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Maralinga trip July 2018
Participants
Michael & Lynne Thomson, Range Rover & camper
Andrew & Jan Lockley, Discovery 4 & camper
Ian Voerman & Annie Parkinson, Discovery 4 & camper
Bob & Margaret Anderson & Grandson Lucas, Toyota Prado & camper
Ross & Monica Waples, Defender 90 and camper
Dean & Mitchell Foster, Discovery 4 and camper
Chris Hopkin, Toyota Prado & tent
Participants individually or in small groups made their way to Coorabie, where we assembled for the trip proper!
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Monday, July 2:
Dean, Mitchell and Chris travelled via Broken Hill
Thursday, July 5:
Michael & Lynne, Andrew & Jan and Ross & Monica met at Yass at 0900, and travelled together to Mamanga Camping Ground (@ Yanga Woolshed), to be joined by Bob, Margaret and Lucas later in the evening. Dean, Mitchell and Chris met up at Broken Hill Tourist Park.
Friday July 6:
Ian and Annie, Canberra ACT to overnight in Narrandera NSW, then on to Burra SA. Strong winds across the Hay Plain. Stayed in the Burra Caravan Park on the river in the centre of town. It is owned by the council and well run. Good clean facilities and a few minutes walk to town with a number of good cafes and restaurants. Thomsons, Lockleys, Waples & Andersons continued on to Murray Town. The Murray Town Progress Association have opened a small and economical camping area using the facilities in the footy field changing rooms etc. Dean, Mitchell and Chris travelled via Whyalla and stayed at Arno Bay Caravan Park in cabins and enjoyed a great meal at the Pub.
Saturday July 7:
Thomsons, Lockleys, Waples & Andersons, proceeded to Port Augusta for fuel and provisions. Thomsons and Andersons headed south to Port Lincoln, via Whyalla, and made home in Port Lincoln Caravan Park, overlooking the ocean, then relocated for dinner to the Line & Label, Feeling a little under dressed, but great seafood & service. Dean, Mitchell and Chris travelled via Lock and onto Elliston where they enjoyed the spectacular views along the Elliston Coastal Trail, arriving at Foreshore Tourist Park in Streaky Bay at 2.30pm. The Lockleys and Waples arrived to join them at 4pm. They all enjoyed a nice meal in the Pelican Park Cafe in the grounds of the Tourist Park.
Sunday July 8:
Thomsons and Andersons carpooled into the Range Rover and ventured further south to the Lincoln National Park and Whalers Way. Ian and Annie, Burra SA to Port Lincoln. Jamestown morning coffee, Port Augusta for fuel, Arno Bay lovely spot on the water for a drink and there was a lovely small caravan park on the water. Arrived Port Lincoln Tourist Park about 4pm and set up camp. Met up with the Thomson and the Andersons. Zoomed into town to buy an extra blanket and got in the door at Target five minutes before closing! Went for dinner at the Lincoln Hotel and shared Coffin Bay Oysters, Tuna rosettes and salt and pepper squid…yummy. Ian had a new dark Asahi beer which came with wasabi peas; very spicy. The Streaky Bay mob enjoyed a rest day by various means including walking to town, jetty and shopping. Dinner was at the pub, an easy walk and great meals !
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Monday July 9
Port Lincoln SA to Coorabie SA.
Up and off 8am for big day ahead with sightseeing factored in by our fearless leader Mr T.
Wheat crops as far as the eye could see then the landscape changed with dunes followed by very stony expanses where the sheep picked there way through the granite to find grass. A hard life for sheep I think. Looked like the Scotland or the English moors. Other areas had reasonable pasture. We passed some lakes including Lake Hamilton which was massive and made a few stops along the way.
First stop was the bakery in Elliston, a quiet scenic coastal town with friendly locals.
Then on to Streaky Bay for a break
Then on to Ceduna for fuel and a supermarket top up.
Back on the road by 3.30 heading for Coorabie.
A quick stop at Penong, the “Town of Windmills” with all manner of timber and steel windmills on display including a water pump powered by swinging on a swing. Lucas enjoyed that one and seeing the water spurt out as he swung back and forth.
Arrived at Coorabie 5.30, just on dark. Sunset was 5.50 and we zoomed in found a space and set up camp..phew and then went and said our social hellos to the rest of the group who had arrived at about 3pm after travelling via Ceduna to top up their pantries and on to Fowlers Bay. ‘The Bay’ is a small settlement in a spectacular setting, nestled next to the coastal sand dunes. Whale watching tours are available from here.
Tuesday July 10
Chilly overnight getting down to zero degrees with the sun rising about 6.45.
Lots of activity as shearing was in progress with all the sheep ready and waiting in the pens. Shearers hard at work by 7am and music playing but luckily good music….that is if you like country and western!
The showers here are excellent, spacious, clean and good hot water so we all enjoyed them. What a bargain at $10 per person per night.
Extra toilets were in redesigned concrete water tanks, very ingenious.
