Apollo 11: Jumping on the bandwagon

I am still working on researching Red Army equipment. If I didn’t enjoy research nearly as much as writing I think it would have driven me mad by now. Anyway in the spirit of procrastination I am going to ramble about something totally different.

With so much being said about the 40th anniversary of the 1969 Moon landing I thought I should chip in with my two cents worth. In 1969 many of the signals beamed to earth from the Apollo 11 mission were received by a large dish antenna at the NASA facility at Honeysuckle Creek in NSW Australia. In the forty years since 1969 things have changed a bit.

At Honeysuckle Creek things have probably changed a bit more than in most places.
The American facility at Honeysuckle Creek was closed in 1981 and the Antenna moved to a facility not far away at Tidbinbilla.

All that remains of the US base is the road that leads up the mountain, a few concrete slabs, and a couple of small signs that act as a sort of memorial.
Honey Suckle Creek is now part of the Namadgi National Park and the bush is coming back.

I was up there in Spring last year, the current residents unlike many of the former staff do not usually wear a uniform. Here are a few.

This female Grey Kangaroo has a joey in her pouch.


This is a smaller relative of the Kangaroos, these fellows are Red-necked Wallabys.

I watched this female grazing for some time and then a little face popped out of her pouch she was a mother as well. If you look carefully at this second photo you can see a little face peering out.

There had been drought in the area for some time and with spring came some rain. So I think the locals were taking the opportunity to raise some young while they could.