Most travellers feel they have finally returned to civilisation on reaching Norseman after a westward crossing of the Nullarbor. While Norseman is still a desert town, its importance cannot be understated. It has been a centre for mining and transport from its first settlement. However, life there has been and still is an historical rollercoaster of mines opening and shutting, rail dominating the town and then having minimal impact. Our journey onwards from Norseman underlines really how desert like, or better, how poor the land is agriculturally. It was not until we got close to the town of Southern Cross, at least 2 hours drive, that we could see close to the road good agricultural production. There are many part time lakes in the area, switching between salt beds and large billabongs depending on the season.
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