Day 10
Well we did it... We survived the Nullabor! Actually the drive is pretty easy, very straight in parts and little traffic but you can make pretty good time without any obstacles in your way.
Since my last update we have covered 1,870km crossing from Port Augusta in South Australia to Esperence in Western Australia.
First stop was to Ceduna. There is honestly not a lot to say about Ceduna.... It's on the water which provided a lovely sunset and there was a pretty good pub on the shore where we got a good feed. Apart from at it is a pretty small sleepy town.
It rained off and on most of the night and we had a job trying to dry off the equipment before setting off again. We left heading due west for the SA:WA border and onto the Nullabor Plains. There are some beautiful views along the way. We didn't see much wildlife but we did stop at a few places along the coast line to get some photos. First stop was the Head of Bight which is where the whales come in for the winter to protect their young in the shallow waters. Unfortunately it's a little early for them but we did see a school of Dolphins playing on the waves which was really nice. Even without the whales the scenery is worth a stop. This is really the start of the Nullabor cliffs and you can see right along the shoreline into Western Australia. The one downside is that there is no running water so pit toilets only :(
From here the road meanders in and out from the shoreline but every now and then there are lookout points which are well worth the stop - if anyone if ever doing the drive lookout 1 is the best. The cliffs are limestone and constantly changing under the force of the wind and sea.
We arrived at the WA border around 4.30 which instantaneously became 3.00 as we crossed over. All cars are stopped and inspected at the border but it was pretty quick and we arrived at Eucla by 3.30... Now along the Nullabor there are a number of 'towns'..... But what this actually means is there are a number of places to re-fuel (your car and you) and sleep. Most stops are made up of a petrol station and Motel. Eucla is no different but is a little larger and had the best restaurant and bar that we saw on the way so this is where you should stop. The only thing I would say is you must book ahead.... When we arrived there was only 1 budget room left and we were pipped to the post because of our dithering; so camping again it is! There are plenty of camp sites but not a lot of grass..... More rock and stone.... So it took us (when is say us I mean Dad) a while to find a spot we could get the pins through the ground. But he is becoming a dab hand at getting the tent up so before long were organised and off for dinner.
The sky is beautiful at night. The darkness and vastness of the sky makes the stars really stand out. Dad got out the big camera lens (I don't know what they all do) and wanted to get some photos of the sky so we'll see how those come out. Like I said the restaurant here is actually pretty good although a bit over priced which I guess is fair enough given the lack of competition - and the extreme wages they would have to pay me to work as a waitress out here!!
Back at this camp site I opted to watch the bbc iplayer (previously downloaded shows) in the car before bed... We had a big day ahead the next day so we agreed to get up and make an early start, though I think Dad was a bit surprised when I got up at 4.30 and got back in the car.
We managed to hit the road by 6.30 and crossed 900km yesterday! I did the first stint and made it to 500km before noon which I was very pleased with - so I bought myself a potato pie as a treat!! Dad took over and drove for Eseperence which is a little seaside town in which I now sit in a lovely little cafe (reminds me a bit of Bewley's!)
The WA half of the Nullabor isn't as pretty as it doesn't have the coast line but the first 200km across the Eucla pass has all the wildlife. We didn't see much but sadly there were a number of Roos that had been hit through the night by the trucks. This brought out the eagles which were honestly almost as big as the ones in lord of the rings! Huge quite terrifying looking creatures. Then we hit the 90mile straight which is again what it says on the tin... The road has peaks and troughs but there are no corners (or even slight curves) for 90 miles. On this stretch we stopped at Cocklebiddy (this is not a typo) and Norseman for re-fuelling and pushed on. Everywhere on the Nullabor the prices are really jacked up.... It was about $2.05 for unleaded 91 which (for those of you in the UK) is steep!
We saw quite a few guys on the road who were cycling across with their one man tents on the back...... dad is feeling very jealous of them! I on the other hand was feeling very jealous of the guys with the giant powered tents!!!
We made it to civilisation just in time for the State of Origin! Stayed in a motel as the rain was bouncing off the road and not even dad wanted to camp. Dad went out to try and get dinner but forgot that everything in a small town closes at 6pm so had to resort to fast food again - Not Happy!!
So today we are off to Albany... I'm sure before I came over people told me it doesn't rain in WA, well let me tell you it does. Hoping that the weather improves a little as we get closer to Perth.
Plan at the moment is to spend the weekend in Margaret River and arrive in Perth on Sunday afternoon. This doesn't give me much time before starting the new endeavour (gives me about 19 hours) but hey ho!
