Down...over...across

Down, over and across … Down -Cairns to Melbourne. Tick. Over -Bass Strait to Devonport. Tick Over- Bass Strait to Melbourne. Tick Turn Left. Tick Across – Victoria, SA and the Nullarbor to Perth – TICK. God is good and we arrived safely in Perth, 36 hours before Richard is due to start work. The Nullarbor, once the road was open, is quite a journey. The word Nullarbor means ‘no trees’ in Latin and at the start of the expansive plain, that is a fitting description, however we soon discover that the Nullarbor is actually quite a diverse landscape. Several things really surprised us. Firstly, much of the early part of the drive hugs the coast. Although it is not always obvious, the road is within a few kilometres and occasionally within a few hundred metres of the cliff tops of the Great Australian Bight. There are a several photo opportunities to view the Southern Ocean, but sadly we were so far behind schedule that we don’t stop but push through.

The news is that the Eyre Highway will open tomorrow, so we push forward to the Nullarbor Roadhouse at the start of the vast Nullarbor Plain.  Our powered site awaits us and looks a little like a dirt drive-in movie site without the big screen. There is a power connection, but no water. We have enough food and water for 4-5 days, we can pay $1 for a shower and they have plenty of fuel at $2.13 a litre. We set up next to the only tree, plan to survive the afternoon heat as it approaches 40 degrees, have a good sleep and set off west on the Eyre tomorrow as soon as it opens. The landscape is flat with low bushy vegetation in every direction, as far as the eye can see. In 1 865, Henry Kingsley wrote that the area across the Nullarbor and Great Australian Bight was a ‘hideous anomaly, a blot on the face of Nature, the sort of place one gets into in bad dreams ’. Modern science explains that the 200,000 square kilometre plain was once a giant sea bed now exposed a

Planning prevents…poor performance. Despite our careful planning our trip is now in tatters. After almost two weeks the road to Perth is still cut by fires, so we embrace plan B with unexpected results. Plan A was to pay Streaky Bay a passing visit and keep heading west, however the forced detention means a longer stay and time to really explore a fascinating part of Australia.   Streaky Bay, on the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula, boasts an enticing mosaic of pristine natural wonders: shelly and occasionally sandy beaches, countless fishing spots and the spectacular southern Australian coastline. From Streaky Bay the coast is primarily accessed by two self-drive loop roads each of about 30-40km of dirt. Along these drives are numerous secluded free camping spots, an array of rocky, jagged and sharp cliff formations and remarkably beautiful beaches. With little breeze and brilliant sunshine, the water shimmers with crystal blues and iridescent greens more typical of the tro

After welcoming in the New Year in Adelaide, our next stop is Port Lincoln on the eastern side of the Eyre Peninsula. While eastern Australia continues to choke and burn the air is clean on the Eyre, but fires are blocking our path to the west. The Eyre highway to Perth has basically been closed by fires near Norseman in WA since Boxing Day, so we are currently becalmed hoping the road west will reopen soon. Being stuck in Port Lincoln is not exactly hardship. From our caravan we enjoy an amazing view across Spencer Gulf. Port Lincoln boasts some of the finest seafood in Australia and by the size and quality of its fishing fleet it also enjoys some of Australia’s most profitable fishing grounds. Adjacent to the town is the Port Lincoln National Park with scenery quite unique to any that we have previously seen in Australia. The beauty of the coastline is tinged with a rugged edge. Weather too continues to be extreme as we swelter one day at 41 and the next day rug up when the w

Down, over and across … Down -Cairns to Melbourne. Tick. Over -Bass Strait to Devonport. Tick Over- Bass Strait to Melbourne. Tick Turn Left. Tick During one of Australia’s hottest and driest summers on record, we have been fortunate to avoid most of the really hot weather, apart from a couple of very hot days in Canberra. We have seen the results of the terrible fires on the North Coast and watched as the fires have devastated some of the areas we have already travelled through. Our thoughts and prayers are continually with those communities. As we leave temperate  Tasmania, we are welcomed back to the heatwave, that is the mainland. After driving off the Spirit of Tasmania at 5.45am we breakfast at Daylesford, an hour or so north-west of Melbourne. We have heard much about Daylesford’s reputation as an alternative, sustainable spa town. Breakfast, a wander through the local markets and a stroll around the man-made lake is about all we can manage, for by 9.30am the