Well wouldn't you know

Well in the most proverbial of ways, assume and you make an ass out of u and me. Shrouded in a sense of mystery that is not common in a country as free as ours, Maralinga brings up veritable images of nuclear waste dumps, men wondering around in radiation suits as well as infamous Simpsons 3 eyed fish.

And when you see a front gate like this

and a doorbell like this,

it’s not hard to understand why.

As with everything in life though, peeling back a few layers often reveals the truth of what we imagine we see.

So here in the middle of nowhere, a place not on many maps, a place where the welcome sign includes warnings of radiation exposure, I find what could be only described as an outback rustic homestead.

There’s a gym, swimming pool, billards room, TV/movies room, self contained cabins and supremely hospitable care takers in the form of Dianne and Leon.

The area we’re staying in was the base camp for all the British Navy personnel while they were setting up for their tests. There’s not a lot here compared to when it was at it’s peak but there’s a heck of a lot more than I expected.

Dianne and Leon have been the caretakers for about 3 years and will be the last government appointed caretakers before the site is hand back over to the natives. Maralinga for them is essentially their home now and they’ve set it up in a way that really shines with pride and care.

Each night we’re lavished with a 3 course meal and lunch and breakfast are in our rooms every day. After living out of a motel for the last month I can tell you this was an extremely welcome change.

No mobile reception, only 2 phone lines in the main building and 2 channels on TV, it’s a chance to unwind and catch up on some reading that I have been meaning to do.

In a place like this you would begin to wonder what it is I actually do for work…..

Right now, while it’s not summer (try 0-5 degrees C in the morning) there’s a steady stream of visitors from around the surround native communities as well as varies government representative types. Although it’s not exactly a tourist resort, there seems to be quite a few people passing through here once you stay a while.

I haven’t posted many shots from inside the compound as it is still government land and protected. Considering the exemplary treatment we’ve had I wouldn't want to cause any trouble.

All too soon, we’re about to head off as we're almost finished the job here. Myself slightly earlier as I’m bound for Africa and the DRC on the 1st July. More about that later. Suffice to say it’s all happening pretty quickly and new adventure awaits.

I’ll be back in the mother town on Tues 26th for a few days so for those inclined, give me a bell and I’ll try on swing some quality time and a brew before tripping off again.

(Sharing lunch with one of the locals)

Ah stop complaining, your fingers will grow back

I’ve been looking around for some cheap snorkelling gear to send friends and fam at home as it seems the rain Gods have decided enough dry for now at least and started the deluge. It’s sad to hear people have died though amidst the wet and my heart goes out to the families who are affected.

Up here, yes we are getting the scraps of all this weather. Firstly it was a bit of rain and thunder, but now it’s just cold. And I mean COLD. I’m at the airport 6.00am every morning and the mercury is barely touching 5 degrees. Normally I wouldn’t bat an eyelid at cold weather, in fact revel in it, but up until yesterday my cold weather gear was putting on 2 pairs of shorts and 2 t-shirts on for the mornings.
Thankfully I found a lovely sporting shop with some winter cycling tops and gloves so I’m now reasonably toasty and I have some decent cycling gear for when I get back to Sydney. For those wondering why I didn’t just go to Kmart and buy a fleece jacket, well
a) I have a heap of them at home
b) I want to keep weight down
c) I needed some cycling gear anyway.

It’s not about to get any better either. I’m due to head out to Maralinga in a couple of days. Those of you not laughing at me right now, Maralinga is the place where the Brits decided it would be a great place to test a few nukes about 50 odd year ago.

It’s about 100kms inland from the south coast of Sth Aust and there’s nothing but flat desert out there. So add this cold stuff we’ve been getting, I’m expecting to be chipping ice of the plane before we get started in the mornings.

Well, at least it will be good conditioning should I eventually get to work in Canada/Alaska/Greenland.

Oh, I got my new toy. Here’s a pic.



Cort SFX 5 limited edition in blonde. Great sound. Small and light which is great for travel and wasn’t too expensive. Very happy camper. Been annoying the neighbours for a few days now with my musical aspirations.

As mentioned previously, I really need to get some more exercise. I’m starting to feel very portly at the moment. I’m also considering doing a quick climbing trip to Thailand in Oct, so I’d better get in shape otherwise the only climbing will be to the bar and back. I did buy a basketball though…