Nullarbor Crossing.

Dinner with Laurel & Adrian.

War Memorial at Grass Patch.

The night before leaving Esperance we had dinner with Laurel & Adrian. We have made so many new friends along the way. It is one of the great joys of the journey. We may only see each other infrequently, but it seems that the wandering spirit binds us together and keeps us in touch. With the wonders of modern technology, our friends are only a click or a call away. We had a lovely night, with one last go at the Pier Hotel's wonderful wood fired pizzas, washed down with a beverage or two. We now have a caravan space whenever we are near Ingham, Far North Queensland. They are a couple of wags, and we may yet meet up again along the way, as they are headed for Adrian's home town of Orbost in eastern Victoria, and we will pass that way as well.

Grain silos at Grass Patch.

A welcome to Norsman.

Bright & early next morning, we were on the road, headed for Norseman. We stopped for our morning cuppa at Grass Patch, a tidy little town in the grain belt. They had a lovely little park and war memorial in the centre of town. Seems they had a war hero or two in town, with a VC recipient from WW11. On to Norseman, the town of horses, named in honour of an old prospector's horse called Old Norseman, who is reputed to have kicked the dirt off a big gold nugget, while pawing at the

Norseman Golf Club.

Norseman's Tin Camels

ground waiting for his master! For a town dedicated to horses, we were amused that the central roundabout in town, was covered in tin camels!! There is a lot of gold mining history in Norseman, where they still mine today. We went in search of the golf club, as there were two holes of The Nullarbor Links to be played. We found the course at the end of a dusty road. It was a real bush course, with a rundown shack for a clubhouse. The fairways were wall to

Reception at Fraser Range Station.

Off to Fraser Range Station

wall burrs. By the time we finished we were walking 6

inches taller with the soles of our shoes covered in thousands of ugly, spikey burrs. We headed for the Visitor Centre to get our scorecard stamped, and while we were there, we organised to top up our water tanks for the long, dry drive across the Nullarbor. Water is the hardest thing to get out there. In fact, some of the Roadhouses don't even offer windscreen washer buckets! Someone told us that they were told to buy bottled water from the fridge to do their windscreen at $5.00 per litre!! Our destination for the night, was a further 100kms away, so we turned east and headed out the Eyre Hwy to Fraser Range Station, to spend a couple of nights, and play the next hole on the long, long golf course.

The gardens around Fraser Range.

Mother emu teaching the kids golf!

Fraser Range Station is a working farm, supplementing their income through a caravan park and tourist venture. There is power and water, but the restrictions placed on which appliances you can run, meant we couldn't run the microwave, air conditioner, toaster, electric frypan, hair drier, in fact anything that heated up!! We may as well have been free camping!! They run tours of the farm each afternoon, and also do a roast dinner at the camp kitchen each night. We checked both out, but Carolyn's roast looked a lot better, and the tour at $40.00 per person,

Skylab fell to earth nearby.

Remember the Redex Round
Australia Trials from the 1960's?

we thought was a bit rich. The manager was telling us how tough it was making a living off a farm. They can't be doing too bad, as we saw a lot of expensive heavy machinery, and the helicopter looked quite new, and wasn't one of those small mustering helicopters. Anyway, we just relaxed, and headed out to the course, about a kilometre from the caravan park. The golf hole is called "Sheep's Back", but we didn't see any sheep, just dozens of emus! In fact, we thought it must be an emu farm! We had to wait on the tee while the group in front finished. They were incredibly slow. The mother emu must have been teaching the kids! Eventually they called us up. My tee shot took a hard

A long straight road.

"Skylab" Par 3 at Balladonia Roadhouse.

bounce off the synthetic green, rattled into the mother emus leg and took a horrid kick into the weeds! As if golf doesn't have enough challenges!! Next morning, it wasn't far to the next golf hole at Balladonia Roadhouse. This was quite a nice Roadhouse, and we even braved a coffee which was passable. It has a nice little museum which was free, and featured some great exhibits from when Skylab crashed, and the old Redex Trials, featuring old Gelignite Jack Murray, who passed this way. The golf hole is called "Skylab", and is a

Caiguna Blowhole.

