Across the Nullarbor

ACROSS THE NULLARBOR

Yep - null arbor (no trees)

Tuesday Sept 23 - Caiguna

Since we had visited the areas south of Perth before, we had already decided that Esperance would be our last holiday place, so we set off in a dash for home.

The first lap turned out to be our longest day of the holiday – 569 km. We had thought of stopping at Balladonia, but after a burger and coffee at the roadhouse, Ian was good to go, so we continued on to Caiguna. The weather was dull and drizzly (matching our sad 'holiday's over' mood), SSW winds chewed up the fuel, but the trusty Nissan behaved beautifully.

Rough facilities at Caiguna, but hot showers and TV reception. No water, and you simply pull up beside a power outlet pole wherever you choose.

Wed 24 - Border Village

The weather began dull and drizzly but fined up as we went along. We stopped at Eucla for a pie and coffee and detoured down to see the old Telegraph Station once again – even more covered in sand than last time we saw it. We continued on to the border and sailed on through, missing Border Village, so we had to turn around and go back. We were sorry we'd bothered! Power poles were wonky, falling over, taped up and many out of action, the amenities were in an old demountable and pretty tatty, and it was hard to see where you were supposed to park. $25 for this privilege, and then you have to put $2 in the slot for your shower. Best avoided if you have a choice. Travelling east to west, this is a quarantine point. No fruit or veggies, or honey of any kind are allowed.

One light spot was the sight of a helicopter motoring up to the fuel pump for some avgas, then tootling on through the caravan park and pulling up outside a cabin for the night. Not something you see every day!

Thursday 25 – Nullarbor

A nice sunny day. Cool and breezy. 

We stopped at 'the edge of Australia' where Ian did as requested and threw a rock over the edge for each of David's boys, who did it 15 years ago on their way back to Nambour after their time in Kalgoorlie.

When we stopped for morning tea, we noticed a funny noise coming from one of the caravan wheels. Fortunately for us, the driver of the van parked behind us was a mechanic! He, and a bloke parked across the other side of the car park, recognised the sound as a faulty brake, but assured us that would be OK for us to continue on and to take a look at it at our next stop. We cautiously travelled on to Nullarbor, where Ian jacked up the side of the van, dismantled the wheel and discovered a little spring which is supposed to hold the brakes together had broken.

As you do – we sent a photo to our son, who is a mechanic/fitter. He MMSed us diagrams of what things should look like and from his workplace (out in the SA desert!), gave Ian instructions on how to disable the brake so that we could continue on until we reached Port Augusta to get it fixed.

Oh, the marvels of modern communication technology!!

Nullarbor now has motel accommodation, a good eatery, and the usual power poles in the paddock. Now, it's $30 for the power, and $1 each for a shower. Nice facilities, but we've stayed at four-star caravan parks for less.

Friday 26 – Ceduna

This was a short day – only 182 km, so we took the opportunity to stop and peer over the edge of the Bight where we could – without using the brakes!

We spent quite a while at Head of Bight. At first, we were not pleased about the $12 per person fee, but soon realised where the money goes - the walkways they have built for viewing are extensive. You are able to stand looking down into the water and see the southern right whales just below. We saw two mothers with babies quite close to shore. One baby was having a fine time leaping about.

The views from all the stop-overs are simply awe-inspiring. It's an amazing feeling to be standing on the edge of Australia. The land simply stops and the edge is just a perpendicular drop down to the ocean.

We arrived at Ceduna on a perfect afternoon. Our site was overlooking the beachfront (although behind a cyclone-wire fence with barbed-wire on top!). It was a beautiful evening with a gorgeous sunset.

Unfortunately, the weather didn't last. The next day was 34° and wildly windy. Great for the washing, though, which was dry in no time. We washed all our very dirty mats, vacuumed the dust off everything, then settled down to watch the Aussie Rules Grand Final.

Next day, it was still windy, but now a cool 14. I cooked some meals to freeze for the trip ahead. Ian hadn't found anyone in Ceduna who could fix the brake (or who even had that one little spring!), so he took the wheel off again and disconnected the electrical line to the brake to stop it working completely. (Fortunately, the van has dual wheels so we still had three to go on with).

We went for a look-see (didn't take long!), went to the oyster van for some oysters for Ian (which he declared to be the best ever - HUGE!), had fish and chips for lunch, and went to the very nice Foreshore Hotel for Sunday roast. The place was full and we hadn't booked, so we decided to be cheeky and ask a likely-looking couple if we could share their table. It turned out to be a good choice. They gave us a tip - to go and see the Eyre sculptures at Kimba on our way through. We did so, and found them to be excellent.

Ian had a particular interest, because he had been reading Eyre's journals of his exploration across the Nullarbor and found it intriguing reading. (Eyre was an unusual explorer, in that he had a profound sense of the dispossession and degradation of homeland and culture which the Aboriginal people were facing and he did his best to bring this to the attention of those in the city - to no avail of course, but he is to be commended for his deep understanding and sympathy for the Aboriginal people).

We were amused to see this guy having a fish
 over the edge of the continent.
It was a memorial for a mate.

Probably an Australian Kestrel - caught by Ian with his new 30x zoom camera