OZ-Travel 2018-2019 - The Nullarbor Crossing

The Nullarbor - 4 nights and 5 days

Adelaide - Whyalla - Ceduna - Border Village - Fraser Range Station - Esperance

We left Adelaide on another cold and rainy day to head west and into the Nullarbor. We chose to break up the trip in 4-600+ chunks to allow everyone (people and fur babies) time to rest and recharge for each day. The Nullarbor is 1675km crossing from Ceduna in SA to Norseman in WA. Nullarbor is Latin for “no trees”. We had conjured up ideas about what this crossing was going to be like and approached with excited trepidation.

Adelaide to Whyalla was 410km and took us 6 hours with a stop in Port Augusta for a quick pup walk and a pee. We were pretty happy we had not chose Pt Augusta to stay in as it was nothing special. Which we found Whyalla to also be nothing special but an improvement on Pt Augusta. We did not have too many choices in pet friendly accommodations across the Nullarbor. Our first overnight was at the Discovery Caravan Park in Whyalla. It was cold and windy on arrival. We had a cabin booked with a small yard for the dogs. However the yard was so overgrown with stickers, we never let the dogs in it. The park is located on the foreshore which made for easy walking for Kobi and Lani. There was no beach to speak of but an esplanade to walk on. We did a basic unpack, dog walk and then went to the grocery store to stock up for our journey ahead and a full tank of fuel.

As there was nothing to stick around for, we left the next morning to Ceduna before 10am. Whyalla to Ceduna was 455km and took us 5 1/2 hours plus a short stop for the pups and people. We started out on a nice sealed road. Google maps had us all dialed in for our directions. About 60km in Miss Google said turn left toward Kimba where we were met with over 60km of unsealed, sometimes bumpy, potholed and muddy road. All I could say is “Holy Shit!” Miss Google did not say this was an unsealed stretch not to mention desolate with almost no life or towns, except for our new found athlete Skippy the Roo. He popped out in front of us on the road and hopped like crazy for what seemed like over 5 minutes before he finally got really tired and hopped off the road letting us pass. Check out Skippy’s video! We/he were hopping over 50kph!!! We were never so happy when we finally arrived to the Eyre Highway, a nice sealed road all the way to Ceduna.

We booked into the Ceduna Shelley Beach Caravan Park that we found on the website Holidaying With Dogs. It

had great reviews as a pet friendly stay. It was a cute and clean park that sat up on the sand dunes overlooking the beautiful coastline. Now this was more of what we had hoped for. Beautiful dog friendly white sand beach and gorgeous clear blue water. We walked forever with the dogs and yep, you guessed it, Lani did lots of fishing :-) Our cabin was small, but clean and had what we needed. The large bathroom and toilet was separated from the sleeping and kitchen area by an enclosed courtyard that was perfect for Kobi and Lani. We dashed into town to top of the fuel tank as this would be our last opportunity for somewhat reasonable priced diesel. Mic and I went for a nice run along the coast and then back to cook some dinner and bed. Tomorrow will begin the official crossing into the Nullarbor. Mic the professional packer, had the car packed and ready to roll first thing in the morning. One more nice long walk down the beach and we were off on the infamous crossing.

Our first Nullarbor stop was at Border Village on the SA/WA border. 480km and 5 hours of driving with an hour
stop at the amazing Head of Bight. HOB is located 12km off the highway but is SOOOOO worth it!!! The Head of Bight is where the 1000+ Southern Right Whales come to every June to October. They say it’s typical to see 100+ whales a day in July/August. The whales stay in the sheltered warm waters after giving birth and teach their calves how to feed, swim and survive. One the calves have put on enough blubber to properly float and stay warm they start their journey back to Antartica. There is NO land mass south of Head of Bight until you reach Antartica.

There is a Visitor Center at HOB that has lots of history about the whales and fur seals that are inhabitants. They are working hard to increase the population of both as in the whaling days over 26,000 whales were killed for industry. Now only 10 - 15,000 Southern Right Whales exist and the population is just now showing signs of increasing. After paying your $7 entry fee, you are allowed to walk the 1k path down to the cliffs and lookout. The water is the most amazing blue you have ever seen made even more spectacular against the pure white sand dunes. We had an absolutely perfect day for viewing as the sky was so clear and blue. It was hard to tear yourself away it was so beautiful.
Sadly we missed whale season as the last whale left about a month ago. In season you are able to stand on the wooden lookout platforms and the whales and calves swim almost in front of you as the water becomes deep very quickly from shore. Mic and I had to take turns running down to the lookouts as Kobi and Lani were not allowed inside the viewing areas. All we can say is WOW! Mic even saw a shark!!!

