June 8th & 9th, 2011- Pimba SA (Spud's Roadhouse)

Wednesday June 8th saw us on the road again starting our trip north on the Stuart Highway. As of now all six of us are entering uncharted waters (or sand). We arrived at Spud's Roadhouse in the morning at Pimba (near Woomera). Free camping site with Toilet blocks and showers (fee applicable). Very populat site that we would estimate about 20 caravans each night. Has a Roadhouse with restaurant and petrol. Busy, busy place. We were setup early so had a quick lunch and headed into Woomera to explore. Former military community and looks it. We toured two museums, one older with many historic artifacts, and the second at the Tourist Info with a modern display of rocket history and Woomera history in a second display area. The Tourist info one is much more interactive with video and audio support for very modern displays. I found it very informative and interesting!

Thursday morning we left the caravans at the roadhouse and took a day trip out to tour Roxby Downs and Andamooka. We bypassed Roxby Downs and drove the 110KM out to Andamooka first. Well what an experience! We have pictures but it has to be seen in person to really understand. Suffice it to say if I ever want to leave Sandra I will just tell her we're moving there. The strangest thing is that the abandoned historic cottage displays are pretty much as good as any of the current housing in the town. Take a note of the dunny locations (apparently they didn't understand the basic rule that S*%t runs downhill). We also met a few interesting characters in our short visit. We didn't stay for lunch and moved on to Roxby Downs.

 Well talk about the complete opposite 30Km apart. Roxby Downs is a purpose  built by BHP in 1980 to support the Olympic Dam Mine. Everything is new, tidy, and well organized. We had a lovely lunch at Chives where Carol & Sandra were able to find a beautiful gluten free pasta. The rest of us enjoyed an all you can eat pizza and pasta buffet. Very nice! We travelled back to Spud's from there and enjoyed dinner with an early night. Beautiful sunsets both nights while there.