Location: Driving the Nullabor

Region: Flinders Rangers and Outback, Eyre Peninsula, Goldfields & Esperance

Dates: 13 August – 16 August 2023

Temperature: 6 – 18 degrees

It was a cool morning when we left Streaky Bay but we were very excited to be heading out into the Nullabor, one of Australia’s truely great drives.

Fun fact, Nullabor loosely translated from Latin means “ no trees”. Null = None or No and abor = trees.

We drive through Perlubie and Penong to Ceduna our first stop where we had planned to pay to fill the water tanks and get fuel (Rob had found a good price on Petrol Spy) but on arrival found the town in the middle of a planned electricity outage, so the water and fuel station we planned to visit were shut! Fortunately we found the BP was still open and very busy, running on a generator and we were able to get both fuel ($$$) and water (free). Interesting the problems that crop up as you travel and the best laid plans of mice and men and all that goes with it!

Our camp for tonight Sunday 13/8 and Monday 14/8 is on the cliffs of the Great Australian Bight and it’s also our first 4×4 camp, driving off road and over dunes to the cliffs.

After finding the exit which is often tricky with Wiki Camps; being just a dirt track off the highway and no signage, we carefully drive the bumpy track and tight corners and the hump of the dunes with no problems and make our camp. The view of the cliffs is amazing to say the least, the power of the waves against the 120+ metre cliffs, the colours, the Great Southern Ocean are all awe inspiring. It’s nice to have a two nights here to take it in and explore.

With our full day on the cliffs we plan a walk and later I’m going to bake bread. I had spent the previous day working the dough in the car as we drove, dutifully folding the dough every hour and it had proven slowly overnight in the fridge.

The day showed promise of being clear so we were hopeful of seeing some whales also. Our bush walk explored the cliffs and the incoming track, and we also hunted for wild flowers and the sink hole we had read about. Apparently there lots of sink holes all along the coastline.

To finish our day we set a hot fire to bake the bread, before cooking dinner in the camp oven, fennel and garlic sausages with roast veg. Unfortunately baking bread directly in the coals is too hot (lesson learned) but I was able to salvage most of the the loaf after removing part of the bottom crust.

Later in the day Rob saw a Petrel over the sea and I saw a Sea eagle near camp.

On Wednesday we left early and as we drove out saw hundreds of cobwebs covered in dew. It’s always surprising to find life in arid areas and by the amount of webs it’s obvious there are lots of spiders and insects.

The landscape continues to change and delight and we stop at every cliff and coast viewpoint enjoying the sights, stopping just outside Cocklebiddy to bush camp again. On Thursday we stop in to see the wedge tailed Eagles (thanks Kay 😍) Samantha and Bruce before heading off. I took a photo of the sign so you can read about them and how we must all take great care on the roads to prevent hitting them.

Our third day of driving on the Nullabor is to Norseman. I’ve heard a lot about this town from my brother law Jon Fry who worked there for a period and has told me about the stunning Great Western Woodlands nearby.

As we leave Cocklebiddy, Rob spies an Emu dad with three chicks (no photo) close to the road. They are very cute with their stripped feather camouflage and we are delighted by the sight.

This drive has the longest straight stretch of road in Aus 246.6km. The last few days we have had lots of radio traffic from pilots of oversized vehicles and we are very glad to have the UHF as without warning it may be difficult to move off the road in time, due to the sometimes high and steep shoulders.

On the way into Norseman we had a shower of rain which changed all the colours in the landscape. On arrival we camped at Norseman RV park, very good and now has toilets (open 8:00-4:00) and close to the dump point.

After setup we visited Lyn Webb’s “Gallery of Splendid Isolation” and said hello as Kay and Jon know him. His outback photography is breathtakingly beautiful and not to be missed.

Later we had dinner at the local hotel and watched the Matilda’s in the Semi Final and while we didn’t get a win it was great to see the team advance so far in the World Cup and to see such great National support. Well done Matilda’s!

All in all the Nullabor has been a great drive with lots to see and do. We think we might even do the golf links on the return journey.

Tomorrow we are off to Kalgoorlie.

Hope you are all safe and well. Be kind to each other. xx