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Published: April 23rd 2015
We left Quorn and headed down to the big smoke of Port Augusta where the excitement for the day was finding a carwash that would fit both car and caravan. The pressure hose was a God send getting the red dust off everything and John was a very happy little chappy heading off down through Iron Knob - depressing, they closed the mine about 8 years ago and everyone left town so every business is closed and every other house is for sale. The mine has reopened but the workers are now bussed in from Whyalla. Then came Kimba ( lovely little town with a great community spirit), Wudinna and Poochera to our first seaside stop in Streaky Bay. How gorgeous to drive over that last hill and see the sparkling waters of Streaky Bay before us. It was a glorious afternoon so settled in very happily in the very crowded but lovely caravan park on the foreshore. Apart from great fishing, this gorgeous place is known for it’s happy hour on the beach each night where they light fires along the beach and groups gather to watch the sunset. We did this on the second night, popping a bottle of
bubbles and Grahame and I shared a dozen Streaky Bay oysters before heading off to the pub for dinner featuring King George Whiting caught locally - John’s favourite fish. The town shows many signs of prosperity with lots of new housing, new sporting and community complexes and improved roadworks. We have a sneaking suspicion there are a lot of retirees here and jolly good luck to them all. However, it is a long way from anywhere!
Next day it was it was up and at ‘em early heading to our next stop of Fowlers Bay. Unfortunately, it was raining so a bit damp packing up but what the heck! At least we aren’t in a tent!!!! Headed off then to Ceduna (where it was “pension day” for the locals), Penong (another town with lots of community spirit) and on to Fowlers Bay - still raining on and off. The last 11 k’s was dirt and mud. The van was no longer clean but now caked in mud instead of dust. Managed it OK, arrived, set up and went for a walk along the shore and read all about the old whaling days. This is such a tiny
little place and so isolated but with a fascinating past. There are some remains of original buildings and apparently parts of the old town are buried under the sandhills which surround the town. We had power but you couldn’t run 2 element appliances at the same time (toaster and jug e.g.) and the water was supplied but could almost be described as a trickle. It was still raining so we hunkered down for a night indoors then watched a young couple arrive with 2 kids and set up their tent in the rain. Another interesting event here - there were 2 laaaarge caravans set up together, one had a slide out that had decided not to slide back in which meant they couldn’t leave until the problem had been solved. Our boys very much enjoyed helping out - crawling under the van - trying to force the offending slide out back in with a number of other beefy blokes - all to no avail. The owner then contacted the manufacturer (no mean feat without internet or phone reception) and was given some advice as a temporary fix. There was no joy to be had. However all the manual effort must
have moved something as next morning the slide was in. They finally got away this morning, quite happily continuing West, I daresay with their fingers crossed. We tossed up about leaving because the weather was so, so. There was nothing to do if we stayed so hitched up the wagons and got away from there. Raining again as we slowly traversed the 11k’s of dirt road (read mud!!!).
Our travels started us off on the long road West across the treeless Plain or “nullus arbor” known to us as the Nullarbor Plain. The road is great - wide and good condition bitumen all the way. We drove through Nundroo, Colona and stopped at Yalata Roadhouse for morning coffee. This roadhouse was boarded up when we came through in 2006 and nothing has changed since then. About this time we came across our first big accident. A road train had somehow become unbalanced resulting in the cab and first bogey ending on their side, leaving the 2nd bogey standing. Luckily the driver walked away and luckier still for us there was a farm close by with a grader, so the local farmer came out and graded a temporary
side road to enable the traffic to bypass the scene safely. We then turned in to “Head of Bight”, a purpose built complex right on the edge of the cliffs and famous for whale watching (unfortunately from June to October so we are a bit early to see any of the whales). It turned into a beautiful day, a bit of wind but comfortable enough to enjoy the walk out to the viewing platform and get some great pictures. The plain is remarkably “plain” and the sea was just a lovely shade of turquoise. It would be impressive to be here when the wind is howling and the seas crashing - maybe a bit frightening. From there we kept heading West past the Nullarbor Roadhouse till we reached another roadside free camp for the night at Bunda Cliffs lookout. Windy and desolate but we were able to walk out to the cliffs (luckily fenced off) for some spectacular cliff and coastal scenery. Wev’e had rain on and off (not what we expected on the Nullabor) and this roadside stop had quite a bit of water lying around and of course, mud. Left here on a clear morning and continued along
the Eyre Highway to the border of SA and WA where there is a Quarantine checkpoint.
