Esperance to Port Augusta.

Leaving Esperance behind we took an inland route recommended for 4wd's to meet up with the Nullarbor at Balladonia...
Previous travellers along that road displayed a bit of spirit and humour as we found several gates along the way decorated in various items of clothes..



Not far from Balladonia is the commencement of the longest straight road in Australia as you can see by the photo below...


The Nullarbour plains road is in total about 1300kms starting at Norseman and ending at Ceduna. We camped out the first night along the road....drove off the road and into the distance to where we could see a stand of trees...plenty of Mallee bush, the dead timber of which makes great and long laying firewood...and you really needed a good fire out there as it got down to -1 deg that night! We woke in the morning to Nullarbor in the mist!


Took awhile that morning to dry up the gear that was dripping with condensation...
The temperature during the day was getting up to the late 20's...(and this is winter)

Stopped for a coffee at Cocklebiddy (no cappucinos out here!...just instant coffee for the same price!).
Was amused by the sandwich board outside the door...


The Great Australian Bight runs adjacent to the Nullarbor...this is where the 'land runs out' so to speak....and it does so dramatically...with the edge of land ending in cliffs with a 70 + metre drop into the ocean....the edge is very fragile and falls away easily so its not recommended that you stand close to it! But indeed an amazing sight to behold...next stop Antartica!Most of the terrain along the Nullarbor is stunted malle bushes and salt bushes with the occassional areas of trees...The Nullarbor gets on average 8cms of rain per year!...we can get that in an hour in Far North QLD!..

The name Nullarbor...is derived from the latin words Nullus meaning no, and abhor meaning trees...'No Trees' ....see you even learn latin on this blog!!

Night two on the Nullarbor we stayed in a motel in Eucla which is approximately half way across.A tiny town built on the Eucla bluffs and dunes close to the ocean and its claim to fame is that it was the first telegraph station linking east to west Australia and then Australia to the world in the late 1800's...The telegraph station ruins are still there, and only due to the people of the town, still visible as the sand dunes would've buried it by now...




12kms east of Eucla is the border crossing between Western Australia and South Australia.

The most frequent vehicles you see on the Nullarbor road are road trains...and the occassional grey nomad. I take my hat off to the roadtrain drivers...its a very long and 'scenically challenging' journey...

The road kill ...especially kangaroos, is prolific, and carcases in varying degrees of decay line the road which provides ready meals for the crows and eagles each morning!

Ceduna...Stayed a few days at Shelly Beach Caravan Park...can highly recommend this place...Immaculately clean cabins and facilities and the beach is for campers only...
Ceduna is a quiet small coastal town with a relaxed atmosphere...Most of the surrounding farms grow wheat...not yet touched by huge tourism, although it does cater adequately for visitors passing through...this is also the quarantine point between WA and SA....couldn't quite work out why its situated in Ceduna, when we crossed the border just east of Eucla!....no fruit,vege,plants of any kind are permitted through...they check your vehicle and its an $160 on the spot fine if you get caught bringing those things across....hence well before we reached Ceduna we disposed of our onions and potatoes we were carrying.


Approximately an hour or so drive south of Ceduna is a feature called Murphy's Haystacks...no they are not made of hay as I thought when I first heard about them...they are granite outcrops!


There they stand on a hill ...these are just a few of them...there were more...whilst walking in and around them a very protective magpie swooped and aimed for my head giving me a hell of a fright...unbeknown to me her nest was nearby and she didn't like my presence....she was unrelenting and continued her 'assault' till I left the area...

Also unwittingly came across a bearded dragon sunnning himself on a branch.... he didn't seem to mind my presence ...in fact it was almost as if he was posing for the camera!


Getting off the main highway again we headed north to the Gawler Ranges National Park.Did 4wd track out to the Organ Pipes....crystalised basalt columns...



Camped the night in the National Park at Scrubby Peak...there was no one around and there hadn't been anyone there camped for quite sometime....there were however kangaroos,dingos,an owl and rabbits to keep us 'company' that night....the mecury in the morning registered at 0 deg! No wonder no one camps out there at this time of the year!!!!

Next morning headed east again...definitely in the outback here....salt bush, you travel across one cattle station to the next...but never see the homestead unless you were to travel up their 'drive' for 5-10 kms!...

Out in the 'middle of nowhere you find things, interesting things that most people only see now days in museums...eg look at this wagon...just out there!...



And these ruins...these were the working quarters of the men who used to shear sheep on the former Pondanna station


On this part of out journey we came across only one patch of Sturts Dessert Pea...this is South Australias State flower....in the dessert....but it was oh so beautiful...especially in the middle of endless stretches of salt bush and mallee shrub...
And onwards to Port Augusta. Population 15,000...where the sea appears to come inland and meet the desert....
We are here for a few days ....being in a 'major' town, staying in a cabin, or some other form of accommodation, gives us the opportunity to connect with our family and friends...internet reception is sparse and in some areas non existant.
My youngest daughter Carina moved to New Zealand this week, my daughter Rachel ate the first leaves from the lettuce she and her partner Jeremy planted in their vege patch! ... in which they are also growing tomatoes,silverbeet,capsicum,spring onions,potatoes and herbs..she passed her exams with A's!...Ben my son got engaged last week!...these tit bits of news from family and friends...the opportunity to connect with friends via email, and parents via phone means so much...communication is important and hence our 'need' to come into town...aside from the 'need' to purchase food!