Across the Nullarbor

Don’t let anyone tell you there are no trees on the Nullarbor Plain. That’s what Adrian thought and he failed to look up when he parked at the Nullarbor Roadhouse campground. Fortunately there was no damage done by the branch scraping across the roof.

We started our trek across the “treeless” plain on Sunday. The road signs in SA warned of Kangaroos, Wombats and Camels. When we made it to WA on Monday it was Kangaroos, Emus and Camels. We did see some dead kangaroos providing eagles and crows their dinner but none of the other warned creatures. There were dingoes at the Nullarbor Roadhouse, a sea lion at thewhale viewing platform at the head of the bight and a whale at another scenic lookout.

We inspected an opening in a cave system called the Caiguna blow hole, but it wasn’t blowing. After about 500k of straight road there was a sign advising we reached the 90 mile straight, Australia’s longest straight road, this was pretty exciting. It was along this section of road that Adrian remarked on a rocky outcrop on the side of the road. Joy made him turn around so she could see it too. On closer inspection the outcrop was the side of an old quarry which is now a rubbish tip! Anything seems interesting after two days of salt bush.

Some time on Tuesday morning the plain ended. Unlike at the start there was no sign to tell us it had ended. But there were progressively more and bigger trees and these turned into a forest. At the Norseman Visitors Centre we were issued with a certificate to commemorate our journey.

Tuesday was our 30^th wedding anniversary so Joy asked at the Visitors Centre where a good spot for dinner would be. Consensus was the best was the workman’s club but it didn’t open on Tuesday. The pub and the BP were the best options they could think of. When we arrived at the Caravan Park we noticed a nice looking restaurant at the Motel next door. The Park staff recommended it if it was open. Just check for lights at 6pm if they are on its open otherwise the chef is having a sickie. The lights did come on and we had an enjoyable meal served with a nice Margaret River clean skin.