Driving across the Nullarbor - and back again
August 20, 2007
Esperance - Caiguna
Fuel Stop: Norseman
23.85 Litres, $1.393/l (Regular): $33.22
Distance 267.4km Economy: 8.9l/100km
Back on the Nullarbor today, and it was good to be back. Quick fuel stop at Norseman to buy fuel at a half-reasonable price, the last chance for many many kilometres. The farmland we were driving through eventually stopped, and thankfully for the car's paintwork and windscreen, the bombardment of insects died right down too once into the wilderness.
We wondered how we'd be, driving back along the Eyre Highway the way we came - expectations were that we'd be bored to tears, but the road still holds a certain allure. The vast flatness of the land, the trees thinning out in numbers - we hadn't reached the true treeless section of the Nullarbor yet, 146.6 kilometres of straight road (the longest in the country, in case you'd forgotten), and spotting the occasional wedge-tailed eagle by the side of the road or soaring upwards, circling in a thermal.
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We reached Caiguna around 4pm, and made a quick trip 5km west again to check out the Caiguna blowhole. A cavity in the ground, extending quite a long way, it apparently breathes in and out as high and low pressure systems travel over the Nullarbor. When we were there, a quite cool breeze could be felt coming out of it. A sign in the roadhouse tells of how miners working in the area put bottles of beer in a bag, which was lowered into the hole in the morning. When knock-off time came around, they were beautifully chilled. We didn't try this ourselves, because the motel had a fridge.
To kill some time before dinner, I had a wander about the grounds of the Roadhouse and Motel. Parked out front at the time was a road train, very sensibly carrying a spare truck on the back in case the main rig breaks down. Also around was a VN Commodore, in fairly good condition, except for being jacked up with no wheels. I have no explanation for this. Maybe the driver didn't have enough cash to pay for fuel.
August 21, 2007
Caiguna - Eucla
Fuel Stop 1: Caiguna
34.49 Litres, $1.671/l (Regular): $57.63
Distance 383.2km Economy: 9l/100km
Fuel Stop 2: Eucla
31.19 Litres, $1.479/l (Regular): $46.13
Distance 342.2km Economy: 9.1l/100km
A leisurely 330km today meant we arrived at Eucla at around 1pm, losing 45 minutes to the time zone adjustment just out of Caiguna. Easy running today, little traffic and straight roads meant overtaking was a piece of cake. Just before Eucla, a couple of emus decided to cross the road in front of the car - nothing drastic, but I did have to stop. We still haven't seen any camels in this trip however, despite what those warning signs say.
One thing I have been glad to have with me is a car stereo that can play CDs with MP3 tracks on them. I have my whole music collection on about a dozen burnt CDs - about 1500 tracks, 8GB worth - and haven't had to listen to the same song twice. When you do get in range of a radio station, it will usually be a Top-40 FM station, called either HOT FM or MIXX FM, as is the norm throughout most of rural Australia. If you're lucky, you might get a SEA FM if you're near a coastal town. If you are not into Top 40 pop stuff though, your best bet though would be one of the Triple J stations - they broadcast nation wide on a range of frequencies. For the long stretches with no reception whatsoever, not even nutbags calling in on some AM talkback station, I would highly recommend some sort of MP3 CD setup, or a car stereo that lets you plug in an ipod or something. It will save you having to listen to the Carpenters 'Best of' CD that you found at a service station for the 45th time in a row.
Back in Eucla, we had a quick look at the museum that is at the motel. When I say Museum, I mean a small room with some rusty farm machinery and some newspaper clippings about the area. Well, it was free of charge, anyway. Later that day, we watched the sun set and enjoyed a good meal at the motel's restaurant before turning in for the night.
August 22, 2007
Eucla - Ceduna
Fuel Stop: Ceduna
47 Litres, $1.339/l (Regular): $62.93
Distance 519.6km Economy: 9l/100km
An early start from Eucla today, as it is a fairly long-haul drive of about 500 kilometres. Also planned was another stop at Head of Bight to see some whales again. The morning was bitterly cold with a wind blowing off the ocean - we didn't spend long at the lookout that we skipped on the way over. Just before the turnoff to the whale viewing area at Head of Bight was the sign denoting the Western end of the treeless part of the Nullarbor. This section is only 20 to 30 kilometres long, which was surprising. Different from what we thought we would be experiencing before we left for this trip. We debated looking at the whales again after how cold and windy it was at the first lookout, but fortunately it had warmed up and we had a look at around half a dozen more whales, including one that was lifting its tail and slapping it on the water surface. Pretty spectacular, and it kept doing it repeatedly until I got the camera out. After quite a while, I snapped a half-arsed lift out of the water. Still, it was well worth the visit again
The drive back to Ceduna was pretty good again, Yalata Roadhouse was still boarded up but at least there was a small sign just before Nullarbor Roadhouse stating that fact - you don't want to be planning your fuel stops to be at Yalata and finding it's shut. We made a quick stop in Penong to get a photo of all the windmills - again, kicking myself that I didn't get a shot of these in the fog on the way over.
Ceduna was a surprise - on the way over we arrived on a pretty gloomy, windy overcast day and it didn't present the town in the best light. Today, however was nice and sunny and it transformed the look of the town - we got some great sunset shots of the pier, and later that evening had a meal at the newly opened new bistro/hotel complex - a $7 million project. The hotel that is, not our dinner. The place was so new, the bistro wasn't even finished when we were on the way over.
