south australia: great australian bight, the nullabor

The guide books will tell you that you must stop at the Head of the Bight. I have two pieces of advice:

1. If you do, take a fly net with you, and

2. You get amazing views from the following three look-outs and they are free. 

The Head of Bight is a stunning and accessible spot with a boardwalk to the cliffs edge. 

The three look-outs give you expansive views along the sheer coastline. It would be amazing watching whales from these vantage spots where people have bragged at having seen them frolick in the waters below. 

You can see we had clear skies! 

Look out at Great Australian Bight

Look out number ? 

south australia: fowlers bay

We met this shingle back lizard on the road in to Fowlers Bay. He was not too pleased to see us! 

Remember Bob from Napperby? He suggested we stay in Fowlers Bay as he's visited many times over the years and  fishing for squid off the town jetty is popular. We didn't catch any squid but we did stay for two nights. 

View of Fowlers Bay from the sand dunes.

I've never seen sand dunes like the ones at Fowlers Bay and it seems they're slowly encroaching on to the town as the towns main road was where the dunes now stand.

It's an interesting town of only a few houses and feels so isolated given that the town's water supply is from an aquifer. What look like garden hoses run from the aquifer amongst the dunes to the homes of Fowlers Bay. The town uses solar energy and a generator kicks in when that runs out. 

If you're intending to stay at Fowlers be sure to fill your water tanks beforehand as you can't fill from the caravan park. There's also no dump point. 

We enjoyed sitting by the camp fire at night at the caravan park and the kids enjoyed meeting other kids who were staying too. 

western australia : baxter rest stop to fraser range station

A quick game of cricket before hitting the road at Baxter rest stop (has a toilet and a dump point). 

It won't surprise you that the longest straight stretch of road in Australia - 146km - is on the Nullabor. At night you can see the lights of a road train approaching from kilometres away! There's plenty to look out for during the day - camels, cattle, kangaroos and huge wedge-tailed eagles. We were hopeful but didn't see a camel! 

western australia: fraser range station

Our stay at Fraser Range Station was beaut. We had two nights in total and it was a good chance to unwind after the long driving days across the desert. 

We have been driving (somewhat) in convoy with a family we met at Pandurra Station way back near Ceduna and although we haven't stayed in all the same places it's been really great to meet up when we have. 

The two nights there also gave us the opportunity to 'eat out' at the station. For $30/adult it was a huge spread, delicious food and such a relief to not have to cook or wash up! 

We love staying on stations. Theres always plenty to see and the accomodation is usually pretty good. 

There's a great number of walks around Fraser Range and another round of Nullabor golf! 

south australia: the nullabor, WA border,

How's this for a view? We lucked out with the weather too! 

This free camp is called Peg Stop 13km as it is 13km east of the South Australian and Western Australian border. 

Please if you are travelling and intend to use free camps, remove your rubbish and ensure you are self-contained. The saddening part of so many stops on this pretty stretch of road is the damage people have inflicted on the scenery. 

western australia : cocklebiddy, the nullabor

Before we hit the Nullabor I had two dominating thoughts:

1. there's not much to see, and 

2. the kids will struggle with long days in the car. 

There is so much to see out here. It might not be obvious but it's beautiful and it's subtle and I don't mean anything manmade. 

The vegetation is so varied in colour. I've never seen so many greens and greys of grasses and shrubs. The plains expansive (obviously) and you can see a vehicle approaching from a few kilometres ahead. 

Unfortunately there's so much litter along the Nullabor. The motels and caravan parks are rundown and if you can I'd be freecamping as much as possible. Be aware of the locations of dump points too. And take a shovel to dig a hole if you need to. 

The kids have done so well. In the past I'd have been anxious about doing a four hour drive with the three kids but we've got the routine sorted for these long stints. We do 2-3 hours in the morning then only up to 2 after lunch. We have two substantial stops and a few wee breaks but we also play it all by ear!

Cocklebiddy Caves is about 5km off the highway down dirt. It's probably the most recognised cave diving site on the Nullabor and possibly the most accessible. I wonder what it would have been like discovering the entrance and then diving it for the first time. 

The entrance was far bigger than I'd expected and it only sparked J's enthusiasm to, maybe, one day, get down there and dive. I couldn't think of anything more claustrophobic! 

The cave is closed to the public and permission is essential before entering the cave. So far about 6km of cave has been explored. That blows my mind!

A game of cricket at Cocklebiddy.