The Nullarbor Crossing (Day 106 - Day 111)

Day 106—Tuesday, 8th October (Norseman to Woorlbra Rest Area 245kms)

Before leaving the park, we had our empty gas bottle re-filled for a mere $36.00. Its surprising that in an area where you can pay $1.25 plus per litre at the pump, a nine litre tank costs no more than in Korumburra. We later filled up our diesel, at the BP Roadhouse at $1.64 per litre, which I suspect is not that bad when compared to the same Korumburra but LPG was out of the question. As I was paying for the gas, the manager enquired about our water supply, suggesting we top up as there’s no water on the highway now until Penong, something like 1100 kilometres away. So we did, pinching about fifty litres of the precious stuff. We were impressed with this show of concern, especially as I’d been thinking of topping up anyway!

Eventually, leaving the park, we found a parking spot down the street and went for a stroll to check out the tin camels and say g’day to Hardy Norseman. The legend says that Hardy Norseman went lame one morning and on inspection, a gold nugget was found wedged in a shoe. And that started it all. I swear, it’s in the brochure!

The main intersection in Norseman, more tin art!

Same intersection,Council Chambers with rose garden!

Hardy Norseman

Although Norseman, the town, is promoted as the gateway to the Nullarbor, the Nullarbor Plain, the real Nullarbor is still a thousand kilometres away. The treeless Nullarbor Plain is signposted just before the Nullarbor Roadhouse and we reckon on maybe two more sleeps before arriving there!

Still at, or about the three hundred metre mark and climbing to just over four hundred as we passed through Fraser Range, then sliding back down to the three hundred mark.

An early look at the Eyre Highway

The landscape is very undulating and bush like woodlands, eucalypts still in view a great mixture of salt bush and blue bush, typical of what we saw yesterday out at Lake Cowan. And the salt pans were almost always in sight somewhere. Lots of Gazanias and the yellow everlasting daisies. Large areas of burnt out scrub were just at the re-generating stage. One section of roadway was marked as a RFDS emergency airstrip and the verges had been considerably widened and a large cleared area at one end, which we assumed was the patient transfer area. All this just before Balladonia and followed then by the 90 mile straight, the longest stretch of straight road in Australia.

Approaching the end of the RFDS "airstrip" with it's widened verges

Last bend for a while

That will keep for the morning, our campsite for tonight, about ten kilometres into the straight Our first stop on the Nullabor is another quite large area complete with toilet but as above, no water. We arrived about 1.30pm and found only a couple of outfits already camped but as mentioned, this is a big site and once we’d found a spot, the others were out of sight. It didn’t stay that way for long though and well before dinner, there were maybe twenty or thirty more, including one almost on our doorstep!  Didn’t matter, we enjoyed a nice quiet evening.

A nice quiet camp for our first night on the Nullarbor

Strangely, although there were no other services, we had full Telstra 3G. Maybe because of the nearby RFDS airstrip. We heard later that another lamb was born at Nyora Downs! So no radio or telly but we had the internet.

Day 107—Wednesday, 9th October (Woorlbra RA to Moodini Bluff 317kms)

More of the same and more to come as we amble along the Eyre Highway towards the border at Eucla. Just drive and watch the scenery pass by. As an added inducement to sleep, the 90 mile straight had to be negotiated. The Caiguna Roadhouse marks the eastern end of the straight and soon after passing that point, a sign advising advancing clocks by 45 minutes to central western time!  Never heard of this time zone and it turns out to be an unofficial zone, half way between WA time and SA time. I suppose with the distances involved, it reduces the shock when arriving at the SA border, when another gentle 45 minutes adjustment is required, instead of an hour and half. At the end of the 90 mile straight is the Caiguna Roadhouse but it was too early for us to stop other than for a quick snap or two.

Seventy kilometres further on though, we did stop at Cocklebiddy for a cuppa and fuel at a not unreasonable $1.98 per litre. There’s no way you can dodge the cost of fuel here, we’re now 445kms from our last fill at Norseman and over a hundred to go to Madura, the next available fuel! The Patrol tanks hold 120 litres and at a conservative allowance of 20 per hundred, towing 2.5 tons of caravan, should have a range of 600 kilometres but who wants to take it that close? You see vehicles with fuel jerry's on the rear bumper and wonder how much difference would a few litres make over such a long distance. We might never make this  trip again, so fill up and pay up and enjoy the scenery.

