Day 6 – Wednesday 22 June 2016 – Port Augusta - Woomera

Farewell Port Augusta.  We have officially named you  Aussie Azkaban as it’s a bit like being the victim of a Dementor.  You can suck the happiness right out of people! 

The morning started with clear skies and a little temptation of warmth, but it soon clouded over and cooled down.  Still I was determined to get Kitty bathed before we left so it was an early start and a chance to check whether the bathtub I built was going to work.  It worked a treat!  So much easier than the last time we holidayed trying to bath the dogs in a little tub on the floor of the shower.   Hence today’s “view from my door today” photo.

So we set off with one clean dog (poor Scheppi will have to wait a few more days for his bath) and determination that things would definitely improve!

On the way out of town we stopped to pick up a couple of things at the supermarket that I had forgotten and happened across a talkative local who obviously felt it was his duty to keep me entertained with conversation while Shane walked a block to the supermarket.  I heard all about Port Augusta, the Flinders, and all manner of shenanigans he and his 9 siblings used to get up to as children.  Then in the blink of an eye he spotted someone walking across the street and announced he had to catch up with that guy and off he went. 

It was another milestone moment to see the signpost indicating the Sturt Highway and Darwin – and so off we went.

The vegetation changes were marked and a little amusing to see the signs showing Cattle and Sheep on the road with some artistic additions including an octopus and a child.

Our next stop was Woomera and on arrival there were only a few vans set up.  We got ourselves organised and as it was still very early afternoon, decided to give the township of Woomera a look. 

I think this place will stay in my memory forever.  Originally built as a missile testing site it once housed 7,000 people.  Today about 120 people reside in Woomera and the result is the weirdest ghost town I have ever seen.  And it wasn’t only the empty housing that was eerie, it was the acres and acres of land that had roads, concrete gutters, street lights, brick paved footpaths, and even shop parking but the land contained by these streets and paths had nothing but scrub.  So much forward planning in preparation for a much larger population, that consequently deserted the idea and left much of the actual developed area with nothing but the false promise of inhabitants. 

Even the local supermarket which was once huge has been sectioned off to less than half its former glory.  The young lady who appeared to be the only worker there told us of the sad options for the locals in terms of entertainment.  We had driven by the massive school and were amazed to hear there were now only about 10 students there.  We mentioned the lovely green sports ground we had happened by during our drive.  We assumed there was still good money being driven into the local football club given the grass was so green and there were massive towers to light the ground at night.  She informed us that it was lucky to be used more than once a year for a grudge cricket match between rival companies.   

Driving into the car park of the supermarket mid afternoon on a Wednesday, and being the only car in a group of some 40 parks, it wasn’t difficult to imagine this was the beginning of the apocalypse or that we had somehow stumbled into some weird alternative dimension.  It wasn’t until school was out that we saw anyone walking in the streets and even then there were maybe 5 people.  If you ever get the opportunity to go to Woomera – don’t just go see the planes and rockets on display – take a good look at the town itself.

We returned to the caravan park some time around 5.00pm to find every powered site occupied and several unpowered sites also with vans.  A very popular stopover for the night with most of the vans still connected to their vehicles, there will no doubt be a mass exodus tomorrow morning – with us among them.