We made a few more stops along the spectacular Bunda Cliffs that are so famous in this region. They are limestone cliffs that jut 90m straight out of the water and against the beautiful blue ocean makes for breathtaking scenery. We made our way to our Border Village accommodation and arrived just after 3pm. We were advised our room wasn’t ready yet as it was only 115pm, HUH???? Well in case you did not know, this part of WA is on a completely different time zone and has some really weird 45 minute differences +/- an hour. Oh well....The reception lady told me that we could drive down to another part of the Bunda Cliffs through the caravan park. Just turn right she said and follow the road. Road??!! More like a big rocky, bumpy, sand road that at times were weren’t even sure we were on an actual road anymore. She made it sound so non chalant and close.... Well over 5km later and a little concerning for our VW, we arrived to the cliffs.

Again beautiful and breathtaking views!! OK, it was worth it. By the time we made our way back to the roadhouse our cabin was ready. Again a very basic cabin on dirt/sand roads but we have come not to expect anything more now. A quick unpack and we drove across the WA border to Eucla, about 10k away. There was some old telegraph ruins there and supposedly a beach that the dogs could run on. We drove about 4K off road to the Telegraph Ruins on a decent unsealed road. The ruins were nothing special but we were in search of the beach anyway. It was all sand, so we thought to the beach and didn’t think it was going to be too far. We took our shoes off and left them by the Telegraph Ruins and Mic, Kobi, Lani and I started off towards the ocean. Well 2.5km later through deep sand, sharp rocks and granite we arrived to sand dunes that once we were up and over the top we were rewarded with another endless white sand beach and no one to be seen anywhere in sight. We walked the beach for another km or so and turned around hoping to find our way back as nothing was really marked. Success! We all made it back, found our shoes and headed back to Border Village for the night.

It’s a trip when you are driving on the highway there are often signs for emergency plane landings. This is what the Royal Flying Doctors use for their landing strips when they need to service these very remote areas. It’s a trip!! The next morning we found one of what looked like these hard packed dirt landing strips that we walked the dogs on. It went for at least 1.5km and paralleled the highway. You have to be very careful throughout the Nullarbor as they use 1080 Bait Lines to control the stray/wild dogs and dingos. It’s really scary because if your dog gets the bait they die within 10 hours. Mic read online that you can save them by putting raw eggs down their throat and the quarantine station lady told us there is some liquid that can be purchased for $65 a container that stops the poison. This totally put me on over-protective fur Mommy watch!!

A short run for Mic and I down the dirt landing road and down the highway for a ways (there is virtually no cars/trucks) and we were ready to pack up and head for our last destination in the Nullarbor, Fraser Range Station.

Well for what is normally known as a pretty boring stretch of the Nullarbor, we had an interesting journey. Border Village to Fraser Range Station is 621km and took 6 1/4 hours with 1 stop for fuel top up at the Cocklebiddy Roadhouse ($2.04 p/l). Fuel is so expensive through the Nullarbor. You are a captive audience with no other options so you pay whatever they ask. We tried to never let the tank get much below 1/2 full. If you run out of fuel, it’s a very long way to the next supply. During this part of our journey we drove on the “famous” longest straightest stretch of bitumen in the world. 146km (90 miles) long with minimal landscape. Check out the picture of the sign. All along this stretch of highway there is no shortage of road signs giving caution to crossing kangaroos, wombats, emus, brumbies and the much dreaded camel! :-)

Well the most likely of these creatures made its appearance on the middle of the highway. Travelling at 130kph, Mic yells “LOOK” pointing down the highway a ways. It was almost like a mirage in the distance, but you guessed it, there stood a huge CAMEL!! (Or Dromedary as Mic calls it cause it only has 1 hump. more info about the Camel  here). It was like out of a movie! Mic slowed down to a crawl as we approached closer. Our new friend The Camel was in no hurry to exit the highway, giving me time to get a video of it slowly getting our of our way and passing into the side of the desert. I have to say, “it was pretty cool”!! Check out the video I took and the pictures too.

This stretch of road took us inland heading North into Fraser Range. Along the highway were these towering limestone cliffs that looked like a giant barrier along one side without any breaks. The landscape started to change into more trees and greenery as we approached our destination. We chose our next stop at Fraser Range Station as it was the only place anywhere within a 100km radius that would allow Kobi and Lani to stay.

