March 2014 - Across the Nullarbor

Moving on from Ceduna, we traveled through the little towns of Penong, Nundroo, Yalata Aboriginal Community and onto Nullarbor Roadhouse.

We were amazed at just how quickly the landscape changed from medium sized gum trees to no trees, only salt bush and low grasses, all within about 1 kilometre, then sure enough, a sign saying the start of the Nullarbor Plain.

Some wild flowers are already starting to pop their heads up and the Nullarbor is looking quite green, not the baron wasteland that one tends to picture in your mind.
We were warned to keep topping up the fuel as it gets progressively more expensive the further west you travel. We fueled in Ceduna for $1.62 per litre and then 150 klm’s further west we topped up at Nundroo where it was $1.69 which I didn't think was too bad.

By the time we got to Nullarbor Roadhouse which is only 300 kilometres west of Ceduna, it was $2.12 per litre. Mind you, a hamburger with the lot was $14.50 and the small bag of chips to go with it was $5.50. Fortunately, Judy had prepared enough food before we left Ceduna to get us right through to Norseman so we didn't have to pay these prices. I can see why they are more expensive than other places as they have to truck everything in, including diesel fuel to run their generator as they are not on the grid.

Just 30 kilometres east from Nullarbor Roadhouse is the head of the Great Australian Bite. This is a big whale migration area where up to 75 whale calves are born each year. This time of the year there are no whales, but the visitor centre is still open so that visitors can walk down to the Head of the Bite and see the sandunes and the start of the “Bunda Cliffs”, which run for 800 kilometres to the west of here.

Crossing the Nullarbor for us is just like eating an elephant, a little bit at a time. There are some magnificent scenery all along the Great Australian Bite and we stopped off at a few for photos as we moved further west. 
There is a fair dinkum quarantine station at Border Village where they actually search every vehicle crossing from SA into WA. Fresh fruit and vegetables can’t cross the border and another thing that surprised us was honey. Fortunately we had been told about this while we were at Ceduna so we had time to use all ours up.

We traveled this road back in 1976 and took a photo of our car under the sign post outside the service station at Border Village. The sign post is still there so we couldn't resist another photo. It also shows just how big Western Australia is as the sign says that it is still another 1,462 kilometres from the border to Perth.
Funny thing happened when we stopped at Mundrabilla and booked into the caravan park for the night. We had forgotten about the time change and no daylight saving when we went across the border, so it wasn't even lunch time when we stopped. Never mind, we had a good rest up in preparation for the next day. Australia’s biggest meteorite weighing over 10 tonne was discovered nearby Mundrabilla.

Luckily the next day was absolutely perfect for travelling, no wind at all and a nice temperature in the high 20’s. We had planned to travel through Madura and Cocklebiddy and stay overnight at Caiguna, but as we had made such good time, we decided to take a bigger bite out of our elephant and we ended up getting as far as Norseman, a distance of 644 kilometres which is a big day for us.
There are some things that you see in life that really stick in your mind, Buck Buck Luck in Kakadu, Mundi Mundi Plain just out of Silverton near Broken Hill, the Head of Bite and now the Madura Pass.

The road rises by 120 metres when heading west from Madura and at the top of the hill is a lookout where you can see back over the Roe Plain and as far as the Southern Ocean.

Continuing further west you come across Australia’s longest straight stretch of road which is 90 miles or 145.6 kilometres long, funny thing is that there are 3 or 4 bends greater than 45 degrees within about 3 kilometres of the end of the straight bit. Judy drove this stretch which is great as it gave me a better chance to take in the scenery as we were going along. We share the driving where we can and Judy is getting very confident in towing the caravan.

Balladonia made a pleasant rest stop and a chance to have a look in their museum. They made world headlines in the early hours of the 12th of July, 1979 when debris from Skylab crashed back to earth on WA's south east coast, scattering debris across the Nullarbor and the eastern goldfields. They have a piece in their museum which landed 40 klm’s east of them on Woorlba Sheep Station. From Balladonia it is a gradual uphill climb for 95 kilometres to the top of the Fraser Range which is 445 metres above sea level and the western edge of the Nullarbor Plain. The range of granite is surrounded by the worlds largest eucalyptus hardwood forest where there are more than 20 species of eucalyptus found. From there it is an easy 100 kilometre run down hill into Norseman which is where you have to make up your mind, either turn left to go to Esperance or right to go to Kalgoorlie.

Norseman is a historic gold mining town and Western Australia’s gateway to the Nullarbor. Legend has it that a prospector named Laurie Sinclair tethered his horse “Hardy Norseman” to a tree overnight in the 1890’s , and by morning the horse had unearthed a piece of gold bearing quartz by pawing at the ground. Over 5 million ounces of gold have been taken out of Norseman, making it the second richest gold field in WA.

Camels were first brought to these goldfields in 1895 carrying all the equipment that miners needed to dig for gold. The camels were such a big part of the goldfields they have built a monument to camels on the roundabout in the main street.
Turning south from Norseman, we headed back to the coast at Esperance. Once again we noticed some real differences in the flora as we moved through different areas. One very noticeable change was the colour of the trunks and limbs on the majority of the gum trees.

The reddish coloured bark made a stark contrast against the green of the leaves. These are Salmon Gums and are native to Western Australia and grow mainly in the wheat belt of the south west. There is a town called Salmon Gums about half way between Norseman and Esperance which was settled in 1912. The name of the town is derived from a prominent stretch of Salmon Gum trees which formed a landmark in the town's early days.

A few kilometres further on is the little town of Grass Patch. We couldn't resist a photo of the towns roadside sign which is an excellent laser cut truck depicting the farming community.

Esperance is right on the coast surrounded by the Recherche Archipelago which consists of about 100 coastal Islands. It also has another big grain export terminal and super phosphate plant to support the farming industry from as far away as Norseman. The railway line runs through Salmon Gums and Grass Patch which have huge grain bunkers for storage of the grain before being loaded onto both road and rail transport for shipping to Esperance.

We found that 2 nights in Esperance was enough for us, it is a nice little town but the whole foreshore area was being rebuilt as a beautification project which made access to the beach difficult. I am sure it will be lovely when it is all finished by the main holiday season towards the end of the year, but for us it was time to keep heading further west.