Day trip to the Head of Bight about 139 km away. Fabulous views of the coast line with high sandy cliffs and pristine blue waters. We were lucky enough to see a big pod of Southern Right whales mostly mothers and babies….awesome to see them rolling, tail flapping and generally playing around. The visitor centre was a great design with good facilities. $15 entrance fee but board walks down to edge of cliffs and great viewing areas. Worth every cent. You can even get coffee there.
A slow relaxed drive back to Coorabie to chill out and watch some shearers in action, watch a helicopter land and catch up on camp jobs. The owners Deb and Poggy made us feel very welcome.
Wednesday July 11
Up in good time to get organised for 9am departure to Maralinga. We fuelled up early at Nundroo, then headed off with a couple of breaks arriving at he restricted area about 3pm where we met up with Robin who let us in. We had a great fire (Robin had collected a huge pile of firewood for us) and Jan and Monica surprised us with cooking a baked dinner in the fire…yummy.
Day 3 Thursday July 12
Day tour of Maralinga in a little bus escorted by Robin who is very knowledgeable and passionate about the history here. Left 9.30 back 3.30 so full on day and we even saw some bush turkeys crossing the road. Another evening spent around the fire with plenty of wood provided.
Day 4 Friday July 13
Another day in the little bus to see the rest of the sights. Great facilities, great history …highly recommended.
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Saturday July 14
Depart Maralinga to Ceduna to stock up on groceries and fuel. Originally we had planned to go to Pildappa Rock but a slow start, Bob’s flat tyre and some scenic stops conspired against us and it seemed more sensible to stop over in Ceduna. We had a lovely dinner at the Foreshore Pub and said goodbye to Chris Hopkin aka Hoppy who was tail end Charlie most of the way and who is going to Adelaide and home via McLaren Vale, Goolwa and Shepparton. Also goodbye to Dean and his son Mitchell who have to head back to Canberra.
Sunday July 15
A day of driving from Ceduna to get to our destination of Mt Ive station. We stopped at Pildappa Rock for lunch and climbed to the top for great views of the surrounding countryside. It was blowing a gale so did not stay too long. Then we collected some wood from the side of the road as Jan called ant Ive and found out that they provide fire pits but not wood. We had been spoiled at Coorabie and Maralinga where the wood was provided. The wind started to gust but we found a protected spot to gather around and toasted marshmallows. It’s a small world as Andrew and Jan knew another couple staying at Mt Ive who joined us for a chat after dinner.
Monday July 16
Mt Ive station. After a relaxed start and a cooked brekkie we said goodbye to Lynne as Michael took her back to Port Augusta to catch a flight home. We decided to follow one of the tracks out to Lake Gairdner which is a large salt lake where they hold speed races each year and where the world speed record has been set. It did not disappoint and also had some water in it. Along the way we did some side trips to see the Organ Pipes natural stone formation and a large embankment built out of the local granite in 1892 to catch water.
The campsite is basic and at $10 a head per night cheap and cheerful but after Coorabie and their welcoming greeting not quite the same. You have to pay at the shop to get keys for locked gates to access the various 4WD tracks. $55 to do all of them or $30 to go out to the salt lake as we did.
Michael stayed overnight at the Spear Creek Caravan Park, about 20km out of Port Augusta.
Tuesday July 17
We left Mt Ive around 9am heading towards Iron Knob and Port Augusta. Just outside the station gates we found a half buried mini submarine which was good for a photo, further along our journey we came across a phone box on the side of the road outside another station that was a collection point for donations for the RFDS…a novel idea! After that the dust picked up as we approached Iron Knob and by the time we pulled in to air up it was a full blown dust storm so we decided not to stop for coffee and carried on to the Arid Lands Botanical Gardens at Port Augusta to meet Mr T who was waiting in the cafe, to welcome us.
After a break Annie and Ian left the trip to head off to Clare and McLaren Vale to top up the cellar and the others headed to Peterborough.
Thanks for a great trip everyone.
Trip report by Annie Parkinson, with additions by Michael Thomson & Chris Hopkins
Photos by Bob Anderson and Andrew Lockley.
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Addendum by Ross and Monica Waples: Defender 90 breakdown!
After splitting from the main group in Port Augusta, the Lockleys and ourselves (Ross and Monica Waples) decided to head home earlier to attend the midyear social event in Moruya. We stayed overnight in the town of Morgan and next morning we left for our drive to Hay. Unfortunately, 20 minutes into the journey the Defender 90 stopped due to a hole in a water hose. (MT: Caused I understand by a hose clamp on one hose rubbing on another hose!) After a consultation between Andrew and myself, we came to the conclusion that the car was not going anywhere. I decided to phone the number on my driver’s window – Land Rover Australia 24 Hours Roadside Assist and thankfully they came to our rescue!
We were towed to Waikerie, and Land Rover Australia organised accommodation and car rental for two days whilst the Defender was being repaired. Why two days? The hose had to be delivered from Melbourne.
We would like to acknowledge the hospitality and efficiency of Land Rover Australia and would recommend this service. We were also very fortunate to be travelling with club members Jan and Andrew Lockley who went out of their way to assist and support us until Land Rover Australia came to our rescue.
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