Across the Mighty Nullarbor

Wow I have so much to write. We have been out of internet range for the three days it took to drive across the Nullarbor.... but first I should backtrack a bit to our last night in Ceduna...

We went fishing out on the pier at Denial Bay (about 13 km from Ceduna). I caught my first ever squid (well I caught 2 of them actually). What fun it was to catch them and what beautiful creatures they are - pulsating different colours. I discovered quickly that one has to be careful which way they are facing on the decking as they squirt out their black ink everywhere (Mum is still grumbling about the stains on Dad's new shorts). Uncle John cooked up the squid with his salt and pepper recipe and we feasted!!!

On our last night in Ceduna, we actually got a thunderstorm and some rain. I am afraid I was a bit of a wimp and crawled inside the caravan with Baabaara the sheepskin and my sleeping bag for a while - the lightning was a bit too fierce for me sleeping outside on my metal framed camp stretcher!

We got up early and packed up, ready for our journey. We got away by about 10 am and set off out through Penong - a tiny outback town with old windmills everywhere. Once we passed this town, I was into unfamiliar territory - this is as far as I have ever been before.

It wasn't long before we were on the Nullarbor. Now, I had expected the Nullarbor to be beautiful in that wild, desolate, sparse, nothing there kind of beauty.... I was wrong! The Nullarbor is awe inspiringly, achingly, mind blowingly, almost indescribably beautiful. I think I drove the others nuts with my constant exclamations, "Oh but this is really really beautiful".

For the early part of our drive, the landscape was rolling hills with red soil and an understory of silver-blue saltbush. The next layer are dark green succulent shrubs, topped off with some beautiful stunted gum trees - with glistening green leaves (probably enhanced by the rain the night before).

We continued on until we came to the edge of the true treeless plain. This was spectacular in a different way - flat and dry and not a tree in sight - just as well we didn't need a loo break because there was definitely nowhere to squat here.

We stopped off at the Nullarbor Roadhouse for some fuel (and the loo). At $1.89 a litre, it hurt - the fuel, not the loo! We saw some interesting sites here, but the wind was roaring across the plain and we didn't stop for too long.

We didn't see a lot of wildlife on the road (apart from dead roos) but the signs were interesting! We did see one dead camel beside the road and, best of all, heaps of really majestic Wedge Tailed Eagles - what magnificent birds these are!

I was stunned by the amount of traffic on the Nullarbor. You certainly have to look both ways before crossing! There were a lot of huge road trains and many big trucks transporting massive pieces of farming and mining machinery. One vehicle came with 2 police cars and 2 pilot vehicles with flashing lights. We had to pull right off the road to let this massive truck past!

We pulled off the road on a little dirt track about 30 km west of the Nullarbor Roadhouse to camp for the night. It was a truly beautiful bush camp with shrubs and trees all around. I set up my swag out on the red dirt and really felt that finally I was "out in the bush". We sat for an afternoon beer and then Uncle John cooked up some of the fish we had caught for a wonderful fish dinner. After dinner and a couple of glasses of red, we all retired for the night.

It was a beautiful night's sleep - I slept with my swag open most of the night, until we got some rain showers early in the morning. Imagine that.... rain on the Nullarbor!!! I seem to be keeping to my habit of bringing rain to wherever I go. Fortunately the rain stopped fairly quickly and we woke to a bright, fresh day.

We had breakfast and then set off across the Nullarbor again. We soon came to the first access road to the Head of the Great Australian Bight. How disappointing to find the road closed for maintenance. However soon enough we came to some other lookouts. It was wonderful to stand and look out to sea - this has been one of my lifelong dreams ... to stand at the edge of the edge of our country. I really loved every lookout (and slowed our progress considerably by insisting that we stop at each one!)

In this photo I am standing at the edge of the bight wearing the hat I knitted on the first day of the trip. True to my tradition - I have been knitting hats all the way so far. Look out friends - you will probably all get one when I get home!

