Aaron & Lib's Australian Adventure: Smoky Bay - Nullarbor Plain

Sunset @ Perlubie Beach SA

Big Oyster @ Ceduna SA

12/4/12 Thursday. Today we moved on early to Smoky Bay where we had booked into the caravan park for one night. Bess was in serious need of a good clean and so were we after spending a week or more camped beside various beaches and driving down endless dirt roads to get to them. We wiped down all the internal surfaces, dusted down the outside with a brush due to water restrictions, did all our clothes washing, cleaned the floors including the cab and then finally cleaned ourselves. With Lib not feeling so great, after lunch she had a lie down while I went fishing out on the jetty and had a good afternoon fishing. I caught three Leather Jackets, one King George Whiting, one Silver Trevally and one Blue Swimmer Crab. They are going to taste fabulous for dinner tonight.

Start of Nullarbor Links, Ceduna SA

The 1st Tee

Other Golfers

13/4/12 Friday. (1)Today we began our journey across the Nullarbor. We had early problems at the caravan park. Bess wouldn’t start but after receiving some help from one of the other guests in the park we were on the road. Our first stop was Ceduna to stock up on supplies and check out the start of the Nullarbor Links. While up the street Lib found Nag Champa that was homemade instead of the imported stuff from India. It is hand dipped in nag champa oil. Just after returning to Bess from doing the shopping low and behold, who should turn up but Col, Brenda and Nudge. They had driven from Streaky Bay on a day trip and happened to see Bess and pulled up to say G’day. We went and bought hamburgers and sat in the park at the water’s edge to let the dogs have one final play. They aren’t going any further west than Streaky as they have to return home to Harcourt Valley. It has been great seeing them along the way and we will miss them heaps and look forward to seeing them again in the future.

After saying our farewells Lib and I went to the information centre to find out about the Nullarbor Links. I had been looking forward to this for more than a year. I don’t play golf and have no interest whatsoever but it is going to be cool to have the bragging rights to tell people “I played golf across the Nullarbor!” (1365 km). I found a couple of clubs at a second hand store, paid my “Green Fees” at the information centre and then off we went to the Ceduna Golf Course to play the first two of eighteen holes. On Hole 1 I had an absolute shocker. It was par 5 and I hit 15. On Hole 2 I improved greatly. I teed off into the rough and couldn’t find my ball but I did find two others. It was par 4 and I scored 8. Lib is keeping me company, keeping score and keeping me honest. She is also taking photos along the way.

Green? on the 2nd Hole @ Ceduna SA

Next we left Ceduna and decided to stop at one last water side camp before hitting the highway. It was only supposed to be a short jaunt down 4km’s of dirt road. After 12 km’s, not finding the camp site and the road deteriorating immeasurably we made the decision to turn around and make our way back to the highway to find a rest stop where we will spend the night.

Across the Nullarbor

14/4/12 Saturday. (2)We Left the rest stop at about 9am this morning to continue our journey west to WA. We stopped at the three holes along the way. The first for the day was Windmills at Penong. It is a 260m par 4 and I got 6 which I thought was quite good. The rest of the day didn’t fair so well. We stopped for lunch after playing Wombat Hole at Nundroo. It was a 520m par 5 and I took 13 strokes to complete.

After lunch we continued on and this afternoon found us at the Nullarbor Roadhouse playing Dingo’s Den, a 538m par 5 and the longest hole for the course. I scored 15.

Across the Nullarbor

We have stopped for the evening about 150km’s east of the border crossing into WA overlooking the Great Australian Bight. Magnificent!

15/4/12 Sunday.(3) It was absolutely awe inspiring to see the sun set and then the sunrise whilst gazing out over the Southern Ocean with such a sheer drop into the waves below. That part of our coast line is spectacular.