Ready for the long straight.

challenging par 3. You stand on the tee and there is nothing but bush, and in the distance, a bullseye to aim at! Another bogey, but would have been worse except for my ball spotter and caddy, Carolyn, who waited up near the green to see where the ball landed!! The journey continued along the ninety mile straight, the longest straight stretch of road in Australia. We reached Caiguna Roadhouse at the end of the straight, and proceeded straight to the golf hole, you 

Ready to take on Eagles Nest.

Welcome to Cocklebiddy.

guessed it, called "90 Mile Straight". This was not much of a roadhouse, so we just played the hole, got the stamp and moved on. Next stop, and last golf hole for the day was at the wonderfully named Cocklebiddy Roadhouse. Along the way, we stopped at the Caiguna Blowhole, which is just a big hole in the ground through which the system of underground caves that are under the Nullarbor, breathe. You can hear and feel the wind. There are heaps of eagles along this stretch of highway, so the golf hole is called "Eagles Nest". It is just a walk out

Remote and inaccessible.

Looking out on the Roe Plains.

across the grassy plain to the synthetic green. A Par 4 without too many obstacles! That night, we free camped at a nice spot near the Eyre Bird Observatory turnoff. We didn't do the Observatory, since we would have had to leave the caravan unattended some 50 kms back, and head along a very rough and sandy track. We didn't feel comfortable about that. So after a hearty breakfast, we continued on for Madura Roadhouse. Just before getting into Madura, you arrive at Madura Pass Lookout. It is incredible that we have been travelling

All we saw was emus and eagles!

On the tee at Brumby's Run.

along a flat plain, and there is a drop down to the Roe Plains that go out to the coast. We had our morning cuppa, looking out over the plains to the distant sea, before heading into the Roadhouse and more golf, and another history lesson! In this God forsaken place back in the 1860's, miles from anywhere, the British Army bred horses which were used in the Indian Campaign on the north west frontier of India. The horses were taken overland from Madura to Eucla, a distance of 150kms, then loaded onto ships for India. Simply amazing!! Hence the golf hole is called "Brumby's Run", a short little par 3 where there is just scrub and a small synthetic green. Thank God for my spotter, Carolyn!! 

Anywhere, anytime!!!

Last stop in WA.

On and on we went. We decided to overnight at Eucla, but first had one more stop at the Mundrabilla Roadhouse, where we had been told the fuel was cheapest on the Nullarbor, and it was, at $1.86 per litre compared with $1.99 at most other spots, though at Eucla they were now matching the $1.86. Turned out we would have an extra stop, as we ran into a police roadblock!! Out here in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the day, we were breath tested, and had our license and rego checked, on both the car and caravan. Why? The cops didn't say. We topped up fuel and

Sand Dunes along the Eucla coast.

Old Telegraph Station ruins Eucla.

played the "Watering Hole" at Mundrabilla. A pretty uneventful par 4, and it wasn't long before we were at Eucla. This was a site for the old Telegraph Line from east to west, and the old building is still visible, fighting back the advancing sand dunes. The caravan park is very basic, offering only power, if you can find a power point that works, and nice clean amenities with great hot showers! The place was packed that night, and I finished up with other campers running leads out of my outside power points, so they could get the power they had paid for!

Golf hole ran through the Rifle range!

A great hoax!

Remember the story of the Nullarbor Nymph? It all happened at Eucla, and is one of the best hoaxes you will ever hear. It is true Aussie larrikinism at its best. Some roo shooters were sitting at the bar getting drunk, so they revved up a tourist by telling him about a naked lady roaming the plains amid the kangaroos. It was Christmas time and the tourist who couldn't pay his bill offered to put Eucla on the map, instead of paying his bill. He put the story out to the Adelaide newspapers, and everyone fell for it. To make it better, the larrikin 

Eucla, miles from everywhere.

