The famous Nullarbor

All of us have heard of the famous Nullarbor or the more correctly named Eyre Highway which crosses the Nullarbor. We decided not to stay at Norseman after leaving Kalgoorlie as it just didn’t appeal to us on the trip up so we decided to tackle the beginning of the Nullarbor straight away and make use of one of the many free camp sites along the way, the first one being the Fraser Range Rest Area. (#25 in the Camps 5 book). Second night stop was at Moonini Bluff (#10 in the Camps 5 book). The third night across the Nullarbor plains sees us stop at Bunba Cliff Lookout which was just east of the WA/SA border. This has a superb view of the water and cliff erosion on the coast of the Great Australian Bight. Many of the camp sites earlier are closed due to the unstable cliff faces from the forces of nature on our land. Even if you don’t intend to stay at any of these camp sites I do recommend that you stop and take a look at the cliffs – they are so beautiful in their ruggedness. As for the drive across the Nullarbor, it varies from low shrubby area, to rocky plains, treeless vistas (Nullarbor means no trees). The wind can be rather strong at times cutting across the road from the coast. The long stretches of road including many straight sections as well as the famous longest straight stretch in the world. The long drive can rather dull the senses at times, but if you look for it you can see interesting shapes in the trees or whatever.

At the edge of the Great Australian Bight

We stopped at the head of the Great Australian Bight even though it is not Whale watching season. This is a place where apparently it is common to see as many as 50 whales in a single day! Wow! But not surprisingly there wasn’t any on our day. However the walkway is easy to take and the scene on the western fork is amazing. It is well worth the small $5 pp charge.