After leaving Mount Gambier we headed to Millicent and booked into the Showgrounds for two nights where we met Sue, the very friendly and helpful caretaker. Later in the day we took the car around to Toyota as arranged and we were dropped back to our caravan, expecting the car to be a couple of hours. Shortly after we received a call, Ian wanted to keep the car overnight to dry it out. There was so much water down inside and around some of the electrics which was where the problem was. We picked up our car about mid day the next day, having been dried out and the corrosion cleaned and sealed. As we were not able to use either the phone or internet service because Millicent was having major issues with Telstra upgrades, Ian let us take the car without payment and we went for a drive out to Robe, Southend and Beachport hoping that while we were out we would get a message to Tony (SA area manager for O’Brien) to confirm O’Brien Glass would pay and also for us to test run the car.
We got back to Millicent just before 5.00pm and went again to see Ian as we hadn’t heard from Tony yet. We wanted to leave our credit card details so that we didn’t have to hang around Millicent for longer than necessary. We had been assured that O’Briens were paying the bill but didn’t want Ian to think we were doing a runner. Ian was really great and trusted that we were true to our word so we were able to leave Millicent on the Saturday morning. It took nearly two weeks, as we’ve been in and out of coverage, for us to get confirmation that the bill had been paid. It’s a very big Thank You to both Ian at Millicent Toyota and Tony from SA O’Brien Glass for helping us with this issue and we are so very grateful to you both.
While in Millicent we went into the visitors centre, chatted with the staff there and went through the heritage village.
From Millicent we went to Keith where we attended the Anzac Day Dawn Service. It was a fairly small affair but moving all the same and then we had breakfast at the RSL club where we mingled with some of the locals.
Next stop was Mount Barker for one night and we drove out to Hahndorf in the afternoon. About 5kms from Mount Barker, Hahndorf is a small touristy German themed village with German beers, foods and cuckoo clock’s everywhere. It’s also a place we’ve visited before, many years ago. Next stop was Adelaide Showgrounds where we booked in for two night at $69 a night which we thought was a bit pricey! The reason we were here was because I had found someone to fix our diesel heater. I was fed up with having a heater that didn’t work and with all the cold weather we had been having I wanted it fixed.
With our heater fixed, thanks to another Ian, we then headed to Port Augusta where we spent three nights in the free camp just on the outskirts of town. We made two visits to the information centre to enjoy the very interesting museum. We watched the hour long video on Tom Kruse, the postman that used to do the run out from Maree to Birdsville. The movie was made in 1954. Such resilient people back then.
Our next stop was Woomera, a town that was built for the RAAF back in 1947 and where military trials took place. Although the place looks mostly deserted, there is still a lot going on. We saw a few RAAF personnel, plus workmen who were subcontracted to the RAAF. We spoke to these guys who told us they were out on the range blowing things up. Big boys with big toys! The old Cinema/Theatre was also being restored. We saw all the old rockets and aircraft scattered around the town. Woomera, with it’s land around it covers an area of 122,000 square kilometres.
From Woomera we drove out to Andamooka and Roxby Downs, about a 200kms round trip. Andamooka is an Opal mining town and looked to be pretty deserted when we were there. We did see a sign for a medical centre and a sign for an Opal tour but the business was closed. I’m sure people do live out there but we didn’t see much sign of life. We did see the large heaps of dirt from all the mines everywhere though.
Roxby Downs was an interesting place, like a mirage in a desert. This place had grown up around The Olympic Dam owned by BHP. It’s a uranium mine named after the dam that is no longer there. The town is home to mainly mine workers and their families numbering around 4000 residents. With a school, hospital and even a Woollies, bottle shop and Mitre 10. It’s really self contained out in the middle of nowhere. The visitors information centre there was very informative with a video telling us all about the mine.
After leaving Woomera we had a couple of free camps before getting to Coober Pedy. Only expecting to stay two nights we ended up staying five. We arrived early to claim our spot at the free camp in town next to the Old Timer’s Mine. We drove around town, found a great little Vinnies Op shop and the golf course. The green fees were to be paid at the Opalious Opal shop in town for Chris to have his game on a course that has never seen grass! While in the Opal shop we chatted with the owner who told us that the day before had been her 50th anniversary of living in Coober Pedy. She told us stories of the hard times back then and we told her how we had been here 21 years ago and the friendly people in the businesses we spoke to then. The lady in the clothes store next door, Jill, was one of these people and she’s still there. We made a point of going in to talk to her too. We drove out to the Serbian Church which is built underground and looked at the beautiful alters and stain glass windows. We then called into the cemetery on the way back, wandering around and reading some of the headstones.
