BEYOND BOMBS

Driving 400km north-west of Ceduna, we pull up in what seems like the middle of nowhere — yet a large sign in front of us indicates we’ve arrived at a former nuclear test site. There’s a tall barrier behind the sign, and a high cyclone fence topped with ominous looking barbed wire and locked gates. This is the entrance to Maralinga, and it’s a far cry from a typical tourist destination.

UNKNOWN HISTORY

Having not been taught about what happened at Maralinga, you could be wondering why we’d ever want to visit a nuclear test site. Besides travelling with a camper in tow providing us with unlimited opportunities to get off the beaten track, Maralinga has been off-limits to the public until recent times. We also wanted to be able to experience more of the work by surveyor/bushman/road builder, Len Beadell.

While we’ve previously travelled many of the outback roads and tracks Len put in, Maralinga was