Port Augusta to Coober Pedy

woomera

the big fella in coward springs

Left Pt Augusta Oct. 16th (Sun) after visiting the flea market on our way out headed for Pimba which wasn't many kms up the road.Caught up with Mark for a beer at the Pimba roadhouse known as Spud's as he was driving through to Roxby for the week. Stayed there a night behind the Pimba roadhouse and had a drink in the pub there so Ian could watch the big rugby game and see the Wallabies loose.Then we set off for Woomera and looked around the rockets etc very interesting i used to go there a lot with mum and dad as a kid to visit friends so it was a bit like visiting the twilight zone as nothing much has changed except it's so quiet not much happening. There is a population of 150 now did used to be a very busy town. Bought back a few memories. Anyway now onto Roxby Downs a population of 4,500. A very modern town in the middle of nowhere. From there headed to Andamooka for lunch and i have to say what a shit hole. Looks like somebody got all there old sheets of iron and dumped it of. Went back to Roxby and was going to have a drink with Mark but couldn't get a decent place to stay so rang him to say we were heading off. They have a caravan park and charge top dollar $30non powered and $43 powered. The rest areas seemed to be non existent and didn't feel safe so we headed for Coward Springs. Quite a long trip that afternoon on a dirt road called the Boorfield Highway onto the Oonadatta Track. We did check road conditions before we headed off to make sure safe. All good when we arrived our big mirror in the bathroom had fallen of the wall with the vibrations of the road. Mind you the mirror we thought was to big and too heavy for a caravan. The corners broke but everything else in tac. Heading to a glazier to get glass cut and Ian is going to glue and screw back on. Back with some more blog soon and will continue we are moving camp spots. Coward Springs is a oasis in the middle of the desert it is continually being filled by the Great Artisian Basin. The water temperature is a constant 28degrees all year round. This place was founded by the people building the first Ghan Railway. It  was one of many  stopping spot's for the old Ghan Railway followed on by the Oonadatta track. It had the  pool to cool off and years ago did have a pub which no longer exists. A very beautiful place. Leaving Coward Springs to make our way to William Creek which was 80kms up the Oonadatta track and took us a good few hours with the van. Booked a flight over Lake Eyre which was so worth the $250 for an hours flight. Lake Eyre has been the driest in Aussie and rarely recieving 120mls a year. It is the largest lake in Aust. at 9,300sq kms and is also the lowest land in Aust. at 15m below sea level for those who are interested in a bit information. For the last 3 years the lake has had water in it prior to that it was 1974. The water is now quickly receding. Gives you a much better  idea of how big it actually is although you still really only see a small area. Onwards to Coober Pedy and what a shit road, worse than the last one but i'm glad we didn't leave it a day later as we have had rain here which would of made things interesting in the middle of no where. Been here for 2 day's, oldest and best known opal town in Australia as well as the world's largest opal producing centre. Very interesting with the mines, noodling for opal and the many dugout's(ie living) as the temp's often exceed 50dgrees c. Coober Pedy in Aboriginal dialect means white fellows burrow and that is what the place certainly looks like. Also visited 3 churches that were under ground very different.It was nice to meet up with Mark's Auntie and Uncle who are teacher's here and had a lovely evening with them in their dug out . Now heading to Ayer's Rock in the morning now getting into the long haul's. Diesel running at around 166.9lit. for those interested. Stayed tuned.