Woomera, Andamooka, and Mulgaria track.

 

Heading east from Kingoonya, we ambled our way towards the highway. Once on the bitumen, our pace quickened and soon we were at the turnoff to Woomera.

Woomera, a military town established to house personnel involved in the nearby rocket range tests including the detonation of a nuclear bomb in the desert in the early fifty's by the Australian and British governments.

Displays of the equipment, aircraft, and rockets used in its heyday are on display around town. Interesting to wander around and see this history.

 We found an old stone ruins just out of town and pulled off the road and around the back for a camp for the night.

We were passing through here on our way to Andamooka, an opal mining town a little northeast. Small claims are still operating out there and we spent a day exploring the town.

One of the interesting things around town is the bottle house, made out of beer bottles. Just a room really, built by an early resident. Good recycling.

The preserved early houses, built into the hillside are also worth inspecting.

 

 From Andamooka we were heading north and then east to Farina by way of the Mulgaria Road, a station track traversing the top of Lake Torrens going through rough and isolated country, our type of roads.

A lady at the local gem shop and post office in Andamooka told us that it was a seldom traveled track and couldn’t be sure of it’s condition. We assured her if it got too difficult we would turn back as we have done at times before.

 The stony track wound it’s way through the mounds of spoils from the opal mines dotted through the landscape surrounding Andermooka. Slowly it changed into sandy wheel tracks negotiating sand hills, some low and others steep. Ned, with his new shoes on, strolled through the terrain effortlessly.

After a couple of days of leisurely travel, we came to the top of Lake Torrens, a Salt Lake we had traveled along the eastern side of some years before with Deb and the camels.

The vast, desolate scenery surrounded us, with the tip of the Salt Lake and the road skirting it to our right.

 Next day, and some ks down the track we crested a hill close to the homestead of Mulgaria, but not in sight of it. This, we decided would be a good camp for the night. The views afforded from here were spectacular so, we parked up and drank them in.

After we passed through the deserted homestead a couple of days later it was only a few hours drive to the highway and the old Ghan town of Farina. We stopped at the campground there, lit the donkey hot water system there, had a welcomed hot shower and contemplated our next adventure.