Where Have All The Camels Gone?


Advertisement
Australia's flag
Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Eucla
March 29th 2011
Published: March 31st 2011
Edit Blog Post

Not sure why the sign said 88 kmsNot sure why the sign said 88 kmsNot sure why the sign said 88 kms

it could have said 1088kms! but we haven't seen any camels, wombats or kangaroos on this road yet.
Tuesday 29th – today we were leaving behind the beauty and relative civilization of South Australia to begin our trek across the Nullabor, which in total is some 1200 kms (from Ceduna to Norseman in Western Australia). This will involve some difficult, long days with many kilometers of fairly barren landscape. We had done quite a lot of preparation the night before so an early start was on the cards and we were ready to go at 9am. At present the days start chilly but soon warm up, especially when there’s a clear blue sky like there was today. We said a rather reluctant goodbye to Ceduna as we both felt we could have filled another day or two there, not least by trying to catch some crabs or trying the fishing rods out.

Before too long the seemingly never ending road stretched before us. It made me wonder whether we were both up to the commitment of taking the caravan all the way round Aus. Western Australia and Northern Territories are beautiful but often involve lengthy journeys between beauty spots. An alternative we’ve considered is to go up to Darwin and back down through the middle via Alice Springs, Uluru (Ayers Rock) and to Coober Pedy but this would also involve some difficult days in order to reap the many benefits on offer. So now would be the time to take the easier option of re-tracing our steps back through SA to the more familiar areas that are Victoria and New South Wales. Anyway, we didn’t turn around and go back so we must think we’re up for the challenges that lie ahead.

In crossing the Nullabor it’s often important to take into consideration which way the wind is blowing and how strong it is, as a head wind can mean using much more fuel. But for the first couple of hours on the road there didn’t seem to be much wind at all and, if there was any, it was behind us - let’s hope this continues for the next couple of days. While we were stopped for a tea break, in the middle of nowhere but somewhere near Nundroo, another caravan pulled in. We got talking to the chap who said that his wife was driving it for the very first time and now she was going to practice reversing. When we told him that I’ve yet to drive the car with the caravan on the back, he (jokingly?) suggested that he taught me reversing and Graham taught his wife. We were just on the verge of leaving but, perhaps, I should have gone for that idea as the distances Graham drives can be considerable and, if he gets his own way today, we will cover in excess of 500 kms. He’s anxious to get as far as Eucla which is actually just over the border into WA. It involves going through a stringent vehicle/caravan check to make sure we’re not carrying any fruit and veggies or other plant items which are strictly banned. When, after about 300 kms, we got to my proposed stopover - the roadhouse at Nullabor - which looked pretty desolate and where a litre of diesel cost $2:04cents, I had to concede that it wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had. I agreed that we should see if we could make Eucla as there was still plenty of hours of daylight left and the time-change at the border would mean that we had more time to play with.

So, after having our sandwiches at Nullabor, we set off to cover the extra 200 kms to Eucla. Graham realized that fuel may just be an issue so he made one of the spare, full containers easily accessible in case we needed it. We looked out for some rest areas which we could remember from last time and which were next to the ocean overlooking The Great Australian Bight. The first one we came to was 12 kms off the highway so we gave it a miss. The second one was closed off and we suspect that cliff erosion may have made it unsafe. But, third time lucky, the next one was just a few hundred meters off the highway and led to a magnificent outlook across the ocean from a spot where, at the right time of the year, whales are readily visible. There was quite a lot of interested parties at this spot and we were able to take a group photo for one family who returned the favour for us. A passing snake was an added attraction! Graham also took the opportunity to empty the spare fuel container into the car to ensure we had enough in the tank to get us to Eucla.

Not far from Eucla we came to the SA/WA border quarantine check point. Every vehicle has to stop here but there was only a motor bike ahead of us. A young lady came over and looked in the car and boot and then went into the caravan. Fortunately she was short enough to stand up without the elevating roof being raised! She checked the fridge and a couple of cupboards. It’s always a dodgy thing, opening cupboards when we’ve been on the road, as occasionally the odd thing falls out. I do my best to eliminate this but today a roll of kitchen paper and two plastic cups fell on her head – oh dear! Still, we must have seemed fairly honest as, once we’d told her how we’d given our honey away earlier in the day and eaten all of our fruit and vegetables, she seemed happy and let us go on our way. We had been warned that some people have been asked to sweep out dirt and dust from their vehicles if they’re in a poor state but we didn’t have to suffer that indignity. Phew, thank goodness that ordeal was over!