So, not long afterwards, we passed through Mundura and soon reach our campsite for night number two on the Nullarbor, Moodini Bluff. Just in time for a late lunch. Moodini Bluff rest area is another designated 24hr stop. I don’t know what the difference is, there are dozens along the highway, that are not so designated, perhaps the toilet block?

The bluff rises above the highway, no more than sixty or seventy metres high and perhaps a kilometre or two north of the highway in places. It's been following us since Manduri and I think it's known as Mandura Pass where the highway drops to almost sea level. Here at Moodini, it's very close, looming over the  area and can be accessed by energetic  people, who enjoy rock climbing.
This is another very large area, with a wide open section around the toilet block but lots of little tracks snaking off into the bush, leading to more secluded sites. So, you can be as close to or as far from the road noise of the highway as you care to. Of course the further back you go, the longer your trek to the loo! Well we did enjoy another quiet night.

Moodini Bluff

Day 108—Thursday, 10th October (Moodini Bluff to Eucla 158kms)

As mentioned, the bluff on our left has been tracking along the highway, keeping us company since Madura, four hundred kilometres past. Now the highway climbs up through the Eucla Pass to the top of the bluff and just at the crest, is the entrance to Eucla. Just a roadhouse and a well situated motel and the Caravan Park. We thought we’d splash out and pay for a powered site but as mentioned earlier, there's no water. Hot showers are available at the amenities block, $1.00 per five minutes.

You could say the middle of nowhere

Being at the top of the bluff, a great ocean view is available after just a short walk through the park, with the ocean about a kilometre away and the air strip a bit nearer. Also, we mistakenly assumed that the quarantine post was just twelve kilometres away at the border, so we intended making sure we’d either eaten or cooked up all our fruit and veggies. In reality, the check only affects westbound into WA. The SA check is 500 kilometres away at Ceduna. Now as I write this, I recall being told that by a fellow traveller as far back as Katherine. My excuse? That was a very long time ago!.

The view from Eucla Caravan Park

Eucla is the site of one of the early telegraph stations and the ruins still sit on the beach not far from the park, so we decided to go and explore. Not much to tell, except that those must have been very difficult, hard times. A small one roomed museum at the motel told some interesting tales.

The Old Telegraph Station ruins

circa 1877

Day 109—Friday, 11th October (Eucla CP to Peg 222 Rest Area 259kms)

Camped only twelve kilometres from the WA/SA border, we soon found ourselves winding the clocks forward but not the fortyfive minutes as suggested earlier but one hour and fortyfive, due to the introduction of daylight saving last week. WA does not have daylight savings. So basically today is just another drive but now, we’re driving along the top of the bluff, the one we’ve followed since Madura and climbed yesterday at Eucla.

The first available fuel on the SA side is at the Nullarbor Roadhouse and here we pulled up to the pump and filled up. Getting to the pump was a bit of a bun fight due to one lane being occupied by a tanker delivering fuel. Another issue was that vehicles were approaching from either direction. We ended up doing a big U-turn and all ended well. After all that effort, we decided to buy lunch at the roadhouse, bacon and egg roll for me and toasted ham sandwich for Helen.

A borrowed image, we couldn't take photos because of the roadtrain tanker.

The roadhouse is only fifteen kilometres from the turn off to Head of the Bight and they run whale watching flights so we asked about any sightings lately only to be told the whales were all gone, the last sighting nearly a week ago! However, we may never come this way again so at least we should make the effort. As well as the fifteen kilometres there's another ten to the Whale Watching Centre, where they collect your entry fee.

A short walk down the boardwalk then a choice of walking east or west. All up, about 1500 metres of boardwalk with storeyboards telling the story of the whales and their migration from the far south, to mate and birth. At one point, we thought we spotted a fin slap the water, making a huge splash but watching closly for another fifteen minutes brought no more splashes. Later we saw a seal playing in the water and while disappointed that we didn't see any whales, we came away at peace, having enjoyed our walk and the stunning views. Really pleased we made that turn off.