Grass seeds by the million!

roo shooters dressed one of their wives in a roo skin bikini and using an old 8mm movie camera took some grainy film of the nymph chasing around with kangaroos that were in abundant supply. The news story went virile, and soon news crew from all over the world were descending on Eucla. Finally the boys came clean, but by now, the media didn't know what to believe. So the legend of the Nullarbor Nymph was born!! So guess what the golf hole is called! Out at the course, we found an unmowed paddock smack bang in the middle of the rifle range! A local had told us they killed a brown snake on the course, and found three golf balls inside! But after the story of the nymph, I wasn't biting! One thing for certain though, it took us ages to get the bloody grass seeds out of our shoes!! Next

Check out the fairway!!

Border Kangaroo.

morning, it was just 12 kms down the road to Border Village, last stop on the WA side. Thankfully they don't quarantine check for fruit and veggies here, when travelling east bound. We still had plenty to consume! There was a golf hole to play, "Border Kangaroo", right at the roadhouse. Again, I relied heavily on my spotter. She was getting pretty good in very rugged terrain! This 160m par 3 also was just scrub surrounding the synthetic green. Ever eastward we head, now looking for a suitable place to settle for the afternoon and night. Along this section of the

The Bunda Cliffs.

Spectacular cliffs.

Nullarbor, the road gets very close to the coast, and there are three lookout points that take you right out to the coast. It is spectacular, with the towering Bunda Cliffs that stretch for 800kms to the east. Today is Grand Final day, and we want to be well settled before kickoff. We found the free camp called 157K Peg, and were able to get a fairly sheltered spot back among the trees, and settled in for the night. We were glad to see the Bunnies break their

Bobtailed Lizards everywhere.

Dusty Nullarbor Roadhouse.

hoodoo. That night a change came through and blew us to bits! The caravan shaked and rattled like never before. We closed every hatch and window, and even pulled in the slide out to stop the awning going crazy! It was a rugged and restless sleep. We were like zombies all the next day, and the wind just didn't let up. We pulled in at the Nullabor Road house, and seriously considered not playing the "Dingo's Den" which was a long par 5. But

Dingo's Den at Nullarbor R/House.

Blowing a gale at Nullarbor R/house.

the intrepid golfer in me prevailed and we braved the elements. This is the first golf hole I've ever played that has an airstrip crossing the fairway! However, the biggest hazard was the dozens of bobtail lizards! With my caddy and ball spotter defying horrendous conditions, we finished the hole, without getting rundown by a plane or bitten by a lizard!

Welcome to Head of Bight.

Wild & windy Head of Bight.

Not far down the road is the Head Of Australian Bight, the most northerly point on the Great Australian Bight. A sealed road leads 12 kilometres into this excellent viewing point. It is a joint venture with the local Yalata Aboriginal people. It is one of the best Whale watching places in Australia and the world. Southern Right and Humpback whales come to these waters from May to October, to feed and give birth. Wonderful viewing platforms have been constructed, and the

Bunda Cliffs looking west.

Show me the whales!

Interpretive Centre is an excellent facility. Sadly for us, it was the end of the whale season, and it was blowing a gale. The water was a mass of white caps, that the guide told us made finding whales impossible. There had been 4 whales the day before, but they had been a fair way off shore. Still, we just enjoyed taking in the wonderful coastal scenery of the looming Bunda Cliffs. Some people were complaining that you had to pay to get into this attraction, but

Nullus Arbor.

Viewing platforms on the cliffs.

given the infrastructure and how close you can get to the water, I couldn't see what they were whinging about. They even drop the prices on days when whales haven't been spotted, treating them as "off season". The boardwalks suspend out from the cliffs edge, offering amazing views. We picked up a souvenir whale in the shop, and headed back out to the highway. This section of the road is traversing the Treeless Plain that gives the Nullarbor

Free camped at 157K Peg.

Free camped at Kidnippy Rest Area.

it's name. It is just 180 kms long, which isn't much, given that the entire Nullarbor Plain is some 200,000 square kilometres. We have no particular spot in mind to stop tonight. We will just check out the free camps as we come to them. We chose to stop at Kidnippy Rest Area, which was quite nice, set back from the road in the trees. A lot of other people agreed, and as night fell there were around 20 caravans and campers spread out among the trees. We slept like logs!!! We didn't even stir until after 8.00am, most unusual for Carolyn! Today, we are taking a slight detour from the highway to visit Fowlers Bay. A number of people have

Haven't mowed the fairway in a while.

