The Nullarbor

19th May - 16th May 2017

The Nullarbor! People seems to either love it, or hate it.

Many say it is so long and boring, with nothing to see. Others contradict and say there is so much to see, if only you take the time. Well.....let's see. We can't wait to explore the vastness of this part of Australia. Stand in awe on the cliffs of the Great Australian Bight. And simply experience the stark, rugged  beauty that is our country. Camping in the bush or by the ocean. Bring it on!

Our rig all ready, set to go.

Top up with fuel at Norseman.

Lucky we only needed a little bit!

And hit the road.....not the cyclist. Crazy!

First bush camp at Afgan Rocks a couple of hundred k's down the road. A free camp on a property.

Down the track.

To a large clearing complete with dam and windmill. Very rural. Feeling fantastic. A roaring fire, drinks and snacks. Not a soul in sight.

Just us and the emus.

Oh yeah! This is the life. Loving the serenity.

And that big, big sky! What a great way to start the Nullarbor journey.

The next day we hit the 90 Mile Straight, which runs from Balladonia to Caiguna.

Should be able to run on auto pilot.

A stop off to check out the Caiguna Blowhole.

Not much happening down there! That was worth the stop....big hole in the ground ha ha!

 Multi purpose use of the highway. There are several Airstrips on the Nullarbor. Didn't see any emergency landings though.

Getting read for take off!

Next stop, Cocklebiddy. Isn't that a great name!

Lined up with the big boys at Cocklebiddy waiting for fuel.

Our next camp at Cocklebiddy Reserve. Yet again, just us. Loving this.

So quiet.

And another crackling fire.

Woke up to a stunning misty morning.

Hundreds and hundreds of kangaroos. We have never seen anything like it. They were leaping by in droves.

And keeping an eye on us, too.

The Nullarbor has many, many underground caves.  Most are not accessible, except to very experienced divers or cavers.

This one was near our camp, so we got to have a look about.

It was massive.

The entrance curled down and around.

Another one nearby.

Madura Pass with views of the Roe Plains and the Southern Ocean.

Smoko and photo stop to take in the vastness of the plains.

View of the Hampton Tablelands sweeping down to the Roe Plains.

Dezzi taking it all in.

Our last stop in Western Australia. Ten months since we crossed the border just east of Kununurra in the north. We had no idea at that point just how much we would love this State. WOW! The Kimberley, The Pilbara, the breathtaking coastline. The harsh outback. The forests. Fabulous Perth and Freo. And the people. We have loved it all.

Our camp for the next two nights on the beach at Eucla. So good to be on sand again.

Fantastic free camp tucked in behind the dunes. Only one other person there the first night. A great young bloke, who shared our camp fire. The second night, just us again.

Loving the sunsets and the serenity.

Headed down to the beach for a walk and check out the fishing possibilities.

These little balls of grass were everywhere.

Seemed like a good idea at the time, but once again, the weed got the better of us. Weeds - one. Fish - nil.

Oh.....and hello our old friends flies. Aarrrgghh!

This was just a few.

The ocean is so blue. The beaches would be superb in the summer when the weed is washed away.

The harsh outback. Once was a little marsupial we think.

Headed up to the Eucla Roadhouse. Brilliant. $1.00 in the tin for a loooooong hot shower. And a very good coffee!

The telegraph line is regarded as one of the most important innovations in the 19th century. Before the telegraph came, communication between Western Australia and the rest of the nation took months, but when the Eucla telegraph line and manual repeater station were established in 1877, transmitting messages only took a few seconds.

The Telegraph Station is now in ruins and slowly being buried by the sands.

Memorial at Eucla.

Ready to hit the road again.

Goodbye W.A. and hello S.A.

And there's Big Skippy to welcome us with a jar of vegemite!

Which way will we go? Which way will we go?

Just over the border the road skims along the coast - the Great Australian Bight.

The Bunda Cliffs.

Incredibly blue ocean and rugged coastline. Breathtaking.

Awesome!

Proof we were there!

Fuel up at Nullarbor and have a look around the old roadhouse.

Next overnighter a free camp at the Head of Bight, ready to drive down the road and hopefully see some whales in the morning.

Nullarbor sunset over the vast plain with a big, big sky.

Coffee and brekky, pack up and off to Head of Bight.

At this unique geographical spot, a mini-desert of towering sand dunes meets a sheer line of 90m limestone cliffs.

In the sheltered waters of the bay below, Southern Right whales congregate en masse to give birth to calves. We are here at the beginning of the season, so not sure if we will see any.

Aerial view of  Head of Bight and the Nullarbor Plain.

There is a great path and boardwalk down to the cliffs.

Looking....looking....looking.

And there she blows! We saw 3 Southern Right Wales. Brilliant!

The harsh landscape.

Nundroo Roadhouse. Another line up for fuel, and another spring roll for Dezzi!

Next on our list is Fowler's Bay. WOW! What a hidden treasure. Just 22 klm off the highway this little seaside village won us over. It is literally nestled between the ocean and amazing sand dunes. We had 4 nights here. Another crack at fishing!?!?!?

View of the village and jetty from the sand dunes.

The water is quite shallow. Apparently we can catch squid here. That would be nice. Calamari for dinner.

This cheeky cormorant was a real nuisance. Just about get the bait off your hook before it hit the water.

Dezzi fishing, fishing, fishing.........

Bevy fishing for 5 minutes....nice wrasse. Ha ha ha! Poor Dezzi. To be fair he did hook a huge trevally that wrapped the line around the pylon and got away. Bugga! Oh well....all good for me!

While Dez was intent on catching some fish or squid I went for a walk around the village. There is so much history in these little places. How they survived in the 1850's to early 1900's is beyond me.

This was a picture on the wall of this building depicting it in the early days.

Looking towards the shore from the jetty. You can see the sand dunes are practically at their back door.

The sand dunes are spectacular, and I had so much fun climbing all over them.

Serene sunsets.

Glowing sunrises. Would love to come back here.

And of course there was plenty of fun around the campfire, and new friends made.

We had a great time with Christine and Brian from Kalbarri, W.A.

Packed up and back on the highway. Next point of interest Penong and their windmills.

This drive is stunning in its starkness.

Okaaay?  Well, we saw hundreds of kangaroos, two dead wombats and a handful of metal camels. None in the next 88klm!

Penong has made a name for itself with its windmill collection.

All types and styles to be seen.

Yep...looks like a homemade job.

This was hilarious. A water pump operated by a swing. Productive way to keep the kids amused!

A side drive destination from Penang is the famous surf beach of Cactus Beach. I have heard about this beach since I was 16, so keen to take a look. We were not disappointed.

On the way down to the beach is another pink salt lake. They are so pretty.

The salt looks like mini ice bergs.

Cactus Beach - surfing heaven.

Spectacular.

Really???? Here???

 And down to the beach.

Magnificent.

There were guys surfing!!!! And these were their lookouts.

These guys are crazy! But they were awesome to watch.

Looking east.

What a fabulous place.

Next stop, the Quarantine Check Point at Ceduna. Our Nullarbor trek is over.

What an amazing time, and there was probably still more to explore. Oh well, there is always next time!