Wilmington & Sansouci Puppet Museum & Gallery
We arrived at Wilmington SA & ventured into the puppet museum !! Brilliant !! best move Ive made for a while.The puppets were incredible and one of them (Brian)actually picked me and has come to live with us (I’m currently teaching him Didgeridoo) Annie bought some hand puppets & Marionettes >Me & my younger brother Brian spent some time as kids on Blackpools North Pier watching with deep fascination !! The shop owner is a great personality hailing from Southern England ( Brian) He suffered a stroke a few years ago and feeling very down ( he at that time had NO knowledge of Puppets etc.) A mate of his ( ironically named Geoff ) gave him a box of old puppets. Brian got himself off to the children’s ward in his wheelchair,did an impromptu show.The look on the kids face turned his life around and he converted an old bank into a Museum & now has over 1000 exhibits Even Archie Andrews & Basil Brush was there !!! IF any one visits Wilmington go see his shop,he will delight you with his talk & showmanship Memories for me came flooding back reminding me of the terrific times I had as a child Tell him Pommie Geoff from Blackpool sent you ( NO he wont throw you out !!) Pictures will follow & there are lots !!!
Me an me new pal Brian
He choose ME ! out of millions of customers We are gunna be GREAT pals !!
We have just been into a puppet/marionette shop and had the best time !! The memories of yesteryear when me n ower kid (Brian) used to go to the Marionette Show on Blackpools North Pier The owner was magic & showed great interest in his trade !! Pictures will follow & I ve got a new mate Brian He choose ME ! out of millions of customers We are gunna be GREAT pals !!
Wilpena POUND Great campsite reminiscent of my younger days
This place is great.very reminiscent of my younger days camping in the Pennines(Nicky Nook) of course bit more luxurious now we have a built in toilet !! Kangaroos were wandering around and have no fear of humans Same as Emus Mother walking around with 5 chicks (wouldn’t you know it? I’ve accidently deleted the photo s !!!!! The setting is very bush and popular Camp fires were aglow most of the evening as we sat outside our home sipping ice cold beer (Annie on diet coke !!) Birds came up to our door for a feed of bread<We left next dat to return to Quorn (it really is lovely here) parked up and met with a nice couple & we enjoyed a few beers together BUT more coincidently they are from my birth place of Timperley (Altrincham, Manchester!!) We also watched a 1951 Manchester Steam Train roll into the station ( My brother Brian travelled all over North England collecting train names!!) All in all another great day
Parachilna the Outback Pub miles from anywhere
This pub is in the middle of Nowhere the surrounding abandoned buildings are a stark reminder of affluent days when railroads were the lifeline of these isolated outposts.We decided to stay overnight & our immediate next door neighbours came across and chatted ,they are working residnts of the pub ( Barmaid &Chef) we parked the bus into a very cramped gravel space &thought it was going to be a dull evening The pub is the only standing building in the now derelict rail stop over We decided to go and have a beer & was surprised to see SO many people in there !! The menu advertised bush tucker (Emu/Camel/Kangaroo) I was very brave and had Chicken !! Annie had ( and enjoyed) Kangaroo The evening turned into a good night out and we chatted with some very interesting people Hence the adage Never Judge a Book by its Cover Next morning we set of to Wilpena Pound more on that in my next blog
Quorn a very lovely Quaint Outback Town
This place Quorn (named after a town in Leicestershire UK) is like something out of the early 1900s Its a lovely place Small town with around FOUR pubs..The town is very clean & tidy .There used to be up to50 trains a dy going thru here Now reduced to ONE return service daily during the season ( at least it is steam) the Railway Station of old is kept in really good nick In the centre of town is a building purpose built in a huge circle that houses a panoramic view of the surrounding hills & mountains He also paints wildlife of which some I unashamedly took photos (and in the process saving me 100s of dollars!!) We are of up into the mountains next and staying at a very lonely (but busy ) pub Look in the next blog
Hello & Goodbye to Port Augusta SA
we had a relaxing time here Being a town not much to see We geared up for fishing the sea is yards away from us but the wind is so high we gave it a miss !!Woolworths shop is fascinating & not like Wooliies we have come to love !! It is set out in a ware house fashion BUT excellent wares & cheap. The town boasts a water tower tat has been converted into a tourist attraction.Tomorrow we set off to Quorn in the Flinders Ranges & we are looking forward to that Hopefully this bloody wind will die downBeen messing around with me camera & accidently date stamped my photo,s
Overnight Stay in the Bush onthe way to Port Augusta in which Starlight was magnificent & sunset spectacular
This area was totally deserted and a constant reminder how beautiful Australia can be BUT walk a while into the untouched bush and it soon becomes apparent how harsh this country can also be There is a graphic photo of a rotting animal that has probably wandered from the flock,and in my estimation needs to be shown. The sunset is fantastic and my camera caught some eerie dusk shots with trees as the subjects. Stars at night are brilliant and the stillness/quietness is NOT conducive to my normal life style as most members of my family will testify !!
We are travelling further North tomorrow towards PA & the Flinders Ranges
2 Woomera Rocket Test Base in the 60/70s
Woomera Once a secret town closed to the outside world This place is like a ghost town! Lots of Housing/flats BUT all empty The British & Australians tested rockets here until the 80s NASA got involved for a while & the place was bustling with people (around 7000) even got its own cinema(abandoned) When the testing finished the population has dwindled to around 200 & is now a ghostly tourist town Its very possible the housing could be utilised in the near future for immigrants Further up the road os Roxby Downs (The town was purpose built to service the Olympic Dam mine which contains one of the largest known ore bodies in the world today & It has one of the highest birth rates in Australia possibly NO TV out there? )we decided to give it a miss .The Woomera Prohibited Area also contained the Emu and Maralinga atomic test sites(within 270000 sq Kms area)
Oddities from Coober Pedy
The Movie Pitch Black starring Vin Diesel was made in CP & the “spaceship” is now a tourist attraction.The strange yellowy cones are where the flying man eaters appeared from.Vin went on to make a follow up movie called Chronicles of Riddick (I’m a fan of both) Other pics include REAL tombstones from the locally named Boot Hill ( really!!) The Beer barrel was organized before hand by the deceased who organized a Booze up at his funeral and when the Barrel was empty to be incorporated in the tombstone along with an assortment of beer bottles & cans Needless to say he was an alcoholic ( these are the wonderful eccentrics & characters that make CP a legendary place ) we now move towards Pot Augusta calling at ex space research town of Woomera
We leave Coober Pedy on a high
This place was great,seems funny to see caves sold as houses!! The Boom for opals seems to be over & the old eccentric type of miner with a tale to tell is slowly disappearing BUT the Opal Fields are still open to interested parties ( I’m eligible coz I bought a miners permit back in 83 for $10 !!! all I need is 4pegs from the CP council and away I go! keeping in mind each 10 metre deep by 1 metre across perfectly shaped round hole costs me a minimum $400 !!)
On the way out we did a last visit of some CP icons and they will be posted on my next Blog & then its off to Port Augusta
Watch me play Didgeridoo
Geoffs Life After Work ! 