The Nullarbor & the Goldfields

Sat 22 Sept – We had an early start as the wind is less in the morning. We checked tyre pressures and topped up with fuel and started our trip across the Nullabor Plains, 1200kms to the next small town. The first 60kms was thru farmland but this turned into the outback. The road was great and we had no wind, driving thru gum trees and low scrub. After about 220kms we stopped early at a rest area with tracks out the back and found a nice spot shaded by gum trees. The wind got up but it was warm.

Sun 23 Sept – We drove 50kms and then headed off the main road and down to the coast at the “Head of the Bight”. This area is famous as the Right Whales give birth along these cliffs. We paid our entry fee ($12 - Aboriginal land) and walked along the cliff tops with boardwalks near the edges. Right below us was a mother (cow) and her baby (calf). What a site!! They seemed to be just relaxing in the gentle surf. Out in the distance we could see many other whales breaching and spouting? Back on the road and another stop at a view point high up on the cliffs. The road basically follows the ocean. We stopped at another rest area and spent some time cooking our remaining vegies as the border. S.A./W.A. is only 80kms away and they are very strict policing the fresh fruit and vege restrictions.

Mon 24 Sept – We had a tail wind for most of our trip. Great for fuel consumption. We stopped at another lookout with more views of the Great Australian Bight. At the S.A./W.A. border village (just a roadhouse) we fuelled up, dumped and lined up for fruit and veg inspection. We had crossed many country’s borders in campervans but this inspection was the most thorough. Every cupboard opened!! We drove on to another rest area and spent a very hot afternoon, 35C, however it’s the flies that are most annoying.

Tues 25 Sept – We have decided to get some miles under our belt. We have crossed the time zone so the day would be 1 ½hours longer, so will drive 300kms today. The drive is fascinating. The country changes from gum trees, to low scrub, to desert. Also the wild life. Today we dodged a large snake, ran over a goanna and a stumpy tailed lizard and just missed a kangaroo. We have many interesting people coming the other way. Vintage cars, a hay ride (a group of road trains with donated hay going to NSW farms, cyclists (mad) and even a walker (even madder). There are also a lot of cars, West Coast Eagles fans with flags and scarves flying, (go the Eagles) heading from Perth to Melbourne for the AFL grand final this weekend. It is a road trip of 3,418kms. They must be keen! We stopped at Caiguna Roadhouse for lunch and walked down to one of the holes on the Nullabor Links Golf Course. These are 18 golf holes spread across the 1,200kms of the plain. Back on the road and the longest straight section of road in Aussie (146kms). We stopped for the night at another rest area on this straight.

Wed 26 Sept – We drove the last 275kms to Norseman, the first town and officially the end of the Nullabor. We filled with water, our first since Ceduna and shopped before camping on a free grassy area for RVs. It was nice to be out of the red dust.

Thurs 27 Sept – Eventually we will head south but first we have decided to go north up to Kalgoorlie and the Goldfields area. As we neared Kalgoorlie we passed many entrances to gold mines. At the “SuperPit”, KCGM’s huge open cast gold mine at the edge of Kalgoorlie, we stopped and were amazed at this collossal pit with the roads winding down to the working area far below. If you have been to Waihi and seen the Martha Pit and been amazed, this bit would be 10X bigger!!

 We camped at another free RV reserve next to a nice park and rode our bikes along a cycleway to the main street. In the 1900s this was a very rich town (and still is) reflected by the ornate old buildings in CBD.

Fri 28 Sept – On our way out of Kalgoorlie we visited a tourist mine and walked around the various exhibits including a dump truck, pit heads of old mines, steam driven winching motors and watched gold being smelted into an ingot. We even panned for gold with surprisingly no luck! An interesting tour. 

We drove 40kms to the even older town of Coolgardie. Another free camp and a walk into the small town and the museum. This was the original centre for the gold in this area until the gold rush to Kalgoorlie. The museum was very good and there was a model of the old town before its demise.

Sat 29 Sept – We headed west with the windscreen wipers working. This the first real rain this trip!! It did not last long, and we arrived at Boondi Rock in the Goldfields National Park. The park was not what we expected. Thought it would be gold related but it was all about the Boondi Rock. This is a huge granite outcrop covering many square kms and with a dome shape. The steam trains used to run from Kalgoorlie to Perth and needed water frequently. There was a series of watering points established along the track, one being Boondi Rock. The water was collected off the rock and channelled by a series of walls into a dam. A very ingenious system. We walked around the rock and the dam before the flies drove us inside. It was also cold and threatening rain. We listened to the ABC radio and heard the West Coast Eagles close win in the AFL final, a bit hard to follow when you do not know the players.

Sun 30 Sept – We retraced our route east and south back thru Coolgardie to Norseman 257kms. We have enjoyed our small detour thru Kalgoorlie, Coolgardie and the goldfields. We walked around Norseman and just got back before more rain set in.

Mon 1 Oct – It rain in the night and drizzled all day as we drove south for 200kms to the coastal town of Esperance. We booked “Andy” in for a well-earned oil change and filter for next Thursday morning, shopped and booked into a camp for laundry. It is quite cold and there is the odd shower. Between showers we went for a quick walk along the waterfront and the marina. It must be a pretty town and beach on a nice day.