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Day 7 & 8 | Adelaide Hills - Coondambo

10/16/2014

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After a small taste of Adelaide, we quickly realized we weren’t quite ready to spend time in a city.  Opting for the serenity of the open desert, we started heading towards Alice Springs and, of course Uluru.  On August 18th we made it to Mount Remarkable National Park, which offered a campground for $18/night.  As has become our usual assessment, we thought this was too hefty, and instead went on the lookout for a sheltered spot we could have all to ourselves.  It didn’t take too long before we settled in to what seemed to be an almost abandoned dirt road.  We had taken out all of the necessities, and had just about relaxed to watch the sunset when a car came to a stop beside us.  The driver informed us that we were on her property, and that this seemingly abandoned road was actually her driveway.  It turns out we found an even better, more secluded spot for the night; here we enjoyed the sunset and marveled ourselves with the 53.5 meter long road trains shooting by.

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Setting up camp for the night near Mount Remarkable National Park
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Catching the last rays of sunset
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Light trail left by road train
Port Augusta was the last medium-sized town to restock and prepare for the journey through the desert that lay ahead.  We were advised to only stop for gas as this town was considered a stain in the Australian cityscape.  Little did we know Bertha had a trick up her sleeve; upon guzzling close to 90 liters of fuel, Bertha decided not to start. She came to her senses minutes later, however what seemed to be a momentary lapse was actually the tip of a much larger iceberg.  Leaving town, Edmundo was surprised by a road sign indicating that Alice Springs was 1221 kilometers away (instead of his anticipated 400 kilometers). 
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Leaving Port Augusta!
Nonetheless, we battled on towards the desert and the mining town of Coober Pedy.  A different part of the landscape revealed itself as we progressed deeper into northern South Australia.  We quickly learned that an area the size of Florida was off-limits to civilians as it served as the worlds largest military test range. 
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Woomera Rocket Display
The military base in Woomera still shows displays of rockets and aircrafts.  It became apparent that once again the aboriginal population suffered greatly due to the nuclear fallout from extensive testing in the 1960’s.  Not far from Woomera we found Lake Hart, which appeared to be a glistening blue but upon closer inspection turned out to be a vast salt plain.
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Bertha taking a breather by Lake Hart
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Shores of Lake Hart
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Walking through the salt plains
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    idea mater is a series of articles, ideas and reflections written and compiled by Rafael Fraga and Edmundo Rodrigues. Topics such as history, science, art or life-style are presented with a hint of personal opinion.

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