Wombat Hole at Nundroo.

told us this is a worthwhile detour. Before we head off the highway we have another golf hole to play at Nundroo Roadhouse. The first thing that grabs us at Nundroo is the price of fuel. It has dropped 25 cents a litre! We drove the caravan out to the tee across a wide paddock. The "Wombat Hole" is a long Par 5, up and over a grassy hill. The ball spotter is in for a challenge! This hole was a struggle, and then we had to trudge back over the hill to the car and caravan. The road into Fowlers Bay is graded gravel for the last 10kms, and it was pretty rough and

Matthew Flinders first came in 1802.

Fish 'n Chips at Fowlers Bay.

corrugated. On the way in we lost one glass, and on the way out we cracked 6 eggs! But it was worth it, with a nice little caravan park right across from the jetty. We set up and then went back to the little caravan park shop, to sit on the deck and enjoy some fresh cooked King George Whiting and chips for lunch. Really delicious. Fowlers Bay is just a fishing village. It is surrounded by huge sand dunes and has a long jetty jutting out into the bay. This is a

Mile after mile of wheat.

Welcome to Penong.

favourite fishing spot, so I tried my hand without luck. Historically, Fowlers Bay is famous as the starting point for the expedition of explorer John Eyre, who along with his best friend John Baxter,and three aboriginal trackers, set out on the first crossing of the Nullarbor. This must have been an unbelievable journey of hardship. Two of the aboriginals deserted after killing Baxter, and Eyre and his last remaining tracker almost died of thirst. When you look at the journey they made on foot, you can only marvel at the courage. Just one night at Fowlers

On the tee at Windmills.

Windmills of Penong.

Bay, then back to the Eyre Highway heading for Penong, the little windmill town. By now, the harsh landscape of the Nullarbor has been replaced by beautiful rolling plains, most of which are bursting with wheat crops waiting to be harvested. Quite a sight. Penong is a quaint little village, where the flat on the eastern side of town is dotted with windmills. There is an underground water supply, and local residents put in their own windmill to draw water, and then pipe it to their home. We played the golf hole called "Windmills", and it was almost like a real golf course. In fact it is part of the town course! The grass had been mowed, and the spotter got a leisurely walk for a change.

Shucks!

One dozen ready to go!

The end is in sight. So is the Quarantine Station at Ceduna. My wonderful wife has done a masterful job in managing our fruit and veggies to the limit, though I must admit that our final dinner at Fowlers Bay, was an interesting collection of food groups, but incredibly tasty! We arrived at the Quarantine Gate with just one over ripe avocado and a red onion, which the guy told us we could keep! Now that is planning! We rolled into Ceduna and felt a bit over awed at the size of this town. Only kidding, but this town actually had shops! We have arrived in the oyster capital of Australia, and as luck would have it, the oyster farmer was due in at 4.30. At $7.00 per dozen, and out of the ocean just two hours before, they were a bargain. Small snag was that they were unopened!

Main street Ceduna.

Main street Ceduna.

The caravan shop had dozens of oyster knives for sale at $6.00 each, so armed with my new knife and a crash course in opening oysters from the farmer, we were off in search of lemons and wine!! Actually, getting the farmer to show me how to open oysters was great, as I got to eat the extra oysters. The third time I asked him to show me again, he suggested I'd be fine!! Everyone in the park was eating oysters and in fine spirits. I think that once the Nullarbor

It is all over!

The last hole.

has been conquered there is a sense of relief, so everyone was up for a good time. Happy hour just went on and on, or maybe it was the blood moon. Whatever the reason, dinner was served at 9.00pm!! One last job to do before the crossing is complete and that is the last two golf holes out at Ceduna Golf Club, so next day off we went and completed "Oyster Beds" & "Denial Bay". From the golf club it was around to the Visitor Centre to get my final two stamps and my official certificate for completing this epic game of golf!

