The morning had arrived when we would finally tackle one of Australia's most famous stretches of road. The Eyre Highway extends from Norseman in WA to Port Augusta in SA. The Nullarbor, as it is commonly called for the NP and plains that the road travels through, is an iconic road trip for all Australians and our group were all taking the drive for the first time. Saying goodbye to Greg and Kate again in Kalgoorlie we were all loaded up and keen for the drive ahead. With a group consisting of farmers, fitters, builders and engineers and six kids from 3 to 8, as well as the most important and reliable members of the group, mothers!, we were a pretty wacky crew any way you looked at us. If the chatter and jokes on the UHF for the first few miles was anything to go by it was going to be an amusing couple of days for all!

Topping up in Norseman and giving the kids their last stretch before we headed east we were all glad to have the wind blowing in our favour for the first leg of our crossing. With fuel water and food being the most important of things on long drives we were all keen to make the most of them. The huge variance in fuel prices were once again on show as we crossed the Nullarbor. With Luke using LPG/petrol and towing a fairly similar weight to us it was interesting to compare the two different consumption rates. As a quick summary it roughly worked out at a very similar overall cost as the price of the LPG made up for the loss in efficiency. On the other hand Kev and Carol have a very new BT-50 Ute with a much lighter van and his fuel usage was almost always nearly half of our own. Similarly Phil and Jo were driving a very new Territory using unleaded fuel and towing a very light van. This combo also gave them very good fuel economy, something along the lines of Kev and Carol.

Driving style also play a huge part and when Phil mentioned that his fuel economy was the best he had had travelling in convoy with us I was not sure if he was serious or just having a go at us for driving slow!? Our cruising speed of around the 90km/h mark, seemed to be pretty comfortable for all of us, and helps to keep fuel usage at a bearable level. With so many different types and styles of vans and cars on the market the choices are limitless! After looking at many of these through this year we are sure there is no single best combo, but with the price of fuel only going one way at the moment it is a very important consideration when setting up for an extended road trip where fuel is by far one of your biggest expenses.

By travelling a couple of bigger days we had planned to cover the distance to Ceduna with two overnight stays on the road. After getting onto the 90 Mile straight late on our first day we were still driving the long and mostly very monotonous road when we had all had enough and found an area to pull up in. Finding these places using our Camps Australia books was made very easy, well mostly!? Carol turned out to be our most reliable navigator with her radio instructions broadcast clearly to us all, even if she was also busy keeping Kev awake the rest of the time. Luke and I resigned ourselves to the fact that our offsiders were best off wearing their books as hats as trying to read them!?

After we had pulled our vans into a very rough looking camp we were enjoying a beer when a cyclist we had passed also pulled up for her overnight stay. Looking pretty ragged we soon offered her a beer and started a bit of a yarn. Now not meeting many of these cyclist, just usually swearing under our breath at them for being crazy enough to ride out here on a bike and generally turning up just as you also meet a road train or a single lane bridge!, we were not sure what to expect. Turns out Kate is an Irish born architect, who while working in China conjured up the idea to cycle across every continent in the world. Striking up some very interesting conversation it did not take long for us to invite her to our camp to join us for dinner. With plenty of us in our group we had a fairly elaborate little BBQ going and she was pretty keen to dodge the ration pack meals for a night. With a few beers and a long drive we all headed for bed pretty early that night. In the morning, after packing up, we all gathered for our Team Nullarbor photo and this time it also included Kate the Irish biker. After wishing her well on her way we all hit the road again as well. If anybody is interested is seeing some fantastic photography of the world by bike go to https://cyclingcuriosity.blogspot.com and check out how Kate is travelling.

Phil had been given the lead that morning and had set us on a course to a Nullarbor blowhole. Now there are a few of these along the highway and are supposedly linked to the ocean via a cave network. Upon reaching the very poorly signed area and finding an equally poor example of a blowhole the conversation for the next few miles was all about Phil's "blowhole"!? Continuing on our way the often seemingly boring countryside would reveal the odd remarkable site. The clouds of green and yellow Budgies were an impressive spectacle. While sometimes finding their way into the path of the odd motor vehicle they are a wonderful bird to see in such large groups in the wild. We even managed to catch a couple of half stunned ones to show the kids while we were fuelling up that day.