We did a tour of Old Tom’s Working Opal Mine. It was very interesting, hearing the stories, seeing the Opal still in the rock and then tea and scones to finish. For me, watching Paul, our guide with the kids later was as good as the tour. He had handed them all small plastic bags to collect rocks/Opal as they went around and then he bartered with them for their finds. I think the best price was $3.50 + 1 chocolate and 2 chubby chub lollipops.
Something we wanted to do when we were in Coober Pedy last time was the mail run, being Aussie Post workers. This time we managed to book the day trip with Bruce. He delivers mail on Mondays and Thursdays but will do the same route on other days, still driving through the many properties but without doing the Mail Drop. This means the extra time allows for a drive into the painted desert. We did the trip on Tuesday, leaving Coober Pedy at 8.30 in the morning, picking up another couple and heading off. We drove out past the Breakaways, through the famous dog fence and into the painted desert. Then we drove out to the iconic Pink Roadhouse at Oodnadatta where we had lunch and met Jen, the owner, having been there 3 years now.
After lunch we headed along the Oddnadatta track, something which has been on our bucket list but not sure if we wanted to do it in our van. We drove 205 kms along the dirt track and there were some deep potholes and lots of corrigation. Been there, done that, bought the stubbie and photos to prove it. Don’t need to do it again. The Birdsville track is still on my list though
On the track again we head to William Creek, where we looked around the caravan Park and roadhouse before driving back to Coober Pedy, getting home around 6.30. It was a day to remember. Bruce was a great guy, very interesting to talk to and the scenery was always changing. From flat barren plains to trees and shrubs, hills, rocky outcrops and green areas from all the recent rains. We were told that the word Oodnadatta is aboriginal for “blossom of the mulga” or flowering gum. There are no gum trees in the town but we saw them out at the permanent waterhole as we drove past. The size of the properties were incredible, so vast and mostly owned by the William’s Pastoral Company.
Our last day at Coober Pedy was a lazy one, after our big drive the day before. Chris did the tour of the old mine where we were staying and also put some money in their donation box for our stay. I chose not to do this one as we’d been told that there was a lot of bending through this mine. With my back, I’m glad I didn’t as Chris confirmed this was the case.
Leaving Coober Pedy we head on up the Stuart Highway, stopping to look at Lake Hart on the way before getting to Marla Roadhouse for the night, parking again next to our neighbours, Matthew and Alison, from our last stop. We had a good happy hour that evening with four couples sitting on the patch of what we think was grass, courtesy of the great artisian basin. It seems so long since we’ve seen nothing but dust, it was hard to believe!
Carrying on up the highway, we had a night at the free camp right on the border of SA and the NT along with several other travellers. It’s funny but when we get out of our van in the mornings at most places, we see so many others who have pulled in late in the evening, mostly whizzbangs (small camper vans with sliding doors that open and shut all evening long) and rooftop tents.
Now we are here at Curtin Springs, a large property and roadhouse at Petermann where we got our first sighting of Mount Conner as we drove through. It looks a lot like Uluṟu. There is a large camping ground here that caters for both powered and unpowered sites. We are here for two nights as we are booked into Yulara for two nights. We didn’t realise how busy Uluṟu would be but we’re advised to book ahead and when we did we could only get two nights and a few days later than we wanted. We thought the Adelaide Showgrounds were expensive, well these guys want $84.50 a night! And then there’s the National Parks pass at $38 per adult for a three day pass.
Our last trip to Uluṟu, known then as Ayres Rock was 21 years ago and we were on a 5 day 4 night camping trip. We were able to climb the rock then but didn’t have time to explore the base. This time we are hoping to walk the 10kms around the base.
This morning while having our breakfast we heard a horrible loud dragging noise and saw a caravan as it was leaving. The guy mustn’t have hitched up properly and the van had come away from the car along the road. With a crowd of helpers/spectators they were soon on their way again so I guess not too much damage was done. I bet everyone leaving today will be checking their rigs well now!