Thursday 9th May 2013 - Tallaringa Conservation Reserve (Anne Beadell Highway) to Maralinga Tjarutja Land.

Sunrise

After a very mild night and a glorious sunrise we were on the road by 9am.  This was not a moment too soon as we were carried away by the flies as soon as we exited the camper.  Today was a day of corrugations with little let up for the first half of the trip.  In some spots there were side tracks which were much appreciated but for most of the trip it was something between 10 and 30km/h.  A wrecked trailer on the side of the road was testament to what the corrugations can do.

The corrugations take their toll

By lunch (just short Maralinga) we had travelled less than 80 kilometres.

As we pulled out from our lunch spot we found a dead camel in the middle of the road.  It had been there for some time.

This camel didn't make it.

A little further down the track we arrived at the Totem 1 and Totem 2 obelisks where the British detonated atomic bombs in 1951 and 1953.  You can still see sand, turned to glass by the explosions and the remains of towers destroyed in the blast.  

One of the Totem Obelisks

Nearby is the airstrip, a very flat and very broad area where we took the opportunity to take some photos.

Emu airstrip

 We expected some ruins at the nearby settlement of Emu but could only find a rubbish dump.    For the rest of the afternoon we were travelling through sand hill country.  Much kinder on vehicles and bodies – quite pretty country actually.

Camp was beside the track with dinner tonight stir fry.  Karen also made sago with canned mango, berries and peanuts.   The weather was cooler today 29 -32 instead of the 35 we had yesterday and tonight most of us have a jumper on.