We continued on our journey towards Coober Pedy with a plan to spend a night or two camping on the way. Once again the drive was relaxing without having to worry about town and city traffic. I’ve said it before but I find the outback fascinating. I’ve heard people say it’s boring but I don’t think so. It’s certainly vast and mostly flat but the scenery does change along the way as do the colours. Subtly perhaps but they still change.

We love the little blink-and-you’ll-miss-them outback towns. We passed through a few including Manna Hill and Peterborough but we didn’t stop for long, just to stretch our legs. We used to swap drivers too but John is doing almost all of the driving now while I just knit squares and enjoy the view.

We ended up pulling into a small caravan park in a lovely, little place called Orroroo. The people here were very friendly and helpful, and there was another big plus: the park backed onto a very well kept golf course! John decided to check it out. How could he not? It was right on our doorstep.

Continuing in the theme of Silverton, there was a film crew on the main street of Orroroo. They were shooting scenes for a movie at the garage but everything was veiled in secrecy and they asked me not to upload the photos I took. They would not even divulge which movie was being filmed. Maybe I’ll recognise it in a scene one day.

We moved on from Orroroo, stopping for fuel and lunch at Spud’s in Pimba (the population here is about 40). Our next stop was Woomera where we pulled into the caravan park to spend the night. As it happened the rain came in and we decided to book in for another night and just have an easy day.

It was a good decision to stay the extra night because a massive storm came through and drenched us. It was so violent that we had to put the roof down and batten down the hatches. We were rocked about inside the van as it thundered outside. There was an incredible amount of rain but the ground just soaked it up. So much so there was hardly a puddle the next morning. However Port Augusta, which we had passed through earlier in the day, was flooded.

The little village of Woomera is part of an RAAF Base which, along with the Woomera Test Range, forms the Woomera Range Complex. Woomera is an artificial town specifically designed by the Long Range Weapons Board of Administration to provide accommodation and facilities for personnel – scientists, technicians and ancillary staff – who came to work at an isolated experimental station which was used to test rockets, weapons and missiles (www.aussietowns.com.au).

We made sure we checked out the Aircraft and Missile Park as well as the Heritage Centre and Rocket Range Museums. This tiny place in the outback desert has such a story to tell and the information we read in the museums is worth reading on https://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/woomera-sa

The museum was very interesting. Because it is a working base, it opens from 6.30am. As it was free entry, we decided to have breakfast in the cafe before heading off. It was a good decision.