Looking to the west.

Wave erosion.

The rest of the day was all downhill. We had studied the Camps Australia and decided our camp tonight would be at Peg 222 Rest Area. Big mistake, we soon found out. As soon as stepping out of the Patrol, squadrons of March Flies zeroed in. very excitedly buzzing around and dive bombing, so we made a dash for the van and stayed there. Because of the time spent at Head of the Bight, it was now a bit late and we weren't sure where the next stop would be, so we stayed put, hoping they'd be gone by morning. The only thing remarkable about the stop was our current speedo reading at peg 222. Talk about all the two's!

All the two's at peg 222!

Day 110—Saturday, 12th October (Peg 222 Rest Area to Ceduna 261kms)

We had the company of a small motorhome for the evening, not that we were paying any visits, the March Flies put paid to that. So at least we got another really quiet night and to be serious, the flies all disappeared when darkness came and we could wander outside and see the great star studded sky as only you can out in the outback areas. Quite a finale for our last night on the Nullarbor.

On the road again and we'd not gone very far when we discovered our mistake, when we saw all the vans and motorhomes parked at Yalata Rest Area, about 35kms further on. Ah well, put it down to experience.
Again, the landscape is gently undulating, with long stretches of straight road. We passed the Yalata Roadhouse, now abandoned and derelict, although there were signs of life at the Yalata Community behind the roadhouse.
Soon we were passing by the Nundroo Roadhouse. No stops needed, we will fill up at Ceduna, as we expect the price to come down as we travel further east.
Not long after Nundroo, we started to see crops, huge paddocks of wheat and some flocks of sheep too. The country is very dry and we could see that some farmers were harvesting already. We didn't stop at Penong and kept on going to Ceduna, where we did stop, for the quarantine inspectors. We mentioned to the inspector, our big cook up at Eucla and he told us many travellers get caught that way and maybe they'll have to change their signs. So that made us feel a bit better.
There are four caravn parks at Ceduna but everyone says the Foreshore is best. That's probably why we got the last site and quite an awkward one to get into. So awkward that we were invited to see if we could get into it before paying! We did get in and paid for two nights.

A good spot once in but those trees were a menace

The park is about a hundred metres from the town centre, so as I was connecting the power and water lines, Helen walked across the street and bought a few items for lunch, at the only place open on a Saturday afternoon, Foodland. Later we went back again and bought some veggies and fruit.

Main Street Ceduna, a quiet Saturday afternoon

The park is well named, being right on the foreshore and although fenced all round, including gates at the front, a gate at the back opened right onto the beach. The security here is quite impressive, with boom gates at front as well as security gates that are closed at 7.15pm, access being available with a security code, which also gave access to the amenities and the rear gate. Something to do with the original titleholders!

Day 111—Sunday, 13th October (Ceduna 22kms bobtail)

We had some rain overnight, no star gazing for us now. Helen got some washing done, thinking the rain had gone and ended up with a line under the awning! The breeze that did dry the washing was very cool, maybe something we need to get used to.
After some lunch, we went for a drive around town. There were some very modern houses along the beachfront but also some very old little places, that reminded us of miners cottages. Maybe they were at one time.

The Pier at Ceduna

Avenue of trees on the waterfront

Further out, we visited Pinky Point and drove around the grain loading facility. The warf was deserted except for a solitary couple of tugboats. You could tell the place would be busy soon, along the approach road to the grain silo, was a long line of transports waiting to load up, we assumed with grain. The other products shipped here are gypsum, salt and mineral sand but we assumed these would go by sea.

Some shipping statistics

The Grain Silos with a salt stack in front

 

No loading on a Sunday afternoon

On the way back to the caravan park, we stopped at a Coles Express for fuel, filling up with diesel and also, LPG for the first time since Katherine! And to sweeten the deal, used an 0.8c Coles shopper docket. For dinner, we walked out the back gate and into the hotel for their Sunday special roast dinner at $20.00 a head. Slept well this night! Tomorrow we head for home!