We all had our our fresh fruit, veg, nuts and honey confiscated. Luckily, we were prepared and had previously cooked any leftover vegies and had very little to pass over. Could not quite understand the full bottle of honey - Capilano brand available Australia wide from ColesWorths. From there it was ‘Westward Ho the Wagons’ via Eucla, Mundrabilla Roadhouse, Madura and Cocklebiddy to Caiguna where we stopped for the night. As we were setting up, a plane pulled up behind us having just landed on the dirt strip and taxied to the Roadhouse for the pilot to overnight. Speaking of planes, at various places on the Nullarbor, the road has been widenend to enable RFDS planes to land on the highway in emergency situations. We left Caiguna and the Nullarbor on Monday 19th, stopped in Norseman for lunch (you wouldn’t stop otherwise) and headed for Esperance. We had hoped to turn off at Balladonia and head down the (shorter) dirt road to Esperance but decided against it as the condition of the road was uncertain. Instead we continued West and drove briefly through
Fraser Range Station which John and I had visited in 2006. This is a sheep station where the owners have set up a caravan park/tourism operation that is growing in popularity and is a truly lovely place to stay. Unfortunately the timing wasn’t right for us to stay but would love the opportunity to spend some down time here. For those who have not “done the Nullabor” it will always be an experience. As you drive along you try to imagine how people did this drive when it was a dirt road. It goes on forever when you are doing 90KPH, how long must it have been on dirt? However it is ever changing with areas of vegetation and open plain. It is much more undulating than you would expect and the road is generally about 90 metres above the sea level, except for a section immediately you enter WA where it drops down to sea level. For a long section before you cross the SA/WA border the road is very close to the ocean (although 90 Metres above) and you can see the ocean and, if you take one of the many turnoffs, you can hear the ocean and
get wonderful photos.
Once we reached Esperance, staying in the very big Seafront Caravan Park (177 sites as well as cabins and tent sites), we had some maintenance to attend to. John has broken a tooth so had to find a dentist and our water pump was once again cactus and the gas hot water system was as moody as a 15 year old teenager! We spent the time here getting all that fixed - John has a new tooth, we have a new water pump and the gas hot water has decided to work - ‘moody’ ...... so Esperance was a bit of a non event for us but luckily we have been here before and didn’t miss out on much. We had also wanted to spend a couple of days in the Cape Le Grand National Park but circumstances weren’t right and that didn’t happen either. At least in a caravan you can be really flexible if plans go awry.
From here the next stop was Bremer Bay via Jerramungup which was a really lovely drive through lush farmlands, sheep, cattle and vast hectares under crops. We had heard about Bremer Bay so really
looked forward to a couple of nights here. When you arrive, the roads are excellent, large roundabouts and new estates set out but that is about all there is apart from the most beautiful pristine beaches and coastline. This place has obviously been a holiday/fishing town for a long long time and there has been a real move afoot to make it grow but according to locals it hasn’t been all that successful so far. We couldn’t work out what people would do if they moved here - it is approx 500 k’s from Perth, and 180 k’s east of Albany with a population of about 240. This grows to over 10,000 people during holiday seasons (all catered for by one general store). There is a very big Abalone farm ($20 million business) which has been a huge success exporting all its product but that seems to be about all there is on a large scale in Bremer Bay. However that doesn’t stop me saying you should come and see it for yourself. Our very pretty caravan park was quite empty and it was a 1.6 km walk to the beach but it was just perfect for a down day.
Glorious weather, lovely walks and if you are a fisherman you would be in 7th heaven.
I’m rambling a bit now so will finish up as we arrive in Albany, April 23 and next instalment will cover the Anzac celebrations this weekend.
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Grandpa Bill
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Memories
I read this comment with fond memories. "As you drive along you try to imagine how people did this drive when it was a dirt road. It goes on forever when you are doing 90KPH, how long must it have been on dirt?". My memory was back in 1967 when a mate of mine and my goodself drove to Perth from Sydney in a VW Beetle. The Nullabor Highway was 600 miles of bulldust and they had had a lot of rain, the road at many places was impassable with bogged semi trailers everywhere. I think I have some photos somewhere that I can share with you down the track. The names of several places you have visited stirs the memory bank. We drove straight to Perth and came back via the coastline. Esperance and Albany where beautiful stopovers. One memory were the Karri tree forests on the western coast and I recall climbing one to the top via a circular staircase. I will continue to read your blogs with interest, its almost 50 years since I visited. Safe travelling