It is hard to describe the enormity of this trip across the Nullarbor - it just stretches for ever. Between Ceduna and Norseman, the only medical help available is through the Royal Flying Doctor Service. At several places the road is designated as a Royal Flying Doctor Landing Strip - and I am sure these strips are used quite often to assist road accident victims. It's quite shameful that this important service is not fully Government funded and relies on donations to keep going.After quite a drive, we stopped at the West Australian Border. The quarantine restrictions are really strict as they try to stop damaging pests from getting over into the West Australian agricultural districts. Officers checked our van and my trailer and even made Uncle John open up the T Van for an inspection. We had to hand over some carrots, onions and a jar of honey!

We pulled up at the border for some photos - it has been a 3000 km journey so far to get to this State! We also had to put our clocks back 3/4 of an hour. We had to change them back a further 3/4 of an hour 300 km down the road - very confusing.

We continued on just a few kilometres past the border to the town of Eucla (the word 'town' is used very loosely around here - usually means a service station and a couple of dusty motel rooms). We drove down to look at the Eucla Telegraph Station. This is a really popular landmark - built in the 1800s, the old telegraph station has been covered by sand dunes. Usually you can only see the chimneys sticking out from the dunes - but for just a couple of weeks a year, the wind shifts direction and the station emerges from the dunes. We were so lucky to be here at just that time and were able to walk inside the old building and look around. It was amazing to think that people lived and worked in those conditions.
While we were there a beautiful flock of Major Mitchell Cockatoos flew into the tree behind the ruins - they were glorious with their pink underbellies and white wings. I walked on behind the ruins to look at the view across the dunes. These enormous white sand hills seemed to march on forever.
We continued on driving through a magnificent landscape. To our right rose up a huge escarpment which just seemed timeless with its ancient rock formations and caves. It was easy to imagine the first people of Australia living and wandering through this land.

We pulled into a roadside stop for the night and set up camp. Dad and Uncle John got a wonderful campfire and we feasted on salt and pepper squid for entree before eating a dinner of fried rice, fishcakes and vegies by the campfire.

Now is probably an appropriate time for me to post my rules for using the "bush toilet"...

1. When selecting a spot to go, be aware that whilst that little clump of trees may hide you from your camp-site, it will not hide you from the motorists driving along the road running alongside.

2. Take your shovel with you... essential for digging the hole, and important for feeling safe in relation to snakes and other creepy crawlies.

3. Dig a suitable sized hole (if the hole is too small, aiming may be difficult).

4. Check for snakes, spiders and ant nests BEFORE commencing the squat.

5. Check the line of descent between standing and squatting for prickle bushes.

6. Put the toilet paper within reach before squatting.

7. Squat carefully.

8. Do the... well you know..... making sure to clear shoes, feet and trailing clothing.

9. Wipe quickly before the blowies discover you.

10. Fill in the hole and pat down with the shovel.

11. Saunter back to the campsite with shovel and toilet roll, acting as though you are totally cool with this and do it all the time.

Ok, back to the trip...... We got up, had breakfast and continued on our way. We had quite a big haul today, over 400 km. The landscape was just beautiful again - gently rolling hills and beautiful scrub land. The stretch from Caiguna is the longest stretch of perfectly straight road in Australia (140 km). We pulled over into a road side stop for lunch. It was really interesting as there were all this beautiful perfectly round limestone marbles on the ground. We collected a few to bring home. We sat out in the lovely bush eating our noodles for lunch (just love those mi goreng noodles!)
Don't Mum and Dad make a cute couple sitting on their log munching on their lunch!

We continued on after lunch, again driving through beautiful countryside. There have been some huge bush fires through here over the last couple of years - but it's good to see the bush regenerating so well. We were really entranced by the beautiful burnished copper gum trees - not sure exactly what they are called, but they are stunning.

We stopped and picked up a young german man whose car had broken down (well and truly - the piston had ripped through the motor) and we gave him a lift into Norseman. We arrived in Norseman at about 3.00 - our journey over the Nullarbor was over!

I will write more about this interesting gold mining town tomorrow - and tomorrow we are off to Kalgoorlie to look at the huge mining super-pit and the interesting old town.

Thank you so much to those who are posting comments and sending emails - keep them coming as it is great to hear from home. And hi to Uncle John's family and friends in Vic who are following our travels through this blog - please pass it on to anyone who might be interested. And hi to Margaret who has just started following our travels!