Fraser Range Station was a sheep station originally founded back in the mid 1800’s. Today a Dutch woman owns the station and still runs it as a working station but with cattle instead of sheep. It’s a beautiful property 4km off the highway down a fairly good dirt road. They have camping spots, a couple of cabins and a block of guest quarters to choose from. The accommodations are all in the original old thick stone buildings that once housed the original inhabitants. We were given one of these small stone rooms for us and the pups. They have 2 pet friendly rooms on the whole station so beggars can’t be choosey. The toilet and shower amenities were a short walk away and there was a camp kitchen and BBQ area. We had a medium size fridge in the room which was great so we could unpack our Esky and car fridge for the night. There was also a restaurant that you could pre book dinner in with a set menu each night. The night we arrived was Fish n Chips so needless to say we opted for cooking our own dinner. We had leftover Tuna Pasta that Mic had cooked the night before and a bottle of wine and called it a night.

We woke the next morning to a very crisp cold day. The cattle were roaming through the camp along with a bunch of Emus. We walked the kids around camp and packed up for an early departure towards Esperance. Just as we turned onto the highway and headed south, there was a great deal of shuddering in the right front wheel. We stopped and checked all the tyres around the VW and couldn’t find anything wrong. We thought we must have knocked the wheels out of alignment/balance with some of our off sealed road driving escapades. As we sped up past 70kph, the shuddering seemed to improve and we decided to carry on. The next service was 100km away in Norseman, followed by Esperance another 200km+ after that. I don’t know about Mic, but I was a little more than nervous. Only a few days ago I had remembered that I only had basic roadside assistance with RACQ as I never drive very far in Townsville. I frantically called RACQ to upgrade our policy to the Ultimate Coverage only to be told it would be 72 hours to activate the upgrade. Well as we drove with a wobbly tyre, at least I was a little comforted knowing our upgraded coverage had already kicked in.

Next stop Esperance and completion of The Nullarbor Crossing.
   Head of Bight


















Some more pictures from the Nullarbor Crossing in chronological order

OZ-Travels 2018-2019, Stage 7: Apollo Bay VIC to Adelaide SA - 750km

Stage 7 Apollo Bay VIC  to Adelaide SA - 750km 10.5 hrs with 3 stops

We departed Apollo Bay early in the morning to get a jump start on the big travel day ahead. Our last really long travel day for a little while. It was very slow going for a long time as the road out of Apollo Bay is super curvy. We had to stop about 1 1/2 hours in as car sickness got the better of me. After tossing my cookies a few times Mic stopped to get my anti nausea meds (Gravol) out of one of our storage containers. He just happened to stop by a beautiful horse in a pink blanket that demanded to be stroked. Couldn’t resist even feeling awful. Well 1 x Gravol and 10-15 minutes later, I was feeling almost human again. Love that stuff!! Can’t buy it here in Australia sadly. We purchased our stash in Panama after being sea sick on our cruise ship for all of Christmas Eve last year. This stuff is magic :-)

Crazy roads with lots of country still with only 1 lane in the middle of bitumen. SA certainly doesn’t seem to have the roadworks budget that VIC does. It was a slow trip as a result, but we finally made it into the outskirts of Adelaide before 5pm and wound our way through the Adelaide Hills and down to the beachside community of Seacliff Park/New Brighton that would be our home for the next 5 days.

We found our house easily. It was a cute 2 bedroom/1 bath house with a small secure backyard for Kobi and

Lani. There was a nature Gully across the street for walking and the beach was a hilly 1.5km walk away. We quickly unpacked and walked the kids to the beach. It was so windy and cold!! But beautiful. We descended down the cliff on a zigzag walkway and walked along the pedestrian esplanade. A glass of wine at the Seacliff Beach Hotel and back up the cliff we went with our tired dogs. The forecast for the next 5 days was a mixture of slightly warmer temps and clouds, rain and sun, but still so much cooler than we have endured in a very long time. Thank goodness for reverse cycle air and the gas fireplace in the house.

The next morning we took Kobi and Lani on a super long walk to Glenelg Beach (over 10km round trip!) The pedestrian/cyclist paths along the ocean are amazing! And the beach is beautiful, flat and hard packed. You can go forever in either direction. The beaches are dog friendly and allow off leash at certain times during the summer months so the kids had a blast running and swimming (fishing for Lani). When we got to Glenelg we had a nice treat, the World Surf Life Saving Championships were in full swing. We were a able to see lots of the competition over the next couple of days. There were participants from all over the world. Even Egypt was in some of the finals!! And of course Switzerland too :-)

We decided to go into downtown Adelaide for some shopping and sightseeing. LuluLemon was on the top of our list as I had completely underprepared for all the cold weather we were having. I needed some warmer clothes :-) Many outfits and way too much $$ later, I was all kitted out :-) Now the only thing we are missing is a pair of Uggs, a beanie and mittens, lol! A stop by Nespresso to stock up on more coffee was next on the list. Mic very smartly insisted we bring our Nespresso coffee machine with us on the trip. Such a great idea!!! We had ordered a big box of capsules before we left but were already starting to run a little low. Well that was easily fixed including all the new holiday flavours, yum! We had a late lunch in the Rundle Mall and then hurried back to our car before our parking time ran out. A stop by the grocery store and BWS to stock up for the next week and we were all set.

