Woomera and Peterborough

Rocket Museum

Woomera is an interesting stop on the Stuart Highway. Woomera village is a small remote Australian Defense Force base established in 1947 as the domestic support base for the Woomera Test Range. It is a step back in time, also rather eerie. It is a town full of accommodation and a school, police swimming pool etc. There are several mines in the vicinity. Now there is only a small population of defense force staff and workers in the info centre, emergency services etc. the town has that feel of abandonment. We drove around and saw untidy gardens and lawns; one car in a driveway out of the whole street of ten or so homes.

There is a rocket museum and lots of oversize planes and rockets on the street.

We stayed in the caravan park, it cost $25. The info centre is a café as well as a souvenir shop. John and I enjoyed our first decent coffee since Darwin.

We met a German family who were parked next to us in the park and had “Happy Hour” in the weakening afternoon sun. It got a bit cold outdoors so we said goodnight.

On the way to Woomera we spotted two emus and an eagle on road kill. We had our first sighting of a lake, even if it was dry in parts, Lake Hart.

Lake Hart

Woomera sunset

August 17^th.

 

Camped at Woomera

The drive to Peterborough this morning took us south to Port Augusta on the Spencer Gulf, the crossroads of several highways leading to the east, west, south and north. On the way we had a flock of sheep run over the road in front of us. We saw probably our last eagle as well, not too many once we go east.  John had his train fix, a goods train heading south. He managed to get a photo.

Goods train

 

Canola crop.

We passed the southern Flinders Ranges on our left. John and I couldn’t believe how green the countryside was after weeks in the dry north, where every creek was dry and smaller rivers had stagnant pools of water. We are doing a trip to the Flinders Ranges next year, so we will plan that for warmer weather.

Sheep on the road.

It was a very scenic drive east to Peterborough. John drove through Horrocks Pass, we stopped for morning tea at a rest stop below a hill but we found it so windy we opted to stay inside once John took a photo.

We stopped in Wilmington, where John found an toy and old car museum, it was shut though until 3.30, he was disappointed not to be able to look inside.

Wilmington toy and car museum

We checked into Peterborough CP ($30) and I did some washing. The drive today took us 310 klms. Tomorrow we enter New South Wales and spend the night in Broken Hill. We hope to be home on Friday. It is cold and wet tonight.

 

August 18th