Pandurra Sheep Station

We have been pounding the pavement hard these last couple of days and putting some serious ks on the clock. Since our last post we have traveled in excess of 2000km over a four day stretch and have made it into WA, physically exhausted but rich with unexpected experiences from crossing the Nullarbor.

Pandurra Station wasn’t our planned stop for the night, but after an underwhelming campground at White Cliffs we had pushed on and what a find it turned it to be! After spending the night with a few thousand sheep singing us lullabies and the occasional road train whooshing by, waking up on Pandurra was a breath of fresh air. Seeing the station in the light of day was something else and we knew we had hit the true outback. After a big day on the road previously we took our time getting ready, having showers and doing the blog update. By the time we left all the grey nomads had long since departed…

We drove onwards and down to the coast near Elliston and found a great spot by the beach at Walkers Rocks. A lovely coastal scrub campsite with beach access for 4wd and some basic facilities. We found a nice site set back from the beach and protected from the wind and set about finding some firewood. We were due to cross the border into WA and needed to use up our veges or throw them out at the border! We also took the time to pop a bottle of bubbles bought in the Barossa and watch the sunset, with JC and JS in mind. Sunset over water is truly magical and something we east coasters miss out on.

Sunset at Walkers Rocks

We are loving meeting the grey nomads, they are a really friendly bunch! Always happy to chat and recommend campsites, tips on how to use the laundry facilities and generally just have a chat. There seems to be a lot of characters on the road and it’s quite funny to watch them go about their routines. At Walkers Rocks a pair of caravaners were having a right old party rocking out to Roy Orbison all night! Hilarious! We had a few visits from their little doggy who told us his owners were rowdy drunks so he’d prefer to come hang with us at our fire 🙂

The next day was a big drive, first stop Streaky Bay, where we walked the jetty and took a closer look at the swimming enclosure… You know you’re in shark territory when the swimming enclosure is a steel cage! Despite the cold and windy weather, the cage would be enough to make you reconsider swimming, particularly when it’s placed directly next to the moored fishing trawlers! We moved on quickly and headed for Ceduna, which was nothing special. We filled up with fuel and Dave made friends with a local indigenous man, who was very friendly, wished us a safe journey on the roads and was a nice introduction to the locals. From here the road really flattened out and we got our first taste of the vastness of the Nullarbor Plains. We passed through the Aborginal Reserve and barely saw a soul. The roadhouse at Yalata was all boarded up which was quite eerie so we high tailed it out of there!

We stopped for the night along the cliffs of the Great Australian Bight. The peacefulness on the cliffs at dusk was amazing. The vast plains end abruptly in high limestone cliffs which fall to meet the pulsating ocean. The sound of the waves below sounds almost a soft hiss, but we know it’s deceiving from this height. It was the start of whale season, but we only managed to spot a pod of dolphins from the cliffs. Despite the barren appearance, the Nullarbor was teeming with life. From the little mice living in the heath, which kept Dave amused for hours trying to photograph, to the bunny rabbits and wild dogs that roamed under the cover of darkness. Despite all this tranquil beauty, the wind whipped up during the night and we had terrible night in the rooftop tent! it sounded like the whole thing was about to shred itself, so at 3am we got up and moved the car to position the tent into the wind and managed to get a few more hours sleep!

The morning was peaceful again and we hit the road early after a terrible nights sleep. After taking in the sights at Bunda Cliffs we decided to go off the Eyre Highway to explore some of the caves and sinkholes we saw on our map. First stop was Clay Dam Cave, which you could accidentally drive into if you weren’t paying attention! The ground suddenly gives way to a clay hole with a cave at the bottom. We were blown away by this and decided to check some more out! On the way to Weekes Cave we spotted wild camels!! These giants appeared in the distance and looked at us curiously for a minute or two before taking off. We continuted to explore the caves, bores etc along the old Eyre Highway. The condition of this gravel road surprised us, it’s down to one lane width for a lot of it, but was much wider in the past with road markers out in the scrub on either side. Not quite in the vein of the Old Pacific Highway, but made for interested travel and tested out the shocks. I had to remind Dave that he wasn’t in an off-road racer more than once! We also discovered a gravesite of poor Herman Johnson who died in 1885. Can only imagine what an isolated place this was in those days.

Camels in the Nullarbor

We jumped the border into WA and took a rest at Madura and had the largest serve of wedges I have had in my life, with a boatload of sweet chilli to go with it! No wonder the food is so expensive out here, not just because of the distances between supply locations but also due to the vast amount of food they give you. Must be for all the truckers! We continued on and drove almost the entire length of the famous 90 mile straight stretch. We camped at a generic roadside stop for a free campsite and finished the straight stretch the next morning. To be honest the straight stretch wasn’t that mind blowing, there are so many straight roads out here that it hardly seems unique. You barely need to turn the wheel, asides from adjusting for the strong winds!

We headed into Norseman which signaled the end if the Nullarbor section of our journey and not a moment too soon. We had had enough of the straight roads and were starting to lose our marbles after being trapped in the car for 4 days straight! On the way to Esperance we passed through Salmon Gums and Grass Patch which were Dad’s old stomping grounds, having spent time here dozing and sinking dams. I have to say it looked very clear and had lots of dams, so some of that must of been Dad’s handiwork!

We’ve reached Esperance and are ready to start the next leg of our journey along the southern WA coast. Weather reports aren’t great but we are optimistic… Dave has uploaded the images for Nullarbor and Eyre Highway so I hope you enjoy them!

Tara