Across the Nullarbor

Big Sperm Whale @ Nullarbor Roadhouse

This morning we kept driving across the Nullarbor and we stopped at all the lookouts we came to so we could admire the greatness of Mother Nature and our country. The sheerness of the cliffs and the blue, clear waters were mesmerising. By lunchtime we had arrived at Border Village Roadhouse and the Western Australian Border. Before lunch we teed off at Border Kangaroo and I scored 6 for the Par 3 160m hole. Last night Lib cooked or par cooked all our remaining salad and veggies as she was able. For lunch we ate as much as we could of what was left and in the bin went one cucumber. When we got to the check point we had to give up our honey and the onions that had been peeled the night before. The gentleman at the inspection station was very pleasant and congratulated Lib on her good efforts to do the right thing.

Shortly after crossing the border in WA and changing our clocks back 1 ½ hours we came to Eucla. There we took a short side trip 5 km’s north of town to the Eucla Golf Course which also happened to be the site for the Eucla Gun Club and the Nullarbor Nymph, 315m Par 4 where I scored 7. Luckily we had the place to ourselves and no bullets had to be dodged.

The Great Australian Bight

We then continued on down the road to Mundrabilla to play Watering Hole, 330m Par 4. I played particularly well and managed to keep all my shots on the fairway and scored 7.

Sunset Across the Nullarbor

Not long after we had gotten back on the highway we decided we had driven far enough for the day. It was only 3pm according to our clocks but for us that was in reality 4.30pm and we were not used to being on the road so late in the day. We pulled over for the evening in the first rest area we came to which was not very picturesque but was functional in that we were on level ground off the highway and were set back approximately 50m from the road. By 8pm WA time we were both totally zonked and headed for bed.

Great Australian Bight

16/4/12 Monday. (4)We did manage to sleep in this morning which was good as we are still finding it difficult to transition the time difference. We had only just gotten over the change from daylight savings. We continued on our journey across the Nullarbor and played another three holes for today. The first was Brumby’s Run at Madura Roadhouse. It is a 125m Par 3 hole at which I think I have played my best golf so far. I scored 4, a Bogey, where up until that hole I had been averaging double and even triple Par per hole. I also lost a ball here but found two more. That round out the first nine holes with a grand total of 81. I don’t think I’ll be giving up my day job at anything else anytime soon considering 72 is Par for the course.

Great Australian Bight

The back nine began at Cocklebiddy Roadhouse with Eagles Nest, a 347m Par 4. After a fabulous tee shot of about 200m which even managed to stay on the fairway I went on to get a total of 9. We drove on to the last hole for the day at Caiguna Roadhouse and the hole 90 Mile Straight. It is a 310m Par 4 on which I shot 7.

We then continued on to the 90 Mile Straight. It is the longest straight stretch of road in Australia totalling 140 odd kilometres. We continued almost to the end where we have found another rest area to spend the evening. This one has about 5 other groups keeping us company for the night. We have been noticing along the way that there is an unusually high amount of rubbish in rest areas along the way though we did find the culprits of some of it. In one rest area on the SA side we saw crows going in and out of the hole in the top of the garbage bins. On the WA side the bins are a different design to prevent this. Much of the rubbish in rest areas seems to be toilet paper and in these stops the flies seem to be worse too. The rest area we are in tonight has a toilet (long drop) and there is less rubbish here, less flies and more campers. Coincidence?

Mining Trucks transported Across the Nullarbor

There are many signs across the Nullarbor for wild animals including kangaroos, wombats, emus, camels and cows. So far we have seen none of these. Though we have seen one dingo, one wedge tailed eagle and plenty of crows. Sometimes I wonder if half the signs they put up about native animals in areas are just for the benefit of the tourist. What next? Will there be signs saying “Yowie” spotted here?

Border Village @ SA/WA Border

17/4/12 Tuesday. (5) Today we finished our journey across the Nullarbor and have reached Norseman WA, finally! The last two days have been a real struggle as the novelty had worn off after the first two or three days and we just wanted it to end and for us to get here. But we have done it now. Bess has really struggled in the end and is very sick. When we reach Kalgoorlie tomorrow she will definitely need to go and see the doctor to get fixed up.

