On one of the Marla flights, I had briefly visited Coober Pedy all those years ago. My main memory of that flit in and out was of a real frontier town...barren, hot, dusty and populated by many who would remain very happy if society never re-discovered their existence let alone their current whereabouts.
Not to mention our non-reflective brothers who were lolling around the town bottle shop like flies round a honey pot. In fact, one of my abiding memories of that trip is of the comment made to me by a Police Aboriginal Aide who was 'showing me the town' when I questioned him about the group lying about the footpath near the pub. "That's the IRA, sir. They are a bloody pain in the bum". "The IRA....that's an Irish terrorist group", was my response. "Not here, boss...they are the Indukana Rock Apes on walkabout to Yalata..the sooner they leave the better...all they do here is sit around and get drunk".
I clearly remember being staggered by that reply. The utterly disparaging scorn with which this chap viewed others of his race was the first thing which hit me, and later, as I thought about what he had said, the second was to contemplate the extraordinary distance these folk were walking...from the far north of the state to the far west coast some 100 kms west of Ceduna. Amazing!
Not to mention our non-reflective brothers who were lolling around the town bottle shop like flies round a honey pot. In fact, one of my abiding memories of that trip is of the comment made to me by a Police Aboriginal Aide who was 'showing me the town' when I questioned him about the group lying about the footpath near the pub. "That's the IRA, sir. They are a bloody pain in the bum". "The IRA....that's an Irish terrorist group", was my response. "Not here, boss...they are the Indukana Rock Apes on walkabout to Yalata..the sooner they leave the better...all they do here is sit around and get drunk".
I clearly remember being staggered by that reply. The utterly disparaging scorn with which this chap viewed others of his race was the first thing which hit me, and later, as I thought about what he had said, the second was to contemplate the extraordinary distance these folk were walking...from the far north of the state to the far west coast some 100 kms west of Ceduna. Amazing!
Enough of this reminiscing...let's see what the town has to offer these days.
The highway south out of Marla took us across a flat, barren landscape for many kilometres
until we were on the approach to the next roadhouse on this part of The Stuart, Cadney Park, when a few undulations and scrubby trees provided a change of scenery.
Cadney Park is about half way between Marla and Coober Pedy. Our impressions as we drove through was of a place which would be adequate if needed, but did not match Marla, particularly in the caravan sites department....pretty average from what we could see.
So on we went, past yet another dead car body on the side of the road. The ubiquitous highway litter of 'The Stuart'!
Shortly before reaching the outskirts of Coober Pedy, the landscape changed yet again. Here we came to the red 'gibber' country which is so typical of this area and around Woomera.
And at last, there they were....we must be getting close. Away on the horizon our first glimpse of the mullock heaps which are such a feature of the country around Coober Pedy.
It really is a moonscape in many areas...areas we are looking forward to exploring in much more detail on a return visit.
But, for now, our focus was to find The Stuart Range Caravan Park, our home for this night. It was obvious as we turned into the entrance that a lot of work had been done here recently. This, we later found was indeed so, and in a way to our disadvantage. The owners of this establishment began life in Coober Pedy as the proprietors of the famous 'John's Pizza House' and when they sold that and took over the caravan park, their penchant for producing fine pizzas came with them. We had been looking forward to enjoying their fare for our evening meal. To our dismay we learnt that the kitchen and restaurant areas had also been under renovation and would be re-opening the day after we had left. Damn!
The majority of the park sites reflect the nature of the country in this part of the world, where water is scarce and very expensive. In fact, this was the first park where we had to pay for the use of the showers...20 cents for two minutes. But the amenities were brand new and immaculate and the laundry would put many commercial establishments to shame with its banks of gleaming stainless steel washers and driers.
For the early birds, however, again the prize. In another first for us, we were able to park under shade cloth. What a bonus on a day when the temperature climbed to the high 30's and the only breeze could have been coming straight out of a blast furnace.
We did brave the elements with a quick 60 minute jaunt into the CBD and back where we found a town totally different to that which both of us remembered. Whilst there is still plenty of the 'old Coober Pedy' on display, new commercial establishments and a magnificent hotel/motel now cater much more extensively for the locals and tourists alike. And the main street was devoid of loiterers! I did not take the camera with me because I knew I would just start snapping away....this we'll do on our return when we give our full attention to doing Coober Pedy justice.
Later that afternoon we again caught up with our Erldunda neighbours of a few nights ago with whom we enjoyed a brief but convivial 'happy hour' before an early night and an equally early start on the leg to Glendambo.
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