museum, that covers the history from the late 1940's, when the Aussies and Poms got together to test rockets. It just takes some getting used to, driving around these miles of deserted streets, hardly ever seeing a person.

Drinks at the Cudgee Bar, Woomera.

At the Caravan Park, Happy Hour was starting at The Cudgee Bar, a timber deck with a 20ft Container on the end, acting as the bar. There was quite an atmosphere going, and as the temperature starts to drop, the patio heaters come out.
We got a visitor to our table. We thought he was moving in to chat up our Robyn! Turns out he was also a Robin, the local meteorologist, and cook at the Services Club, on Fridays! He was a wealth of information about the town and the area, and we got an invite out to the Weather Station for the next mornings weather balloon launch. Now that was an offer too good to refuse! When drinks ended we adjourned to the caravan for another great Carol cooked meal.

Robin checks minimum/maximum
temperatures.

Launching the weather balloon.

Bright and early Sunday morning we were on the road to the Weather Station, past  the golf course, past the abandoned boom gate to the abandoned Refugee Detention Centre, past a lot of other signs prohibiting entry to Commonwealth Lands, and into the driveway of the Bureau of Meteorology, Woomera. Apparently there are only 40 of these weather stations around Australia, all in pretty remote places. Robin has been here for years, going from 5 staff and lots of manual work, to just him and lots of computers. Every day at 8.45am, along with all the other stations, he launches a weather balloon that goes up some 20kms, measuring all sorts of data. Robin is a real character. He is a Kiwi, which probably explains why he lives in such a remote place, has spent lots of time in Antarctica, and really enjoys living in Woomera. Surprisingly, he has a wife and kids in Adelaide, who he visits on those weekends, when he isn't required for cooking duties at the club. We are all so different, in the lives we live. Anyway, it was a unique experience for all of us.

18th Green at Woomera Golf Club.

On the way back out, we called into the Woomera Golf Club, where Sunday comp was well underway. Now this is unique. The fairways are narrow, and all sand, and the greens are oiled sand.  The rough is terminal! You get a small square of synthetic turf, to hit your shots off, and you roll out a clean line for your putts! Still, the guys looked like they were having fun. The hardest part looked like having to pull your buggy along in all that sand!!

Olympic Dam Mine at Roxby Downs.

From here we went out to Roxby Downs, home to the Olympic Dam mine site, largest underground mine in Australia, mining uranium, gold nickel and lots of other things. Future plans could see the mine double in size, making it the largest underground mine in the world. Unfortunately they don't do mine tours on weekends, so we could only view from afar. The town of Roxby Downs was a real surprise. It was purpose built by BHP Billiton, to house the thousands of workers and contractors needed to operate the mine. It is a good sized town with all new and modern facilities, including a shopping mall with a Woolworths Supermarket, centre stage. Unlike Woomera, it has green grass and trees, and lots of people. From here we headed out to Andamooka, a small opal mining town, not quite as famous as Cooper Pedy, but still a source of quality opal.

The opal Big Bus Andamooka.

Driving into Andamooka is similar to a moon landing. You are surrounded by mounds of earth. It is as if a horde of giant ants have been working over the land. Small mounds, large mounds, and then mountains of earth, are evidence to the work that has occurred here, over a long time, and it spreads out for miles around town. The whole place looks tired and rundown. The people look tired and rundown! Lots of deserted homes and shops. We decide to try the pub for lunch. The Opal Inn is doing Sunday lunch. As we enter the pub and our eyes adjust to the low level of light, we soon realise that Jack Palance is alive and living in Andamooka. So are most of those guys that played Mexican extras in those cheap spaghetti westerns! I order beer in a dirty glass, and use the spittoon for effect, while the girls are ogled constantly by the female deprived. The girls order soup, which is also pretty tough. The spoon is standing upright as the waiter brings it to the table! My steak was served rare, horns off!! We finished a great lunch experience, found the car, still with four wheels, and headed back to Woomera, knowing that winning Lotto is a lot more likely than striking it rich in Andamooka!


Back in Woomera a cold night was looming, so we tucked into a great dinner of salmon and warm kumera salad, beautifully prepared and served by our own master chef Carolyn. Early to bed as it is off to Cooper Pedy tomorrow.