Nullarbor Links @ Border Village

SA/WA Border Checkpoint

We played four holes today with the first one at the Balladonia Roadhouse called Skylab, a 175m Par 3 that I did pretty well at scoring 4. The next hole was Sheep’s Back at the Fraser Range Sheep Station, a 141m Par 3 that I had an amazing tee shot on by over shooting the hole by 30 yards. I scored 6 and then we continued on to Norseman to play the final two holes for the day. Upon arriving at Norseman I made a few calls to let people know we had arrived safely and then we had lunch. After that we called into the information centre to get directions to the golf course as that is the location for the two holes here. We picked up some much needed supplies at the local IGA. It is the first supermarket between here and Ceduna in SA. At the golf course the first hole is called Ngadju and is a 354m Par 4 at which I truly excelled and showed my amazing golfing prowess by scoring 14. Wow! The second hole, called Golden Horse, is a 436m Par 4 that I scored 8 on.

Once we had finished golf for the day we moved on to our campsite for this evening at a rest area 15km’s north of Norseman near Lake Cowan. It is a huge salt water lake that is currently dry as a bone.

Nullarbor Links with the Puppies @ Eucla WA

Mundrabilla Roadhouse WA

22/4/12 Sunday. Wednesday morning saw us limp Bess into Kalgoorlie and she is not a happy camper. She wouldn’t idle at all and stopping at intersections and round-a-bouts became an art form to keep her going. We found the information centre straight away to find out if there was free camping in the area, where we could find a mechanic and about dog friendly caravan parks. Armed with our new information we went to the mechanic which turned out to be an auto electrician. He offered some ideas for us and we ordered a new starter motor as the one we had was stuffed. We went to a free camp in the middle of town to spend the night. Before dark we took the dogs for a good long run which has been difficult for a week or so due to 1080 baits being laid on properties and national parks along the highway to get this far. The signs have been everywhere.

On Thursday we went back to the auto elec to get the starter motor. We stayed parked out the front in case we needed a hand to replace the old one, but in the end it was a fairly simple job and Lib and I managed it without any undue difficulty. We also replaced the fan belt as the old one was getting quite worn. This solved some of our problems but not all. We then went to a mechanic we had found in the yellow pages who told us to come back at 3pm. So we went into town and did our shopping while we waited. At 3pm we went back and they had a look. Upon inspection they found that we had no compression in one of the chambers and would need to further investigate the next day. So we booked into a caravan park for the night so we could shower and get our washing done.

Across the Nullarbor

Nullarbor Links WA

On Friday morning we dropped Bess off at 9am and then went roaming around Kalgoorlie, trying to waste time and waiting for a phone call which came at around 11am. We went back to the mechanic to be told our worst fears. The head needed to come off. One of the valve seats had cracked and come unstuck. As we couldn’t camp on the driveway of the mechanic and to save ourselves some money in labour, Simon, our new friendly mechanic advised us to book into a caravan park that would allow us to do the work ourselves and then went on to explain how to remove the head.

The Nullarbor WA

We went back to the same caravan park we’d stayed at the previous night and they were very obliging and helpful. We set up and then while Lib was washing the dogs I set about removing the head from Bess. This was the first time (not including the starter motor) I had done any major work on Bess’ mechanics. It took me a few hours and with help from Lib here and there we eventually got it off. Simon will be coming over the weekend to pick it up and it will be sent to Perth for repair/replacement on Monday. When it comes back Simon has said that he will come out to help refit the head. Backyard mechanics eat your heart out!

Across the Nullarbor

Yesterday we took the bikes off Bess and gave them a good wash before going for a ride into town to pick up some supplies and to have a general look around. After lunch we took the dogs for a walk and found a nice big soccer oval to give them a good run. It’s about a 5 minute walk from the caravan park and across the road from the local jail.

We are going to have to find things to do for a week to kill our boredom as we are stuck here with only our bikes for transport. On the plus side, Lib’s parents should be here on Friday as they continue their trek around Oz.