Crossing into SA at Border Village also provided us with another photo opportunity that we could not resist. Shortly after we were all out again, several times, to take in the incredible views of the Great Australian Bight Marine Park as the highway follows the coast closely for a about a 100km's east of there. With a bit of cloud around and the sun shining in fits and starts our photos could have been better but it is a spectacular piece of our country at any time. Pushing onto the Nullarbor Motel and Roadhouse for a late arvo fuel stop our chosen camp area was only a few miles ahead of us. It had been one of our longest days on the road all year and setting up late we once again were all tucked up in bed early.

Our third day on the Nullarbor started off with a group discussion on the quarantine requirements when we reached Ceduna. Upon crossing west to east into SA you are not inspected until Ceduna and alternatively you are inspected west to east at the WA border crossing in Border Village. We had all been pretty careful to not overstock and after consulting the net and the brochure, we were sure we would be alright. In Penong the crushed look on Kev and Luke's faces as they dumped some of their prized WA honey's in the bin was enough to make you feel sorry for them. However the look on their faces when the inspector did not even bother getting into their van for a look and waved us all through after a quick chat and a bit of a joke was nothing but cruel! We all in OZ respect the fact that introduced species of weeds, grasses and animals have had huge impacts on our country but are we really making any sort of difference by pulling up caravans and travellers on some state borders to merely say "g'day" on the off chance that they are smuggling fruit fly laden fruit in June or have a boot full of black market cane toads! Looks and appears to me to be nothing more than a waste of our money when it could be spent on much more worthy causes along the same lines with probably just as much success.

The increase in traffic, after the vast distances covered in the last few days, with only a handful of cars seen every couple of hours, made Ceduna seem like Parramatta Road! Ceduna was a chance for all of us to stock up at the local IGA and get ready for our tour of SA's Eyre Peninsula. While the girls went shopping Phil, Luke and I took the kids along the beach front for a bit of a run around. These areas are well appreciated after having kids locked up in cars for long periods of time. Any small playground is put to good use by travelling kids and our small group of six were ready to run. They had all mixed in well together and had travelled without conflict for a couple of long days already. Given the choice between shopping with the girls or escorting the kids through town Kev had chosen the safe option and headed to the shops!

Arriving back at the cars we found that the girls had spotted the Storm Trooper!? For anyone wondering the story of this lads travels from Perth to Sydney on foot pushing a small cart and dressed as a Storm Trooper from Star Wars to raise money for the starlight foundation has been all over the news and papers for a while now. Having seen him on Sunrise we had all been keeping an eye out for him. The kids were all a bit unsure at the start but bailing him up at the info centre we were able to have a yarn, get a quick photo and add a small amount to his collection before he had to hit the road again. As a quick note to his story we saw him again on the side of the road just west of Port Augusta and we hear he is still on the road as we speak, or write, or read whichever you prefer!??

Now after a short stop in Ceduna for our fuel and supplies our plan was to continue on. This was also the plan for Luke and Megan and Carol and Kev. Phil and Jo had made plans to have a look around town a bit and so it was here in Ceduna that our Team Nullarbor was to lose its first team members. After a few good-byes we set off south along the coast with a few small fishing spots on our map that we all were keen to check out. Smokey Bay was to be our first stop and finally reaching the ocean again, the lure of SA's most famous table fish the King George Whiting was driving us on! It was especially strong in Kev and with a longer fishing background than the rest of us (not saying your old or anything though Kev!?) you could tell he was glad to be back on the coast.

After free camping across the Nullarbor we were all keen to stay self sufficient for a while with a few good looking spots ahead of us that were mere dots on the map. We were not just out to save a few bucks, we were all enjoying the freedom and the seemingly more relaxed atmosphere of these free or "low cost" camp spots. With this thought in mind and visions of fresh seafood in our heads, our enthusiasm was back up to ten!