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Maralinga Tours
Things To Do Ceduna, Ceduna, South Australia
Adventure and Outdoors Tours
The Nuclear Testing site at Maralinga, in remote North West South Australia, is where the British detonated seven bombs between 1954 and 1963. It has been off-limits for visitors ever since. But with a clean-up of the area, supervised by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Authority, completed in 2000, the authorities have certified that it is now safe for visitors to tour the facility.
Visitors are taken by coach from the comfortable campground at the old Maralinga Village to stand on one of the largest airstrips in the Southern Hemisphere (it was designated as a backup landing site during the United States Space Shuttle program), into the Forward Area – the detonation zones to see and learn about the stories of these times. Visit Taranaki, Breakaway, Marcoo and Tufi “Ground Zeros”.
Touring is by pre-arranged entry permit and the one-day tour package includes the full-day tour, two nights pre/post tour in the campground and a permit. They also run 2-day tours on alternate Thursdays which includes three nights camping and a permit. Bookings and payment is arranged at the website.
Services
Tours depart Maralinga Village campground on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with passengers arriving at the locked gates at Maralinga on the afternoon before your tour begins. Your tour host will rendezvous on a pre-arranged, permitted entry schedule. It is just a few minutes’ drive from the gates up to the Maralinga Village campground. There are hot showers, time to use the laundry facilities, to check emails, to recharge phones and laptops and to settle in for the evening.
Tours depart at around 9.00am the next morning with first stop at the airstrip and facilities. Move on to the Roadside Village, the former ‘control point’ for the detonations. Visit Taranaki – the largest of the bombs (at twice the size of that dropped on Hiroshima), on to Breakaway Ground Zero – where a circle of molten green glass, two kilometres in diameter was generated from the blast, to Marcoo and finally Tufi – a site prepared but called off just a few days before the detonation.
The coach arrives at the campground in the late afternoon with visitors departing the next morning.
The remote location means that self-catering (fuel, snacks and food supplies) must be visitor’s own responsibility.
Disabled Access
Family Friendly Pet Friendly - Enquire