We made it safely across the Nullarbor

Yes we did it.

We left Port Lincoln early Saturday morning knowing there were a number of things we wanted to see on our way north.

We have realised that we need to get moving. We have really enjoyed taking our time and staying three or four days in places and really getting a good look around but with the slight change in our plans we needed to step up the pace. So you will see we are going to be covering bigger distances in the future. We worked it out that we have about 12000kms to cover by the end of August.

In saying this we still have stayed in places for three days or more and driven off without having seen it all.

First stop was a little out of the way.

We saw a sign for a pig farm the day before on our way to Coffin Bay which had Patch all excited as they are his second favourite animals but were running a bit late to stop.

I have to say they are my favourite animals too.

So we decided to surprise him and go and have a look on our way out of town even though it was about 10 kms out of our way...or so we thought.

We turned into the road following the signpost and slowly drove along a dirt road for about 4 kms. Then came to another turn off with a 7.5 km sign. Being the great parents we are we unhooked the van and drove the rest of the way.

His smile made it worth the effort. There were about 500 Berkshire pigs on the farm, they are black which surprised Patch but he seemed to cope ok.

He got to see lots of piglets feeding and playing. We patted a few and just had a good time looking around. Then went up to the café and shared pancakes with maple syrup and fresh free range bacon on the side. Patch was a little unhappy about eating the little piglets to start with but seemed to get over it pretty quickly.

Then back to hook the van up and start our long trip toward Ceduna and the Nullarbor.

We stopped at Elliston for a quick look.

Then down the steps at Lochs Well which is a beautiful beach. The only thing is there are 283 steps to get down to it and back up again. Good exercise and what a magnificent place.

Then we stopped at the roadside bakery at Colton.

This is a little shack on the side of the road where you can buy wood fired bread and put your money in a box as it is all run on an honesty system.

We all thought this was really special and the bread tasted great too.

Then we pulled in at Venus Bay because we heard it was worth looking at. They were right. It was absolutely beautiful and we were tempted to stay in the caravan park but needed to push on.

We got as far as Murphy's Haystacks a little before sundown and decided to free camp there. What a great place to go. The rocks are so unusual and the sunrise and sunset were truly beautiful.

 Straight out of the "Are We there Yet" book.

 Lincoln did a little bit of wool jewellery design to keep himself amused on the drive.

Next morning it was off again.

We stopped just up the road at Streaky Bay and got some water.

Then breakfast at Smoky Bay.

Both of which are beautiful little seaside villages.

Then Ceduna for a few supplies and a coffee. Bad idea. The town was almost empty and the coffee was REALLY bad.

Anyway on we went.

Next stop Head of Bight. WOW!!!!

You pay to go out onto these boardwalks that over look the Bight. There were apparently 12 whales in the bay of which we saw 6. One of them was in close. We all thought it was incredible. This one whale was just drifting right in close and would pop its head up, blow out some water and move on. The sight and sound of it was really amazing.

This is one place that I am sure will stick with us all.

Then back on the road with a mission to make it to Border Village.

We made it just after sundown. The roadhouses are special places. We paid $41 and went out the back to hook up to power. Paid $2 for 5 minutes of dribbly water in the shower. Went to sleep with the noise of the generator powering the service station going all night. Then paid 191.9 for fuel the next morning before moving on.

10 Seconds later and we were across the border and hit the checkpoint where we had to surrender any fruit, vegetables and honey which we were prepared for this time and didn't need to hand over anything.

10 kms later we were in Eucla and went to look at the old telegraph station.

Then back in the car heading towards Norseman. There was an incredibly strong headwind blowing and apart from really having to hold on tight as the van was bounced around, the car guzzled down the fuel. We actually used just under 50 litres more than the day before to cover the same number of kms. Incredible.

Anyway we drove the longest straight road in Australia which is 145kms long.

We stopped for a toilet stop at a Cocklebiddy where the wind was apparently 138km/hr the day before. It had dropped to about 137 when we were there.

We decided to stay at Fraser Range station about 100kms west of Norseman which would leave us about 300 kms the next day. What a little oasis it was. Apparently it was the first farm on the Nullarbor. We had a nice little site and used there camp kitchen to cook dinner. It was a lovely old building that had a slow combustion fire and a timber dining table that we all enjoyed sitting around. Plenty of elbow room.

Next morning we headed off through Norseman which is the end of the Nullarbor. We made it and were all pretty proud of ourselves for doing so. The thing that we are most amazed about is that the kids didn't sleep for a minute. They played with each other, watched a couple of movies, listened to some music, looked at the sights, read books and occasionally fought but did not sleep. I know I would have if I wasn't driving and I am sure TJ would have if the kids had stopped talking long enough. They did really well.

The thing that really struck me about the Nullarbor was the landscape. Here I was expecting desert like I see on TV with sand and dunes etc. None of that out here. There was salt bush and a lot of low scrub all the way across.

Anyway on we went to Esperance.

Came across this little town on our way through and Patch was quite insistent, as he can be on occasion. As his brother had his photo taken in front of his sign why couldn't he??

 

We arrived in Esperance around lunchtime.

We are staying right opposite the beach.

We went driving today to look at Cape le Grand NP. It is spectacular with some of the best beaches we have seen.

Cape le Grand beach.

A walk up the hill.

 Hellfire Bay.

 

Lucky Bay.

What a beautiful part of the world. We really liked the camping area here but it is too cold to be stay here in winter without power. It would be ideal to be here in Summer and swimming at these magnificent beaches.

Esperance is a lovely town with the islands in the bay, hence the name the Bay of Isles.

We head off tomorrow for Albany 500kms away.

Life is great and I am really looking forward to the trip around the south west coast to Margaret River and Perth.