Eventually we rolled into Eucla. It’s just as
The only Southern Right Whale we are likely to seeThe only Southern Right Whale we are likely to seeThe only Southern Right Whale we are likely to see

because they don't migrate to this area until early May
remote as Nullabor was but it has much more on offer and made for a much better stopover for us. There was an ocean view and a couple of other tourist attractions including the old Post and Telegraph Office. Also, fuel was cheaper than at Nullabor, though still expensive at $1:84. We selected a site with power (but no direct water) and relaxed for a while. Because of the time-change we had an extra 45 minutes to play with and as we didn’t need to un-hitch the caravan it was easy to make ourselves comfortable in no time at all.

Our neighbour, who was already set up when we arrived, came to have a chat to Graham. He was on his way to Smoky Bay on the Eyre Peninsula and had stayed at Eucla the night before as well. He had spent many years in the Kimberly in northern WA taking tourist boats out at Geikie Gorge and Argyle Lake and then at Mandurah where he currently lived. We’d done all those trips eight years ago but didn’t recall seeing him. He had a brand new ‘Camps 6’ book detailing all the free camping sites and rest areas available
The Great Australian BightThe Great Australian BightThe Great Australian Bight

is a bay that stretches 1160 kms
in Aus together with all the “bush” camps. He was anxious to show us his new book and, in fact, lent it to us for the evening. We do have ‘Camps 5’ that Sarah and Darryl got but the new edition includes photos of some of the rest areas and camp sites mentioned. It’s a great book but at almost $91 we’ll stick with our older version! I spent some time studying it that evening and picked out a few places where we might possibly stay.

We wandered over to the roadhouse to see what food was on offer. The restaurant didn’t open until 6pm (it was only about 5.30 then) but the café menu looked interesting so we stayed. Graham, somewhat predictably, went for pie and chips but I fancied trying the shark which came with chips and a salad. It was much more expensive of course but still really good value for money I thought and it was a very tasty meal. We strolled back to the CP through the garden of the motel and, bearing in mind that Eucla is 500 kms from anywhere else of any note and in what at times is some pretty inhospitable country, the garden was fantastic! There were roses and geraniums out and a couple of ponds that had quite a few fish in them. Over the back from the garden was a big swimming pool too. Also at the roadhouse is one of the holes of the ‘longest golf course in the world’ – the Nullabor Links Golf Course which follows the Eyre Highway and stretches 1365 kms from Kalgoorlie in the west to Ceduna in the east. Most of the roadhouses across the Nullabor have a hole. The chap we met at the lookout in Thevenard, Ceduna was proudly wearing his hat proclaiming that he had completed the challenge although he said he still had to play the last two holes.

We had to pay $1 for the luxury of having a shower but the amenities block was very clean and the water boiling hot and for the $1 you had 5 minutes of hot water if you wanted it. With the time change it got dark quite early and it had been a long tiring day, especially for Graham, so he was in bed by 8:30pm and I was not long after though not before we
Great place for a tea break!Great place for a tea break!Great place for a tea break!

photo taken by fellow travellers
had both admired the wonderful night sky – clear and full of stars.



Additional photos below
Photos: 18, Displayed: 18


Advertisement

Two whales seen today!!Two whales seen today!!
Two whales seen today!!

Spot the sign that says:1435 kms to Perth and 1268 kms to Adelaide (scary stuff!)
Parked up for the nightParked up for the night
Parked up for the night

with a beautiful clear sky


31st March 2011

Nicely done!
Well done with the crossing! Wahoo!! That's it now, beautiful beaches and stunningly warm water all the way. How fabulous!! x x x
31st March 2011

Warm water?
Let's hope so - of course it's coming to the end of the summer her so we'll have to test out the water. xxx Mum

Tot: 0.396s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 16; qc: 78; dbt: 0.1756s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.3mb