Coober Pedy

Coober Pedy, an eyesore or a tribute to human resilience, take your pick, but for me the real beauty of this place is in the Breakaways. This area of spectacular formations is ,on a dirt road, about 40 Klms from Coober Pedy. The area is sacred to the local aboriginal people, where they interred the bones of their dead, initiated their young men and accessed the red ochre for sacred corroborees. I arrived just before sunrise and there was a heavy mist which took several hours to clear. Slowly, the amazing landscape was revealed.

Coober Pedy

Woomera has a few more people living there than in 2013, but is still largely a ghost town. One whole double story motel block has been vandalised and the doors hang off hinges and the red dirt is blowing in. A relief to rejoin the wide open spaces with the gentler curves of nature before me. Lake Hart has plentiful water and wildlife with the Ghan railway track running along the shore.

 Lake Gairdner just North of Woomera had little water

 While Lake Hart was beautiful with peaceful open woodlands all around

 While the underground Serbian church was an amazing feat of artistic mining, it is sadly looking neglected and unused.

 The tiny Catholic church also underground has been Heritage listed as the oldest underground church worldwide. The walls are a beautiful ochre deckled colour.

 The Anglican church has a distinctive bush feel to it with wattle the only flowers decorating the alters.

Port Augusta Woomera

Last night in civilised accommodation! Tonight we tent it at $20 a night at an abandoned motel in Woomera.  Left Port Augusta after the most interesting hour or two in Wadlata Information Centre. This centre has an extensive educational program on the geological formation of the whole Australian continent and the period of inundation of the sea in the Centre. Leaving Port Augusta between the Ghan Railroad and waterpipes that hug the highway for miles, we saw the iconic tent hills that sit in the landscape like lost settlers. We also visited the beautiful Port Augusta Arid Desert Gardens. Then we travelled in a beautiful open woodland of Mallee,Desert She Oak and wattle.

 Tent Hills Port Augusta. A hard Silica layer on top of the hill which protects the viable layers underneath form this unusual hills on the flat landscape for many kilometres into the centre. A sign from the time this land was under the sea.

 Southern Flinders Ranges from the Arid Desert park

 Mallee

Lochiel Port Pirie Port Germain

Spencer Gulf on my left and the Southern Flinders Ranges on my right past wind turbines and mallee forest, bursting out onto the wide plains with dramatic grey clouds bunched in the sky. Lunch at Port Pirie with black swans sifting sea weed and dramatic drifts of yellow blossom on the gums at Port Germain.

Lochiel

 Crows Nest from a sailing ship Port Pirie

 Weeroona Island off Port Pirie in Spencer Gulf

 Port Germain

Coorong

Drifted through the beautiful Coorong today and saw Pelicans floating through the grey choppy waves. sunny and warm.