Our first days

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We set out on Tuesday, June 11th. Fletcher had to renew his drivers' licence before we went so once that was done we were off! Our first destination was Woomera. We have been all over the world, but the north of our own state is unknown to us! We had packed the car with all we needed for a long trip including extra water and food and a box of talking books and other CDs to keep us interested in the long stretches of driving ahead.

We headed north, travelling past Port Wakefield and our first stop was Port Pirie. Neither of us had been here for a long time , so we drove into the town and went for a stroll around the main strip. Not incredibly exciting, but we found a Cafe Primo and had a nice lunch before driving on. We passed by Port Augusta and then were in new territory as we ventured further north. There was not too much traffic on the road and listening to War of the Worlds kept us entertained. We noticed the new terrain around us as we left green cultivated fields and came across red soil and scrubby undergrowth. Pushing on, our destination for the night was Woomera. We drove through lots of nothingness, red soil occupied with some scrubby plants and we rolled into the Woomera Caravan and Tourist Park around 4pm. Here we checked into our motel room which was a very comfortable room but no WiFi. After checking in we drove into the centre of the town where there is an open museum containing various missiles and planes which have been used at Woomera over the years. Woomera had been Australia's major missile launching site from the early 50s and the British had used it for testing nuclear missiles. The USA had also been a major partner in these activities. In the open museum there was the wreckage of the first stage of the Redstone rocket which was used to launch Wrestat , Australia's first artificial satellite and made us one of the earliest countries in the world to enter the space race. Several missiles such as the Black Knight, the Sea Slug and the wreckage of a Blue Streak were also on show. Fletcher insists I also mention the Jindivik, which was a jet pilotless drone which was easily the best of its type in the world.

Back at our accommodation we ventured to the Cudgee Bar where we had a Coopers Pale Ale while watching all the grey nomads gather. This place was full of caravans, mainly occupied with people of our age or considerably older. For dinner, we had been told that the only place in town to offer such a thing was the Eldo Hotel. We drove there at 6pm and enjoyed a solid meal with Fletcher opting for a pizza with the lot while I had fish and chips. The dining room was packed but the food was fine and the wine not expensive.We returned to the room and watched some TV before I succumbed fairly early to fatigue!


Overnight I had awoken and heard the sound of high winds . In the morning we looked out on a bleak sight of pouring rain. After a quick breakfast of warmed up left over pizza we headed out. The rain was still falling heavily and our drive north was hampered by poor visibility and rain patches. Nevertheless, we pushed on, listening to On Her Majesty's Secret Service, narrated by David Tennant, thanks to Sam, and found few cars and caravans on the road. Fletcher drove the first two hours, and then we switched drivers at one of the rest spots so I drove the next couple of hours into Coober Pedy. .We passed Lake Hart on the way which is usually a salt pan but with the rains was now full. The landscape along the route was mainly low scrub but nearer to our destination we noticed the opal mines and triangular heaps of the tailings. The colours are quite striking with ochre, grey and white strips across the landscape. We saw a few cattle grazing but not much other wildlife, except for a large group of corellas at one point.
We arrived in Coober Pedy about 12-30 and were able to check into our motel, the Opal, straight away. We then headed off along the main street to see what this place is all about. The evidence of the dugouts and mining are all around with many mining sites on the main road. We parked and walked along, checking out where to go.We went to the Tourist office and then went out for lunch. I had heard that John's Pizza Place was the best restaurant in Coober Pedy. We went there, and found it had been voted 5th in Australia for pizza. Ironically neither of us chose pizzza. I had a half size chicken parmigiana while Fletcher opted for the John's special Chicken Parmi. Both were huge!! We really enjoyed the food but I could have done with a quarter size one and Fletcher was defeated by his.
We then went out looking for insights into the history of this place. Across the road was the Umoona Mine and Museum complex which we browsed through. We decided to return at 4pm for their tour through a mine and dugout. We the drove to visit a couple of the underground churches. The first was the Catholic Church of St Peter and Paul which though small. was very beautiful. It was underground with stained glass windows in the entrance. The second was the Catacombs Church, Anglican, but named after the Catacombs in Rome. Again, though undergound, it contained an original altar and some interesting decoration. We then returned to Umoona Mine and joined the 4pm tour. We watched a 15 minute video which outlined the history of Coober Pedy and the evolution of opal mining. Then we were taken down into a miner's dugout and then a later home which showed us a very comfortable main living area and a good sized bedroom. We then went further underground into a mine which had been continuously mined by two men from1930s to the 1970s when they banned mining in the township. At the end we saw some opal still in situ locked in the wall of the passage.
After such a large lunch we decided to have a small dinner so we had a drink at the bar and then retired to our room to watch the cricket and eat and drink some of our fare brought from home. Tomorrow will be a long drive from here to Uluru.

















c

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Photos

Missile Park
Woomera Missile Park

Mines Coober Pedy
Mining tailings Coober pedy