We have had a ball crossing the Nullarbor. The golf encounter has helped lighten the long drive. It is a vast area, and it is one of few spots in our travels where telephone signal has been a problem. If you are lucky, you get a signal at most roadhouses. A couple of hundred metres down the road and it was gone.  We would laugh as we drove into the roadhouses and our phone and IPad would beep with messages from family and friends wondering where we are! It is nice to know we are missed!! We have seen some sights along the way, and are now ready for a few days by the blue ocean, as we work our way along the Eyre Peninsula.

Esperance With Friends.

Grass Patch on the way to Esperance.

On the day we left Kalgoorlie, we awoke to a cold, wet, and

Esperance.

windy day. Such a contrast to the weather of the weekend. Graham & Di's car needed a new part, so it was decided we would head off for Esperance ahead of them, and they could follow when the repair was complete. As things turned out, they didn't get the car back until 5.00pm, so stayed an extra night in Kalgoorlie, travelling down the next day. Meanwhile we headed south for Esperance. We couldn't remember the last time we had travelled on a day like this. In and

Port facilities at Esperance.

The Tanker Jetty at Esperance.

out of rain squalls, and buffeted by incredibly strong winds. Once past Kambalda, and the last of the really intense mining, the landscape started to change, with both forests and open pasture. We stopped at Norseman, the Western gateway to the Nullabor, for lunch. Something Hot please!! We will be back to Norseman on our trip esat. There are two holes on the Nullabor Links Golf Course to play! Hopefully in the sunshine!! Back on the road, the scenery was now beautiful green fields of new wheat, as far as the eye could see. We were back in the grain belt, and it looks so different to our last visit, when everything looked brown and dead after the summer and harvest. We passed through the small grain belt towns, that offer nothing other than huge grain silos, waiting this years crop.Towns like Grass Patch, with its huge welcome sign.

With Moira & Geoff, Di & Graham
at Esperance.

Whale Tail Sculpture.

We set up camp in the wind and rain, back at the Esperance Seafront Caravan Park. We decided to put up our annexe, to give us a dry place to get together. After an hour and a half of frustration, we had only managed to get one side, and the long wall up. I know we haven't had a need to use the annexe for more than a year, but this was ridiculous! I was cursing and just couldn't figure out why the annexe would not fit. Drenched, we decided we would make do, and have a better look in

New sea wall to stop erosion.

New lawns & gardens.

 the dry. That night, I woke up in the middle of the night, remembering that we had the awning replaced when all the repairs were done back in January. A quick measure in the morning revealed that the new awning was 6 inches wider than the old one, so our annexe walls would no longer fit!! A call to our maker at Coffs Harbour solved the problem, but we will be making do until the new extension pieces arrive. At least we aren't going mad!!

Along the new sea front.

Graham & Di on the new sea front.

Tired, cold and wet, we showered and decided that we would just go to the pub for dinner. What a good idea! The pub, The Pier Hotel, was packed, but we found a table, and feasted on lovely Wood Fired Pizza. Absolutely delicious, and just what the doctor ordered! In the morning, the rain had gone, but it was still cold. We just lazed around, and waited for Graham & Di to arrive. Esperance is a lovely town. We were a bit disappointed to find that

Dolphins at play.

Beautiful beaches.

the works along the sea front were still going on, but were then delighted to find out that the scaffolding and temporary fencing was coming down on Friday. The next 4 days were remarkable, with instant lawn, instant gardens, playgrounds, BBQ's and furniture installed in record time. By Friday afternoon, it looked a picture. The Whale Tail sculpture, is spectacularly good.

One of many Happy Hours.

Girls day out.

We made the most of the next four days of good weather. We took on the role of tour guides, showing the West Australians around their own back yard! We had been before, and they were all first timers to Esperance! We did the beautiful Coastal Drive, which is just amazing. Such beautiful beaches, one after the other. This time, we were even treated to a pod of dolphins, lazing around in a corner of a sheltered bay. Wednesday was Di's birthday, so the girls decided they would take a girly day out, while we guys took in the excellent Esperance Golf Course. The girls had a

Birthday girl, Di.

lovely day, while we had a challenging day on a golf course that surprised us with its excellent condition and layout. A tough layout with lots of water! That

At Lucky Bay.

afternoon, we all met up for Happy Hour. The champagne flowed. Di had decided that after such a great wrap on the pub and pizzas, we should head back for her birthday, so into two cabs, and off we went. The pub was packed. Carolyn some how found us a table, and the pizzas were just as good a second time round. A great night with new friends, followed by birthday cake back at the annexe. Next morning we were off to Cape Le Grande National Park. Undoubtedly one of Australia's most picturesque National Parks, with

The girls.

