Woomera was built by the Australian Government during the early days of space exploration.
Over time the Australians, the British and the Americans fired all sorts of things into the atmosphere from here.
Now any country can apply to the Australians to use the area for testing purposes. Once approved the waiting list is two years to access the facilities. I am guessing that North Korea is not one of the approved countries to blast things into the atmosphere right now!!!
The town centre has a display of 'left overs', 'duds' and assorted machinery and equipment once used in the business of Woomera.
Woomera township is a fascinating place. Half empty now but imagine a town in the Australian 'never never' that has a proper picture theatre/ performing arts centre and a six lane ten pin bowling alley! It has all sorts of other things but those two items buzzed me!
One of the things I saw today was the cheque for $1.00 , folks that's one dollar, the price Australia paid to buy all the stuff America built here for its workers and did not want to take home or go to the trouble of dismantling at the end of their stay.
Today we drove to Roxby Downs and Andamooka,
Roxby Downs is the town for the Olympic Dam mine site, which is a Uranium mine among other things. It is one of the worlds great treasure chests of minerals. If it is an expensive ore they have it!!!
The town has been built the way every mining town should have been built. Beautiful. All sorts of facilities. Middle of nowhere. Perfect. Could not access the 'dam' as the security gates for the mine are at least three kilometres before the actual mine site. Guess they are a bit 'thing' about what they mine......
Himself did say if I took off all my clothes and ran around the town oval three times I would glow in the dark.
Not going to happen!
No way could I run around the oval three times, I get puffed too quick.
Andamooka was one of those place where you say 'Welcome to the wild west!'
It is an opal field.
Barren, mullock heaps everywhere, mine shafts all over the place, messy, dirty, dusty. Very much like Coober Pedy.
We saw samples of the Andamooka Opals. Beautiful. I also saw opal in its raw state, in the rock. Very pretty stuff. I saw a piece of raw rock on display and as I liked it I asked the price. $100,000.00.
Ok, a bit pricey for me so I looked at the jewellery pieces. The one I liked was only $6850.00. Nice to know I have not lost my touch for picking the most expensive pieces in a shop!
We did not buy any opal. I like the colours but it is not one of the gems I fancy wearing.
Tomorrow we move again, heading north. Probably to either Glendambo or Coober Pedy.
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