Driving across the Nullarbor - and back again
August 23, 2007
Ceduna - Kimba
Fuel Stop: Kimba
29.87 Litres, $1.339/l (Regular): $40.00
Distance 323.9km Economy: 9.2l/100km
A very short drive today of only 320km, so we took the liberty of having a bit of a sleep in. A bit too long, actually, because we only got out about ten minutes before the 10am checkout time! Today the drive took us through an area we did not go through on the way over. Where previously we ventured down the edges of the Eyre Peninsula to see Port Lincoln, we have now cut across the top, saving around 300 kilometres from the Port Augusta-Ceduna section. We arrived in Kimba and checked in at the motel - it is pretty good value, at $75 for a 3 star room. It is a good idea to book for all of these stops - even though we drove in the low season, with no school or public holidays, it was a bit tight for a few of the towns where we didn't book. After some close calls, we reserved accommodation a few days in advance.
With the afternoon free in Kimba - 'Halfway across Australia' - we wandered into town to check things out. There is an obligatory 'Big' thing - the Big Galah and an adjoining shop that sells gems, including local jade. Afterwards we took a 3 kilometre walk through some bushland (the Roora Walk) which led to the amusingly-named White's Knob. The lookout took in a view of the town and surrounding farms, hills and golf course, with the gentle hum of air conditioners at the communications tower accompanying the birds. Well worth the walk. We even saw a couple of stumpy-tailed lizards on the trail. Fortunately, no snakes. After spending a short while in the town, it started to grow on me. The relaxed pace, the friendly people, the clear air. Stop in if you're heading through.
August 24, 2007
Kimba - Adelaide
Fuel Stop: Adelaide
42.01 Litres, $1.227/l (Regular): $51.55
Distance 492.8km Economy: 8.5l/100km
The drive from Kimba to Adelaide felt like nearly the end of the trip, even thought there was still almost 800km from Adelaide home to Melbourne. It was the last of the way that wasn't travelled previously - the last of the new sights to see. We headed out of the farming land of the Eyre Peninsula and back into the more arid, mining land of Iron Knob (snigger) and Port Augusta. Once back there, we encountered the first traffic lights since either Albany or Perth - nearly a week, and a couple of thousand kilometres. We had a quick bite of lunch in Port Pirie, and thought about heading into Snowtown, made infamous a number of years ago with the discovery of murdered bodies in barrels inside an old bank vault - leading to enterprising businesspeople to make 'I had a barrel of fun in Snowtown' souvenirs. But we decided to let it pass - I think the townspeople there are trying to do the same. I believe they once considered renaming the town to remove the association, but that hasn't taken effect as of yet. Going back into Adelaide through the suburbs is a bit of a shock - more cars there than we have seen all week previously.
August 25, 2007
Adelaide - Melbourne
Fuel Stop 1: Bordertown
20.47 Litres, $1.279/l (Regular): $26.18
Distance 291.1km Economy: 7l/100km (?)
Fuel Stop 2: Melbourne
43.69 Litres, $1.219/l (Regular): $53.26
Distance 496.2km Economy: 8.8l/100km
The final leg of the journey was completed today, again in excellent conditions for driving. It's quite a big drive from Adelaide to Melbourne - the longest legs of the trip, on the way over we drove Melbourne to Adelaide in the day as well. It takes around ten hours to cover the 750ish kilometres, as you have to crawl your way through the outer suburbs at both ends as well as make a lunch stop or two. We left at around 7:30am, enjoying the divided roads out of Adelaide. An early fuel stop was made at Bordertown - a town quite far from the border of Victoria and South Australia. Filling up at Bordertown meant not having to fill up in Ballarat near the end of the trip - a bonus, since Ballarat is usually freaking cold. Ballarat also signifies the beginning of the divided road all the way to Melbourne, and the welcome rise in speed limits back to 110. On two lane, two way roads in Victoria the limit is only 100km/h.
Conclusion, and reflection
At the end of the trip, 8713 kilometres driveway to driveway according to the car's odometer, I was impressed that there were no mechanical dramas for the whole distance. The car is now due for another service! I am amazed when I stand back and think about it, that here is a device sitting in my driveway, that can cross a continent in comfort with ease. These are fortunate times we are living in. In earlier centuries there would be no way of doing that in private transport, aside from hitching a wagon to some horses and travelling for months. I am now curious if we are at the end of an era - if the oil runs out (or just becomes too damn expensive to extract) and we have no alternatives, it could be back to the horse and cart. Or the sailing ship. I'm just glad we did it when we did, before petrol got too pricey.
