Goodbye Western Australia

After six months we were soon to bid farewell to Western Australia. She had been our home for what felt like such a long time, so it was a little sad to be leaving, but she had one last challenge for us- the Nullarbor Plain. We had spoken to many fellow travellers who had told us how ‘boring’ the drive was. However, having enjoyed the lonely Adelaide to Darwin miles, we thought this road trip would bring equal pleasure. How wrong we were. Crossing the Nullarbor is the most tedious, unrelenting drive to date.

Click to view 9 hours of the Nullarbor crossing compressed into 6 seconds!

After day 3 we had listened to all of our audio books and were seriously ‘over it’. However, we had been blessed with cool weather, which made gazing at the endless bush a little more comfortable. There is really not much to see as you cross the Nullarbor, so we made the most of all opportunities, like stopping to see a piece of Skylab at Balladonia.

Piece of Skylab, Balladonia

Back in 1979 Balladonia (which consists of a Roadhouse only) made world headlines when space debris from Skylab landed here. The then President of the US of A Jimmy Carter, even phoned to apologise! Back in the car we looked forward to our next stop- to see the Caiguna Blowhole. We knew the road ventured near the coast, so presumed we would soon have a cool ocean breeze fanning our faces. Ummm, we still had many miles to go before hitting the coast. The ‘Blowhole’ is a natural breathing hole for the one of the limestone caves that lies beneath the Nullarbor Plain.

Don't do it Dave... the Caiguna Blowhole

Actually, the entire plain is made of limestone- the world’s flattest piece, covering about 200,000 square kilometres. It is so dry out here that no cliffs or valleys have been weathered like elsewhere, imagine how different the Nullarbor could be! Caiguna also signified the start of Australia’s longest straight road- all 146.6 kilometres without the hint of a bend, or any real change in scenery.

Not even a slight bend for the next 90 miles

A sign told us we were now on Central Western time and to move our clocks forward 45 minutes, however time seemed to have no relevance out here. With first light at 3.50am and full sun by 4.30am for the past few months, it did mean we were now not getting up so early though. Onward to the Madura Pass it was, which is also the midway mark between Perth and Adelaide. At the top of the Pass we finally got a glimpse of the Southern Ocean- far off in the distance over the Roe Plains. Camp for the night was again in the bush. It is always interesting venturing off into the bush, with so many relics of past times and lives. We came across many abandoned old cars, hoping their owners had survived a little better.

My new car... a relic from the 50's

Even the buildings out here do not survive- the Eucla Telegraph Station which opened in 1877, is now being engulfed by sand dunes, soon to disappear forever.

Eucla Telegraph Station

Sand dunes? Yes, we had reached the Southern Ocean and the Great Australian Bight. The sheer drop of the towering cliffs of ‘The Bight’ was a WOW moment. We were standing on the edge of Australia, some vertical 90 metres above the pounding Southern Ocean below. The landscape was severe and so was the weather with strong winds wrapping us in a cold blanket.

Great Australian Bight

With such a harsh environment no one lives out here, so although we had now crossed the border into South Australia (and added another hour and 45 minutes to our clocks), it was another 460 kilometres before we had to say goodbye to our pot of herbs and contraband fruit and vegetables at Ceduna. We had done it, we had crossed the Nullarbor. Ahhhh, time to chill out at Streaky Bay. Streaky Bay was not the idyllic seaside town we had imagined, but did have one very cool drawcard- a colony of Sea Lions at Point Labatt. From a cliff top we had the perfect vantage point to watch the Sea Lions below.



Point Labatt Sea Lion colony

There were about 40 lolling about (I thought they looked dead, as they simply flopped in the sun and dozed). A few were playing in the water, some bubs were suckling from Mum and we even witnessed a couple of males having a play fight. Now recovered from our road trip, we were again on the move to Port Lincoln. The weather had been getting increasingly hotter, and the day we left was nearing 40. An impressive collection of inselbergs (weather sculptured granite outcrops), made us get out of the air conditioned car.

Murphy's Hastacks

As we walked around ‘Murphy’s Haystacks’ we were blasted with both the heat and a very hot, dry wind. We have never experienced weather this hot before. Fortunately we timed our arrival in Port Lincoln with the onset of a southerly- ahhh cool relief.