AUSTRALIA ’ S AREA 51
We ’ ve all heard of Groom Lake or , more specifically , Area 51 , where the United States tests its most secretive black projects like the F- 117 stealth fighter jet . But did you know Australia has an equivalent secretive test range ? You ’ ve probably driven right through it without even knowing . It ’ s called the Woomera Prohibited Area and it is huge . Spanning more than 122,000 square kilometres , it is about the same size as North Korea . A 350km section of the Stuart Highway , between the towns of Pimba and Coober Pedy , cuts right through the middle of it . The only hint that you are even driving through a secret test site is an innocuous road sign that includes the warning that travellers must not deviate from the road . This section of the highway is closed several times a year while military tests are carried out on the range .
There is a visitor centre at RAAF Woomera that is well worth a visit .
This road sign is there to alert you to the fact you ' re driving through Australia ' s Area 51 ( pic : Widipedia ).
If you do find yourself driving along this section of the Stuart Highway , you would be well advised to consider the warning . Apart from the possibility of incurring the wrath of the Australian Defence Force , you could also be accidentally blown up by unexploded ordinances .
WA ’ S UNSANCTIONED NUCLEAR EXPLOSION
Most people will be familiar with the nuclear tests conducted at Maralinga in remote South Australia , but hardly anyone knows about a nuclear test said to have happened in Western Australia as recently as 1993 . On May 28 that year , at 11.03pm , a ‘ seismic event ’ shook the state with a force equivalent to the detonation of 2000 tonnes of high explosives . The cause of the quake was never identified . Still , one seriously considered theory was that a Japanese doomsday cult may have tested an illegally acquired tactical nuclear weapon on their remote WA property .
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