COVID-19 is of great concern to Aboriginal communities.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and people living in remote communities are at greater risk from COVID-19. This is because:
- there are higher rates of other health issues in these communities
- it can be harder to access health care
- people in the community are very mobile and travel often
- people often rely more on outreach services in remote places
Because of this, we ask that you are honest in your declaration on booking and that if your circumstances or health status changes by the time of the tour, that you notify us for cancellation and refund.
Please do the right thing!
This is important.
Tours run on Tuesdays and Thursdays.*
When you book, the booking date is the day of the actual tour.
You need to arrive the day before and will depart the day after.
Aim to arrive at the barrier gate in mid afternoon on Monday for a Tuesday tour or Wednesday for the Thursday one. Call the village from Ooldea on the railway line where there is good Telstra Mobile coverage.
The number to call is (08) 8670 4089
If you don't have a Telstra network phone you'll need to call from Nundroo or Penong and try a rough estimate of arrival time.
*unless arranged otherwise.
No.
The Traditional Owners have asked that people not fly drones at Maralinga.
However permission may be obtained by contacting the admin office.
Maralinga Tjarutja Administration Office
43 McKenzie Street, Ceduna, SA, 5690
Tel: 08 8625 2946
Fax: 08 8625 3076
Email: senioradmin@maralinga.com.au
Simply, No.
There are other travel options to hook up with the Anne Beadell Hwy at Volkes Hill via the Cook Road which will need separate travel access permits which will be issued without additional charge, if you are doing the tour.
Note: If you are just coming up from the Eyre Highway your permit is included in the tour booking.
If you are wanting to travel elsewhere on Maralinga Tjarutja Lands, application forms can be sourced here. MT Lands travel permit and COVID 19 response
Please contact the Ceduna office for more details on additional travel/access permits.
(08) 8625 2946 Ceduna Office
DO NOT pay for the tour using the details on the additional permit application form, use the booking form on this website. Mamungari Park will still need camping fees to be paid though.
You may also need a permit to use the Anne Beadell see Woomera Access Poster
No, sorry, fuel is NOT available at the village.
Please make sure you have enough fuel for the round trip from Nundroo or Penong or the Nullarbor Roadhouse.
If you are travelling up to the Anne Beadell, fuel planning will be critically important.
No. The Maralinga Tjarutja lands are designated a dry zone. This includes the Maralinga Village.
Please respect the wishes of the traditional owners.
We understand that many people are travelling with their four legged family member, so we allow them, as long as their owners are well behaved.
Pooches will need to be tied up while you are on tour and kept on leads and quiet at all times.
Be warned that as Maralinga is in an outback location outside the dingo fence, it may be visited by passing wild dogs, which may try to convince your dog to join their gang or worse, attack it, if you allow your dogs to roam, hence the warning.
Dogs are not allowed in the accommodation cabins.
So, yes they're welcome, subject to the above and at your own risk.
No sorry, we don't have "powered sites".
We DO have 240v power for our washine machine and lighting in the ablution areas.
There are no outlets to run high wattage devices like electric kettles.
Electronic devices may be charged up at the museum.
If you have a standard van you should be OK getting to Maralinga.
This is subject to your judgement and experience on bush roads.
Take it really easy over the rough patches which are 20-30 km both north and south of the railway line and be sensible for the rest of the way.
Off-road vans and campers will be fine, again depending on your common sense.
Remember to have plenty of spares and water, as per any outback travel. It can be a couple of days between people using this road if you do break down.
Probably not! You don't need a 4WD to get to Maralinga but you will need a bit of ground clearance. Common utes and passenger cars with high profile tyres will be OK with an experienced outback driver.
There are a few rough patches with many limestone ridges 20-30 km north and south of the railway line which will require a sensible approach. Care needs to be taken on the whole journey.
If at all unsure, the best bet then is to hire an SUV or 4WD from Cedrent in Ceduna. They are very helpful and familiar with the country.
Well.... that's up to you, but here is a map.
www.maralingatours.com.au/location/
Or you can download a pdf version here.
Maralinga Village is about 225km from Nundroo roughly 2.5-3 hours drive. Allow 5 hours from Ceduna which is around 400km away.
