Beyond the Flinders Ranges

Sunday June 2nd was Shirley's birthday so we started the day with bacon and eggs for breakfast.  As Birdsville was off the agenda (for now) we had to head 270 km back to Port Augusta before we could start to go north again. 

There was significant evidence of damage caused by the recent rains, with constant water across the road and/or rocks/soil washed onto the road.

We stopped for a coffee at Hawker then had a look at Quorn as we headed south. By lunch time we had reached Port Augusta and so we stopped at the Information Centre for an excellent focaccia for lunch. We then visited "Wadlata" - the great information attraction at the I.  It is well worth a visit—describing the long geological and human history of the region.

After gathering some provisions we headed 30 km north to a free camp site that was half way between the Adelaide to Darwin road and the north/south railway line.  As it was still Shirley's birthday we cooked dinner of roast chicken (five veges) and had quandong pie and ice cream—after enjoying some time around a bonzer camp fire.

Day 15 had us continuing northwards with the first stop at Woomera - the town that is famous for sending all sorts of projectiles skywards as well as tracking all sorts of things that live/float/reside above the earth.

It is a boring sort of town mainly because of the lack of people and any sign of life.  It is a bit like a ghost town.  This is a pity because it seems like a well laid out town.  It was interesting to note that the Stuart Highway (Adelaide-Darwin road) had been closed for 4 hours for each of the last 10 days as they were testing rockets—that were being fired across the Stuart Highway. We came through on the 11th day - after the testing had finished.
 After an ice cream we headed out to Roxby Downs - a drive of about 80 km.  Roxby Downs was a complete contrast, being a bustling town of around 4500 people.  It is a mining town, as the Olympic Dam mine is just down the road.  However the town is managed by a state-appointed administrator, and enjoys support and funding from the mine owners—BHP Billiton.  The Olympic Dam mine is one of the biggest gold mines around and the biggest uranium mine in the world.



After lunch we drive the 30 km to Andamooka - the opal town. This is a prime example of "the hardships people can endure in the quest for fortune". 

Although there was a lot of history on display it was a depressing town, as poor outcomes were more evident than rich outcomes. 


We found an excellent free camp site about 10 km out of Roxby Downs and promptly set about building a great camp fire. Crumpets were an important part of dinner. 

We awoke soon after dawn on Tuesday and drove the 4km back into Roxby Downs.  After a quick cup of coffee we joined the tour to the Olympic Dam mine, which produces uranium (biggest in the world), gold, silver and copper - something that is only done in Australia (and at Roxby Downs). The underground mine has 400 km of tunnels and ore is removed by both road and lift/hoist. Like all big mines what they do is just amazing.  Roxby Downs seems a nice, well organised town and enjoys the good relationship with BHP Billiton - the mine operators/owners.
We departed Roxby Downs and then had lunch at Woomera, after which we stopped for fuel in Pimba at "Spud's Road house".  The sign said "pay for fuel at the bar", and in typical outback country style it was a "bar with character" - you have to see it to believe it.
Ninety km later we stopped at a free camp for the night.  It was 30 metres from the Stuart highway and 100 metres from the Ghan railway line.  Darryl and I did our manly stuff and lit another bonzer camp fire - 3 out of 3 so far.  Another couple joined us and cooked their veges to go with their roast pork. A fourth couple joined us with their boxer dog (who had been abused by a previous owner).  We applied our charm and "Banjo" was soon all over us.  Eventually we all broke up and enjoyed our spag bolognaise with my herb and garlic damper. How good is this?  After dinner we returned to the fire for coffee and port.

Day 17 had us on the road just after 8am, in steady rain.  We have had our share of wet stuff lately.  The road was one of the long boring trips that can occur in Australia.  There was very little vegetation of significance and virtually no animals.  Even scavengers like eagles and cows were scarce.  However to travel and see our great country you need to cover these roads at least once in your life time (or maybe twice).

After a couple of rest stops and 280 km we arrived in Coober Pedy.  This is an amazing opal town with probably 40% of the businesses in town selling opals, most of them selling jewellery quality opals as well as uncut or rough/cheap opals.

Our first showers for four days were very welcome, and not bad value at 20 cents for 3 minutes.  The Big 4 Oasis Caravan Park does not have water outlets to connect to caravans.  You have to use your own or carry water by bucket.  You can fill up caravan water tank at outlets in the town at 30 litres for 20 cents.  That is reasonable—even if it was raining (again).

The ladies attacked the washing machines with gusto and soon our caravan looked like a chinese laundry.  But it had to be done—despite the rain.

Our caravan park offered us a 10% discount at "John's Pizza" who had a large menu including some specialities like kangaroo pizza, emu pizza and "coat of arms" pizza.  The pizzas were great.

Day 18 started with more drizzle rain.  However it allowed me to have a 45 minutes early morning walk, and get bread from the bakery that was still warm.  A gas bottle was filled, water was purchased and provisions were restocked.

It was time for Shirley to go opal hunting, in a similar way to how I hunt fish—in shops.  Needless to say our remaining holiday money was reduced.

Coober Pedy is an amazing town with many significant dwellings partially or totally underground—usually dug into rock so hard and stable that it does not need supports.  These dwellings included a 5 star hotel, churches, restaurants, a coffee shop, a museum, numerous opal shops and numerous private dwellings.

There are also some eccentrics , past and present in Coober Pedy.  In the cemetery resides a former miner called Karl Bratz who (as he was dying of cancer) decided that he would like to be buried in a corrugated iron coffin and have his 10 gallon home brew beer keg as a head stone.  And so it is.

Crocodile Harry was another one of Coober Pedy's most infamous characters and lived in one of the most bizarre dugouts.  He gets a mention in the Lonely Planet's "Guidebook to Australia", and his home was seen in "Mad Max-Beyond the Thunderdome".  He rests near Karl Bratz.

Darryl was again our guide, driving us to many of the notable places in and around Coober Pedy.

After another semi-early night we packed the caravan in readiness to depart for pastures north.  However Shirley and I then joined an organised tour of Coober Pedy, lead by a 77 year old former miner called Rudy.  Rudy could talk underwater and seems to knows everything (and nearly everyone) about Coober Pedy.  It was a good three hours and also allowed Shirley’s MasterCard to get some exercise.

After the tour we departed Coober Pedy, but not before buying two excellent locally made sausage rolls for lunch.  We then headed north.

To give an idea of the location of Coober Pedy—with regard to his remote position—its nearest towns worth noting and on a sealed road are Woomera 375 km to the south and Alice Springs 690 km to the north.  There are no quality road heading east or west.  To give a comparison this is roughly the same distance as the total distance from the northern tip of Great Britain to near the southern tip - with only one town in between.
We again caught up to Kay & Darryl, and free camped about 200 km north of Coober Pedy.  Darryl and I again lit a magnificent fire.  We get most of our exercise from gathering wood.
Our new “head fly nets” were unwrapped and put to good use as the volume of flies was extreme.  It is hard to drink a stubby of beer when you are wearing a fly net.  However they all departed at dusk.

Day 20 started with a cold morning and a bright sun.  Before long it was a lovely day.  We departed and drove to the Northern Territory border where we stopped for a photo shoot.
 

To this point we had travelled 3604 km and had free camped for 7 nights—so fuel is costing us more than accommodation.

We drove the few km to Erldunda where we had lunch and filled the fuel tanks - again.  We turned left and drove another 100 towards Urulu (Ayers Rock) and Kings Canyon.  We then stopped in another free camp and set up camp.  The place was devoid of wood so another fire was not an option.

Please look forward to some photos of Kings Canyon in the next posting, as we see some of the Northern Territory.

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