Every morning Kobi and Lani got a really long beach walk. Mic and I then took ourselves on some great bike rides and runs along the coast. It’s true what they say about Adelaide being super bike friendly. There are so many bike lanes and purpose built paths for bikes. There are so many choices in riding too - flat, hills big and small, city, country - anything you really want. No wonder the Tour Down Under is so popular with everyone. We just might try to catch the end of it on our way back around. We talked about doing the McLaren Vale wine area loop on the bikes but then thought better of it knowing how much we love wine and would want to stop and visit the cellar doors, lol :-) One of our rides was a 60km ride down the coast to Great Haven. It was a blast on the way out but we quickly realised why as the wind was blowing a gale all the way home. We felt like we were climbing some of those big hills pedaling into the wind. We stopped 15km before home for a little reprieve from the wind and had lunch on the beach in Henley at a cute Italian Restaurant, Stella by the Ocean. We shared a gluten free pizza and some salmon carpaccio with a couple of Coronas and we were good to ride home :-) The wind steadily picked up all the way and we were sandblasted from all the sand. In our mouths, eyes, ears...you couldn’t avoid it.

So we opted for a 10km cliff side trail run in the morning along Marino Rocks Cliffs before a drive into wine country. Boy did we need the wine tasting after this run! It was an epic run along the cliffs on a combination of trail and stairs and stairs and more stairs and then some more stairs after that. Oh wow, were my quads, glutes, calves and everything else going to be sore after this! Sadly we didn’t bring the camera so you will just have to visualise some of the steepest and longest stairs up and down you could imagine and they never stopped! We earned our wine tasting after this :-)

We drove into the Adelaide Hills with Shaw and Smith at the top of our list to visit. The winery is beautiful! The girl

that served us was from Tahiti and had moved to Adelaide to do a Masters in Wine Marketing and Viticulture so she could travel the world eating and drinking under the label of working, lol. We tasted a flight of 5 white wines paired with some wonderful snacks and cheese. Vi, our host was incredibly knowledgeable. She knew everything about the wines we tried and the how and why of pairing with food. This is some of the nicest white wine we have had in Australia. The grapes are all hand picked from the vineyards around the cellar so they don’t use any preservatives as the wine doesn’t have to travel anywhere, and oh yeah, because it’s so COLD therefore the fruit has no time to ferment or spoil. OK, so there is something positive about cold weather. 4 bottles purchased for later and we were on our way. Our next stop was Nepenthe up the road. The cellar door assistant turned out to be a Podiatrist that had just graduated from school and working the cellar door to get by until he found a job. Needless to say his passion and knowledge about the wine was limited, but the wine was really nice all the same. We sampled a sparkling as well as Riesling, Sav Blanc, Chardonnay and a new wine to Australia, Veltliner. It’s a beautiful dry white wine which has origins in Austria. This region of South Australia is trying to produce this style of wine with vines from Austria for the first time. There are a couple of vineyards that are trying this in the Adelaide Hills. 3 bottles purchased of sparkly, Riesling and Veltliner for later and we were off to our last vineyard, Hahndorf Hills Winery. Hahndorf specialises in Veltliner wines and the other vineyards that are trying their hands at it buy their grapes from Hahndorf Hills. We tried 4 different types of Veltliner at Hahndorf Hills from dry, aged, to a touch sweet. Nothing in this region is really sweet as it doesn’t get hot enough here to produce a sweet grape, ha ha!

Hahndorf Hills Winery is famous for it’s chocolate pairing with wine. Sadly we were too late in the day and missed out on the chocolate :-( but we still enjoyed the wines. Yes, you guessed it, a few more bottles of our favourites for later and off we went in search of food for an early dinner.

We drove into the cute German Style town of Hahndorf and Mic picked us a German restaurant where we sobered up on Bratwursts and chicken wings. The wine connoisseurs choice of champions. It was also perfect “feel good” food for a cold day.

That was all the adventures we could fit in this visit. Still have the Barossa, McLaren Vale and Clare Valley to save for next time :-)

Next stop - Crossing the Nullarbor