After playing his first two holes of golf at Kalgoorlie, WA, Chris and I headed across the Nullabor to Ceduna, a 2000 km road trip taking us five days. We expected a very long straight road with a lot of flat, barren nothing each side but we were pleasantly surprised to find this was not the case. Yes, there was a few boring bits but it was also quite hilly and green with places to stop and explore on the way. We had hoped to see a variety of wildlife but were disappointed to only come across one family of emus, a handful of sheep, a couple of rabbits, a few birds and some road kill, the only camel we saw was a stuffed one in a small museum along the way. (Oh, and lots of flies!!)
There are very few properties along the Nullabor, just enough to provide accommodation and fuel to the travellers and truckies, all with their own sense of humour and charm. We stayed at Fraser Range Station the first night, Eucla Roadhouse on the third, and free camped on the other nights. We checked out the old falling down telegraph station with it's rooms full of sand and visited the viewing points of the Great Australian Bite. Each evening we managed to share a social time with fellow travellers.
Chris completed the Nullabor Links, the longest golf course in the world, finishing with a great score of 23 over par (the guy at the visitor's centre who stamped Chris's card was most impressed as he hadn't seen one that good in a while) in Ceduna SA. I was even roped in on occasions to act as spotter, as trying to see where a ball lands was not always easy! You don't need to be a mad golfer to do this course, just MAD!! although I do have to admit, it did break up the journey. Now, $70 (+ $55) later, we've been there, done that, and bought the shirt!
On arriving in Ceduna we again had to stop at the quarantine station where we were checked for any fresh fruit and veg, to stop the spread of the fruitfly. We last did this when we were up North and went from NT to WA, all those months ago.
We hadn't realised that this is a busy tourist time of year for Ceduna and the Eyre Peninsula, with many people coming south to the area for the fishing and crabbing, mainly King George Whiting and Blue Swimmer crabs, along with the local oysters, all very good. We managed to get into the second park we tried and after having to move spots after the first night, we will stay four before heading towards Streaky Bay.
Ceduna is a small town with just enough businesses to cover the basic needs of locals and travellers but after the sparseness of the Nullabor, it looks positively cosmopolitan. So many buildings in the one place! With a local population of just over 2000.
There is a small port in Ceduna where salt and minerals among other things are shipped out of, but the main produce from the area is the seafood.
Now as we leave Ceduna, we plan on staying a night at a free camp at Haslam that has been recommended to us before reaching Streaky Bay.