Last Tuesday morning we left stormy Esperance, heading north for Norseman, some 200kms away, where we would make the big decision – north to Kalgoorlie or east across the Nullarbor. Thankfully the weather front was just coastal and after 40kms we were back into decent weather, traveling on a quiet highway, minding our own business – until it became the business of the WA Police. Planning to refuel a little north of Esperance at the tiny town of Gibson – you know the sort, blink and you miss it – we were both so busy looking at the petrol station on the right to see if we could get in (our size can sometimes restrict us), that we missed the 60 sign. Next thing, the police are coming toward us with flashing lights, the ones you hope aren’t for you. Yes we were caught. We are very good at complying with speeds, so at first it was a bit puzzling – not for long though! We were doing 75kmphr in the 60 zone. Oh dear. It was produce the licence and did you know you were speeding time. There were two of them and off they went to do the licence check. Steve was just a little concerned…..could it have been the smile and huge apologies, or could it have been Steve holding his wallet open showing an NZ Police Badge as he took out his licence! Because back they came with a polite warning, which was very graciously received. Phew, more diligence required from the crew.

The area between Esperance and Norseman is dotted with many salt lakes visible from the highway, some quite sizeable. These are likely to be part of massive drainage channels that formed before the Jurassic Period, when Australia and Antarctic were part of the same continent!

Once we got to Norseman and filled the tanks, that all important decision was made – turn right and head for South Australia. Now we expected lots of road trains and many caravans traveling west, lots of animal life, boring desert and a ‘reasonable road’. Our first 100kms set the tone. With clear skies and strong sunlight shining on the trunks of red gums that line the highway, it was almost like they were on fire. They were quite beautiful. The road was excellent, there was no wildlife, there were few road trains and the only thing we got correct – lots of caravans heading west.

Fraser Range Station – quite something

Our first stop was Fraser Range Station, 100kms from Norseman. What a super little stopover. Fraser Range was first settled in 1872 and was the first station on the Nullarbor, and today the largest hardwood forest in the world surrounds it. Its almost 500,000 acres and the current owners, who took over in 2001 run stock on just 1/3 of the property. Originally it was all sheep, however weather conditions, fly strike and wild dogs have resulted in the introduction of cattle, which will over time replace the sheep. We were amazed to learn that there are over one million wild dogs in Australia and 20 million wild cats. Imagine what these are doing to industry and native animals. Fraser Range has also established a caravan park/camp ground, complete with quality amenities, evening meals delivered by a live-in chef and station tours delivered by the resident tour guide. It’s a real little oasis in the desert. We enjoyed a very pleasant evening, sitting around the camp fire chatting with fellow travellers, followed by a good quality meal courtesy of the station chef.

The next day we set off early, to knock off an additional 425km, including the longest piece of straight road in Australia – its 146.6kms. Now that’s a lot of straight road! We rather enjoyed it. We stopped

the start of the ’90 mile straight’

over night at Moodini Bluff, a free camp close to the highway. Our last 25 kms were travelled alongside an escarpment that leads to another level of the desert and the free camp is the end of one of the ridges. So what animal life did we see? Well, lots of dead kangaroos and smaller animals, one snake (wow) and that’s it!

Its a hard life – can you see the straight road!

The vegetation consistently changes. Sometimes its like the good old English moors, others its very scrubby, and sometimes its native trees and others its like alpine grasses. Surprisingly there were very few road trains at night, so it was a great little spot.

On Thursday we decided to do a short stint and stopover at Eucla. We wanted to explore the old 1877 telegraph station on the beach, soak up some sea air. If we had known more, we would have enjoyed the highlights and then crossed the border into SA, just 11kms to the east, and travelled a short distance to one of the many magnificent spots along the cliff top for what would have been a safe and spectacular stopover spot. We weren’t disappointed though. The facilities at Eucla are very good – restaurant, motel and caravan park.

Eucla looking down to the coast

These sit on the escarpment looking down to the telegraph station, over the sand dunes to the sea and to the remnants of the jetty that’s the same era as the telegraph station. We enjoyed a walk through the dunes, and up the biggest ones we could find, as well as four wheel drive exploring around various tracks, so a fun day.

Steve at the top of a sand dune

Day four we killed another 400kms, finishing at the small town of Penong, just 75kms short of Ceduna on the coast and of course our quarantine checkpoint. The first 100kms were close to the cliffs that look out over the Great Australian Bight. With desert on the left and the sea at the bottom of 80m cliffs its a very pleasant drive. There are a number of places to stop and tentatively look over the edge and up and the down the coast. Probably the best and most popular is the Head of the Bight, which is one of the most spectacular whale watching spots in Australia.

The Bunda Cliffs – the Head of the Bight cliffs

The Southern Rights congregate here annually from June to October. Last year the first was spotted on May 8th. Twelve months later we visited – sadly however, they didn’t welcome us. The cliffs here are spectacular, and we enjoyed a very pleasant hour before setting off again.

For the last 50kms or so we knew that ‘civilisation’ was getting closer, as we drove passed grain and sheep properties, interspersed with the last remnants of the desert. Over the last 600kms there were many signs warning us to watch out for camels, wombats, kangaroos and emus.

Watch out for all those animals!

To amuse myself I told Steve I had seen 46 camels and 3 wombats, but sadly, there were none! A big fat zero, no wildlife. What a letdown. I guess they must be there somewhere, however this is one big country with lots of places to roam and hide.

On Friday we passed through Ceduna and the quarantine check (which incidentally did seem a bit cursory), and onto the Eyre Peninsula, where we will spend a week or so. We’ve had two nights at the little town of Streaky Bay. More on this in the next blog.