If you book outside of 35 days before the tour date, you will be charged a 10% deposit, with the balance due at the 30 day mark.
If booking within 35 days of the tour date, then the full amount will be required.
We take Visa and Mastercard and tours are booked online via this website. Book here.
We don't have a Paypal account at this stage, so please don't try to use Paypal Send money.
Direct Deposits can be used, only by arrangement and for larger groups. Credit cards are just much easier.
Yes there is accommodation in the form of "Dongas" - which are ATCO style units.
These are available for travellers that aren't set up for camping though may or may not be available due to government contractors or officials that visit from time to time. We usually block out these dates on the website so they can't be booked.
The dongas are self-contained units with twin single rooms and kitchen facilities, which include fridge, stove, microwave, cooking and eating utensils. All foodstuffs will need to be brought along by yourself.
Bed linen is included.
When you book, select "Accommodated Tour".
If the Dongas are booked for another purpose that booking option won't be available on the website.
There is a Telstra phone signal that can be had from the village. Best if you wander up to the site of the old swimming pool, here you can get a reasonable signal from the Telstra railway tower at Watson for voice traffic. You may even be able to use 3G wireless broadband.
There is good Telstra coverage all along the Trans-Continental Railway line. But once you get away from it you will find there is no service. The distance will vary according to landforms and height.
We also have a good small-cell Optus service that covers the village itself.
We do not currently have WiFi
You may get Telstra mobile broadband from the village if you find a good spot, like up on the old swimming pool.
There is also an Optus cell in the village. This is reported to give good service within the village.
Don't forget your camera!
Please pack a lunch and any snacks and drinks that you want for the day. Apples and bananas are good, sandwiches and bikkies too. ?
The tour guide will bring a supply of rainwater just in case. If you want a Thermos for tea or coffee or a cool pack for soft drinks and your lunch, please feel free to bring these along.
Dress for the weather, hat, jacket, sunscreen and insect repellent might be needed. Common sense prevails.
NO, not if you are ONLY travelling from the highway to Maralinga and back.
There is a permit fee included in the price of the tour. This permit is specific to the Maralinga Atomic Test Site tour. It includes travel from the highway to the Maralinga Village and return.
HOWEVER, if you want to travel anywhere else on the Maralinga Tjarutja lands, you will need to arrange an extra travel permit from the Ceduna office, but they will waive the fee.
DO NOT pay for the tour using the details on the additional permit application form, use the booking form on this website. Mamungari Park camping fees will still need to be paid though.
Download the permit application form MT Lands permit COVID 19 response
Please contact Kali at the Ceduna office for more details.
(08) 8625 2946
You may also need a permit to use the Anne Beadell see Woomera Access Poster
You may also need a permit to use the Anne Beadell see Woomera Access Poster
A fly-in tour is NOT an aerial tour of Maralinga. It is for people with either their own plane or a chartered one. They will hook up with our normal ground tour.
We do not organise charters but Chinta Air in Ceduna are familiar with our tours and will be able to help.
If arriving for a tour make sure you are on the strip and ready for pick up by 0845 hours.
Here is a pdf of details of the Maralinga airfield details
General rule is aircraft do a couple of low passes over the village so we know they have arrived or call on UHF 40 and we meet them and transport them to the village.
If arriving for a tour make sure you are on the strip and ready for pick up by 0845 hours.
Primary contact:
Roger Petersen, Manager
(08) 8670 4089
villageadmin@maralinga.com.au
ARPANSA (http://www.arpansa.gov.au) does regular ongoing testing of the Maralinga area and has deemed it safe for public visitation. This means that protection gear is not necessary for the tour.
Our web man says:
My own experience with my own handheld Geiger counter, is that radiation levels at the blast sites are about ten times what I see in my office in Orroroo. The village on the other hand was actually about 30-50% less than what I measure in Orroroo.
Put in perspective, for the few hours in the Maralinga forward area you might receive as much radiation as a couple of days elsewhere.
Here is a downloadable booklet for the Maralinga Village and Test Area
Buy books about Maralinga
Any questions that are not answered here, please use our enquiry form.