There were a lot of Grey Nomads on the trip - usually we were the youngest people in the caravan parks we were staying in, it seemed. I don't know if that is an option that will be available to us when we retire - either fuel will be too expensive to contemplate such a trip, or the concept of retiring will be no longer in existence, as we will have to work until the day we die to pay off huge mortgages and all the tax dollars will have been spent on pensions and healthcare for the baby boomers. Well, hopefully that won't be the case, but I don't know if it is something we would want to do. Some of the caravan and four wheel drive tow vehicle setups, not to mention the motorhomes (less frequently seen), would have prices approaching or over a six-figure sum. That sort of money would buy a hell of a lot of hotel room stays and air tickets...
One small thing we liked about driving the Nullarbor was the sense of camaraderie between fellow travellers. As you passed an oncoming vehicle, a little wave would be exchanged between drivers. Not just holiday makers, you could give the truck drivers a wave and you would often get one in return. If you have a CB radio (we didn't), you could have a chat to fellow travellers - you often see on the backs of caravans the people's names and the CB channel they are on. Sometimes when you are following a truck or caravan, they will give a quick flash of right indicator to signify it is OK to pass. I had heard that after passing them, a left then right flash of the indicators means 'thanks'. Hopefully that is correct, or else I confused a lot of other drivers that I passed...
Car preparation tips
Here are a few things I found out that could make your own trip a bit more comfortable, safer and less stressful:
Have a reliable car. It sounds obvious, but there were a few rusted shells of cars that didn't make it, scattered off to the side of the road along the Eyre Highway. Get the thing serviced, perhaps letting the people doing the service that it will be used for a long trip, and to make the corresponding checks.
Tyres/wheels - get a wheel alignment. Again, consider specifying that you want the alignment to be set up for extended highway cruising. If the wheels aren't properly aligned, the tyres will wear out a lot faster over the many thousands of kilometres to be travelled. Also check the pressures - the recommended pressures will be on a sticker on the car somewhere - maybe the door opening, inside the glovebox, even perhaps the fuel filler flap. They will usually specify higher pressures for loaded, high speed driving. This sort of travel will place a hell of a lot of stress on under inflated tyres, the heat build up could possibly lead to a blowout. Speaking of blowouts, make sure your spare is in good condition. I bought a new tyre for the spare - maybe a little overboard, but the existing one I had was the original from 1996, and while it was (just) roadworthy, it would have gone hard with old age and I didn't fancy driving possibly 1000 kilometres on it to a repair place. I also checked the tyre pressures before leaving in the mornings in case there was a slow leak in one of them, that may cause a tyre to overheat and possibly blow.
Take water with you. I bought a 15 litre container of spring water for about $6 from the local supermarket. It ended up coming for a ride for the whole trip, but could have literally saved our lives or the car's. I chose that size of container because that is the approximate radiator capacity of the car; in case a hose blew or some sort of leak developed. Otherwise it could have been drinking water if some other failure occurred. Cooling system failure was pretty unlikely this time of year, and I would also take some spare radiator hoses if travelling in summer. Actually, I should have taken some for this trip.
Tools - no need to drag a massive tool chest with you, but a few different sized screwdrivers (flat bladed and Phillips head) and spanners could come in handy. If your car is in good condition though, and in particular it is pretty recent, the less likely it is you will need tools.
Consider the time of year you will be travelling. We went in August, partly to escape Melbourne's winter, partly to avoid travelling through stinking hot deserts in high-thirty degree temperatures. That heat will just put extra stress on the car and also the driver and passengers. In that case you may consider travelling at night when it is cooler, but then you have to consider...
Animals on the road at night, and at dusk and dawn. We avoided travelling at those times. The sheer number of dead kangaroos and other animals on the side of the road will demonstrate that the risk of hitting one of those at night is far higher. You would probably have to slow right down if you don't want to damage the car - hitting a camel would not be pretty.
Consider an insect screen covering your radiator intake, to keep the thousands of bugs out. I didn't have one, and my radiator got pretty much covered in the things. Fortunately the cooler weather meant I had no overheating problems, but in summer it may have been a different story.
Headlight protectors and bonnet stone guards - I put some on my car. There were no stretches of gravel road where I travelled, and surprisingly my windscreen got no extra chips in it, so the stone guards were perhaps not essential. However, when I got home it meant a few less bugs to clean off the headlights and bonnet, since they were splattered all over the protectors.
Last but not least, music! Hopefully you will have a bunch of CDs, MP3s on discs or an MP3 player, maybe even DVD movies if you have a player. Also consider talking books or podcasts. It's a long drive, no music could make it damn boring.
Congratulations if you have read this far. It was a hell of a good trip, and it took a hell of a long time to get all of this in writing. The funny thing is, this trip was supposed to get the whole cross-country drive thing out of our systems, but it has actually made us want to do more. Be warned - it may happen to you too!
Cheers,
Steve Taylor
September 2007