Week 43: Kalgoorlie WA - Sheringa SA

 Stats Overview

Km's Travelled: 1843

Km's Hiked: 0

No. of Camps: 6

The Adventures

We have survived the Nullarbor and made it back into South Australia! We have also broken our weekly distance record...and also our fuel record which we are less enthusiastic about. Due to the intense head wind we drove through as we crossed the Nullarbor,  our fuel consumption went through the roof. Our usual travelling average is 16L/100km, whereas this week it was averaging around 23L/100km. In our experience, this makes the Nullarbor the most expensive drive in the whole of Australia!

We started the week back in Kalgoorlie where we played the tourist before we stocked up on supplies to see us through the Port Lincoln. Unfortunately, what we forgot to factor in were the border restrictions on fruit and vegetables travelling from WA to SA. We figured that because the restrictions were so tough to get into WA, that they would then have the safest fruit and veg of the country. Thankfully we  thought to do a quick check before we hit the Quarantine Point at Ceduna, which meant we ended up having to do a huge cook up of as much contraband as we could so we didn't throw all our money away. Unfortunately, we still had to bin a fair bit of produce so we ended up learning a bit of an expensive lesson this week - always check the border restrictions before you do your shopping!

Despite our quarantine bungle, we had a good time crossing the Nullarbor. It took us four days to get from Kalgoorlie to Ceduna. We have heard the nickname "Nullar-bored" so our expectations were pretty low for enjoying the drive. While there are definitely some long stretches of road with little to see, we also discovered there are plenty of points of interest to explore if you do some research. The highlight of the journey was getting to see the cliffs of the Great Australian Bight. They are so impressive to see in real life! Will's birthday wish was to camp on the top of the cliffs and I reluctantly agreed, as the winds were very intense and there is no protection from the elements on the clifftop. Although the weather was less than favourable, it was still a pretty special experience. Although we discovered the next morning that we both had concerns with how good the handbrakes on the car and caravan were, as we had both spent plenty of time awake worrying about the brakes failing and us rolling over the edge! 

After we had made it to Ceduna we started our adventure on the Eyre Peninsula, with our first destination Streaky Bay. We were actually lucky enough to get some warm weather which made visiting the beach favourable. However, unfortunately there was a fatal shark attack last week just a couple of kilometres up the road from where we were camping, so neither of us were brave enough to get in the water! We actually saw on Google Maps that there is a point of interest not far from Streaky Bay titled "Great White Shark Breeding Ground" so we have also found that to be a bit of a swimming deterrent! Thankfully there is plenty to see on dry land so we have still been able to get some fun exploring done. 

Our plan for now is to continue heading south to see what else the Eyre Peninsula has to offer.

Kodak Moments

We finally found some gold! - Kalgoorlie

The top of the bell tower is covered in 9ct gold! - Kalgoorlie

Mandatory tourist shot when crossing the Nullarbor

We have made it back to SA!

What is more Aussie than a kangaroo holding some vegemite? - Border Village

Will got to have his birthday cake and eat it too! - Great Australian Bight

Some more photos of the cliffs - Great Australian Bight

More mandatory tourist shots - Nullarbor Roadhouse

We have seen more "big things" this week crossing the Nullarbor than in the previous month! - Scotdesco

This is Australia's largest windmill. When in operation it is capable of pumping a million litres of water a day! - Penong

If you can't tell by my face I had a lot of fun on this swing! The swinging action pumps water. - Penong

We added another pink lake to our trip tally. This one was unique a unique experience as one side of the road is the lake and the other side is the ocean. - Lake MacDonnell

Just a structural engineer checking the integrity of a bridge...not sure if he does the hand actions on site when a structure passes inspection though? - Tractor Beach

We have spent lots of time exploring all the rockpools that litter the beaches along the Eyre Peninsula. - The Granites

We paid a visit to a colony of sea lions. It was lots of fun watching them and there were also a lot of babies which were very cute! - Point Labatt

We checked out some more interesting granite rock formations, which were mistaken from a distance as being piles of hay, hence their name - Murphy's Haystacks

A mandatory tourist shot when on the Eyre Peninsula. - Woolshed Cave