Something in the Eyre

Nullarbor…ing?

The Nullarbor, also known as the Eyre Highway, is one of Australia's most iconic and crucial roads, stretching from Norseman in Western Australia to Ceduna in South Australia. Depending on who you talk to it is something to enjoy or endure.  In anticipation of hectic winds and intimidatingly long road trains speeding past, we thought we'd loathe it more than love it, so we opted to cross it with just a one-nighter at a free camp in Madura and a small caravan park in Penong near the South Australian border.

Above:  Mhairi, and other animals you'll find on the Nullarbor, if you are lucky

Below:  Our free camp on the side of the Nullarbor at Madura

Above: The view for most of the 12-hour journey across the Nullarbor

Below: The long and straight of it

Nullarbor literally means 'no trees'.  Despite signs heralding abundant wildlife, we spotted none. The trip's standout moment was visiting a breathtaking overlook at the Great Australian Bight, where we could have camped right on the precipice of a sheer cliff marking the edge of Australia had we lingered longer.

The Great Australian Bight.  Camping on the edge, if you are brave

Entering the Twilight Zone

My biggest learning crossing the Nullarbor is that there's a stretch of 340 km with a time zone that marches to the beat of its own drum: the Australian Central Western Standard Time, clocking in at UTC+8.45. It's one of the rare time zones that's not content with whole hours - it demands an extra 45 minutes! So, within a space of 24 hours crossing WA to SA, we zoomed through 3 different time zones.  It was such a bizarre thing to experience!

Big Things – Big Windmills

Penong has a free outdoor museum showcasing a collection of windmills, all gifted by farmers from around the region, featuring “Bruce”, the largest windmill in Australia.

Bruce, the Big Windmill

Because we hadn’t driven enough that day, after setting up camp in Penong, we took a right turn southwards to Cactus Beach, a renowned surf hotspot.  On the way there we thought our eyes were deceiving us due to our very long Nullarbor crossing, but now, Lake Macdonnell really was pink on the right and blue on the left!

The World’s our Oyster

You’d think Matthew Flinders had a penchant for bacon when he named Smoky Bay and Streaky Bay!  We stopped by Smoky Bay to grab some of its famous oysters.  You just rock up and buy it directly from the farmer either shucked or unshucked.  It was a steal for $15 for a dozen.  Steve likes to shuck his own, but the owner “Softy” kindly shucked me a roadie.

Softy, doing the shucking, and Mhairi doing the eating

In Streaky Bay we decided we some prawns would accompany our oysters very nicely and we heard on the grapevine that a local guy sells them from his house.  When we arrived, he wasn't around, but he had an honesty box set up. There was even a photo on the wall of him feeding a Great White Shark. That's the definition of courage!

Steve working sorting out his honesty payment, and admiring the fisherman's big catch from another day

Above:  Tucking into our seafood feast at camp (with our "shoo fly" centre table piece, thoughtfully gifted to me by good friend Ali Hoile)

Below:  Tucking in to Seafood Chowder and Calamari at the delicious Drift Restaurant in Streaky Bay, because you can never have enough seafood on the Eyre Peninsular!

There are some stunning drives around this part of the Eyre Peninsular, it was amazing to see the only permanent colony of Australian Sealions sun baking and making sand angels from the lookout at Point Labatt.  

We counted 30 Australian Sea Lions here, but hard to spot in this photo

We also visited a private property to see Murphy's Haystacks, a group of ancient, wind-sculpted, and slightly wonky granite pillars and boulders believed to be over 1,500 million years old. 

Murphy's Hay Stacks

Struth! It's Honestly Beautiful

The Eyre Peninsular is a very trusting place.  There are honesty box systems everywhere.  We especially loved the Woodfired Bake House at Colton where we picked up some lovely rolls and sticky buns.

Nice Buns!

Venturing further south down to the lower Eyre Peninsular we stayed at a Port Lincoln on a private property on top of a hill surrounded by Mallee scrub and Yakka bushes.  We could see the whole of Port Lincoln.  Heidi, the owner pointed out the town’s two breweries, and Steve started salivating again!  

We had a great day at Coffin Bay and walked 7km of the Oyster Walk which skirts around the Bay.  You need to mind where you step though, it’s Emu Central, and they are not toilet trained.  We went into the National Park to hoon around the sand dunes and check out beautiful beaches like Golden Sands, where we saw dolphins and seals frolicking around in the surf.

Hold on to your hat at Golden Sands, Coffin Bay National Park

Word of the Week - "Fair Dinkum"!

I knew of this great Aussie phrase, but I'd never actually heard it in the wild.  We bumped into some Ultimate owners, Jenny and Anthony from Melbourne, in Coffin Bay NP (we have camped alongside this lovely couple from Melbourne a few times on our trip).  While we were exchanging tales of recent adventures, Steve got stung on his back by a feral bee.  Jenny let out a "Fair Dinkum, Steve!", and then went into full on nurse mode with her first-aid skills and supplies.  I was too busy stifling my sniggers at Jenny's exclamation to apply any sympathy to poor Steve.

Critter of the Week – Blue Swimmer Crab

Following our stay in Port Lincoln, we set up camp in Cowell. Despite the presence of two caravan parks, we chose a site managed by the local Lions Club. For a mere $15 a night, complete with a campfire and water, it was a roaring deal. A stroll into town led us to the jetty, where locals were hauling in Blue Swimmer Crabs. One lady was a bit miffed at having her hook taken by a Bronze Whaler Shark. Losing just the hook? I'd consider that lucky!

Crap Art

The Cowell residents are truly artistic entrepreneurs with a sense of humour.  They display their art for sale in the town’s toilet blocks, so doing business, while potential buyers do their business 💩.  Again, an honesty box system is in place.  Hopefully, purchasers wash their hands and post the right paper in the box 😆.

All Creatures Great and Small (and annoying) at Mambray Creek

We stayed at the Mambray Creek National Park on the recommendation of a couple we met in Margaret River.   The wildlife was a highlight, with kangaroos, goannas, and an abundance of birds.  However, it was the insects that made Mambray memorable for all the wrong reasons.  Midway through our hike to Sugar Gum Lookout, we discovered we’d been marching through bull ant nests and the little beasts were firing their feisty formic acid into our feet like they hadn’t been fed in a month of Fridays.  As our Strava reports will testify, the planned leisurely stroll up a steep hill on very hot day escalated into sudden sprints and frenzied dance moves, which would have given Raygun a run for her money.  Post-hike, we treated our ant bites with anti-histamine and Stop-Itch (thanks to Jenny, we had some left over from the bee episode), only to become the evening meal for Mambray's mozzies.

Above:  A very quick photo of Steve through gritted teeth at Sugar Gum Lookout due to the Bull Ant onslaught

Below:  Goanna's love to live in the hollows of Mambray Gum Trees

Camp Life – Go-anna have a drink on us

After our traumatic ramble, relaxation time at camp was disrupted by a parched goanna who decided our sink drainage bucket was the tastiest drink in the park.  At least it was one creature that didn't want to dine on us that day.