The Boys.

its unbelievable beaches. We did them all. It was surprising how they had changed since our last visit, with the movement of the ocean having caused a lot of erosion at some of the beaches. We did them all. Cape Le Grande, Hellfire Bay, Thistle Cove and French man's Peak. We decided to have our picnic lunch at Lucky Bay. I don't think we could say any beach in Australia is better than Lucky Bay. Just a breathtakingly beautiful

Carolyn & Moira
among the wild flowers.

Giving Graham the salute at Lucky Bay.

spot. With the three Landcruisers parked side by side on the beach, we could have been doing a commercial for Toyota!! What a picnic spot. After lunch, we headed out around the bay, but couldn't get too far, as a high tide and a lot of beach erosion made it impossible to get to the other end of the beach and the lookout. So instead, we drove around to Rossiter Bay, where the wild flowers put on a show as well. We worked our way back through the park, and headed out to

It doesn't get better than this!

Toyota Commercial at Wharton Beach.

Duke of Orleans Bay, and the lovely Wharton and Little Wharton Beaches. There isn't much at Orleans Bay other than sea weed! But the extra few kilometres out to Wharton Beach is really worthwhile. On the way back to Esperance, we dodged the dirt road and followed the bitumen all the way in via Condingup. The drive through the rolling fields of green wheat and yellow canola was just gorgeous. This sure is amazing farming country!

Taylors on the Beach Cafe.

The week had flown by. Friday, we all just did our own

AFL Grand Final day.

things, before meeting up for Happy Hour. We went out for quick dinner at Taylors on the Beach Cafe. The girls had seen a sign advertising $10.00 steaks, and they proved OK. Cheapest night out in years! Geoff, had a couple of heaters, and despite the cold nights we managed to get cosy in the annexe. On the nights that we ate in, the girls all took turns at cooking up a feast, and there was no shortage of wine to wash it all down! Our last day was Saturday,

Time to pack up.

Always time for champagne!

and the AFL Grand Final. We set up our spare TV in the annexe, and settled in to watch the game. The Weber was cooking the lamb for the half time lamb and gravy rolls, which were delicious, and Carolyn & I got ribbed mercilessly as the Sydney Swans got flogged. Thank God no WA teams were involved!! That night, we cooked up some extra lamb and veggies, and had a farewell dinner, as the wind howled and the rain fell along with the temperature, as another cold front swept through. Carolyn had also finally succumbed to

More beautiful beaches.

On Cape Le Grande Beach.

all Geoff's begging, and made another Millionaire's Pie for dessert! We remained snug and warm in the makeshift annexe. Sunday morning it was all over! Moira & Geoff were heading back to Perth, and Graham and Di were  heading down to Albany for a couple of days with friends, on the way back to Perth. We had such a good time. It is so hard for us to imagine that we only met these people, 9 short months ago! It was so lovely that they wanted to see us one more time before we left WA. I am sure there will be many more adventures ahead with these wonderful new

Bye Moira & Geoff.

Bye Di & Graham.

friends. It was a quiet and melancholy Sunday afternoon, after so much fun and bright company. As if the Gods knew we were feeling flat, the phone chirped and a text message told us that Laurel & Adrian, who we had met at Tom Price and Karijini NP, had just arrived in Esperance, so we invited them around for a cuppa. They are at another caravan park nearby. We had kept in touch, and knew they were in the region. Nonetheless it was a pleasant surprise. We had a good catch up, and will meet again for dinner, the night before we head off. Probably do the pizza thing at the pub again! We have a couple more days at Esperance to stock up, pack up and clean up, before we start the long journey back east. We have now been in WA for just over a year. How the time flies!