Due to catastrophic fire conditions and damage to the road surface, the Eyre Highway, the main and ONLY road from South Australia to Western Australia has been closed to all traffic at the border.
Travellers are urged consider alternate travel plans - DO NOT ignore road closure signs.
Please follow all signage and remember; closed means closed. Stay alert when driving in smoke affected areas and watch for emergency personnel.
Greg 1 said
12:34 PM Jan 6, 2020
If you are thinking of going the Great Central instead that has been closed too due to rain.
Check with local police before setting out.
The Eyre Hwy could be closed for awhile if the reports we are getting here are anything to go by
Bicyclecamper said
09:21 PM Jan 7, 2020
It is about time the government (Fed), put ships up on offer to get supplies in and out of WA, as it wont be much longer before they run out of essentials, as the Northern coast road is shut due to flooding and the cyclone.
tracks said
07:39 AM Jan 8, 2020
Re the ships, There is only a handful of Australian flagged vessels these days, in the past our fleet was huge, foreign flagged with foreign crews now run supreme around our coast which means they cannot be commandeered in a emergency in which suitable Australian vessel could have been, forget the navy nothing big enough to carry bulk containers.
Only way for the government is to charter a foreign container vessel if one is available, that could take months and that's not going to happen.
For the north west there is no real suitable port to handle large container vessels, some years ago they tried running 2 small RoRo vessels between Fremantle, Dampier and Broome that came to a end due to not being financial, WA had State Ships in the 70's and 80's which ran a 2 or 3 vessels to service several northern ports of WA, which was very successful but could not compete with the growing truck industry, so there you have it our Government and that's both parties have let us down having their heads in the sand, she be right, well it's not right.
I think they should think about building another hwy inland from the Eyre which would bypass any fire prone areas and have connecting roads between, it's pie in the sky stuff but having one access road across this country is ridicules.
Tony Bev said
12:44 PM Jan 8, 2020
The latest I heard from the WA end, was that they were going to have a think, about reopening the Eyre Highway, in 48 hours time
This of course depends on, what the fire is doing, as at the moment it is unpredictable
I have not heard anything, to suggest that the trains have permanently stopped running, along the Nullarbor section of the track, so we should be OK for tucker
I also agree that as an Island Nation, we should have our own ships, regardless of the cost
Tony Bev said
01:12 AM Jan 10, 2020
Fire on the Eyre Highway has flared up again, and therefore the highway is still closed
The WA authorities, are not letting the public travel east from Norseman, or west from the SA/WA border
There will be another update, at 11 am tomorrow, (Friday 10 January) West Australia time
No one is taking a guess, as to when the highway will reopen
Tony Bev said
03:40 PM Jan 10, 2020
The Eyre Highway is open again, after 12 days of closure
Not sure what will happen in the near future
I have planned to travel across the Nullarbor in a few days time, (14/15 January, providing the Eyre Highway is open)
Not complaining about the road closure, as any inconvenience it may cause, is nothing compared to what has already happened, to those who have been caught in the fire zones
As the West Australian authorities have said
It is not the Emergency Service who have closed the roads, it is the fire which has closed the roads.
Or words to that effect
Iva Biggen said
08:18 AM Jan 11, 2020
From SAPOL this morning, 11/1/2020
The Eyre Highway and border between SA and WA have been reopened.
The highway was closed due to catastrophic fire conditions and damage to the road surface in Western Australia, with the traffic stopped at the border with South Australia.
Motorists are advised that the highway will be very busy over the next few days while that backlog of traffic clears and services along the highway, particularly near the border, will need time to restock. You may wish to delay travel to the area if possible.
Police will be paying attention to traffic along the highway and urge drivers to resist the temptation to "try to make up for lost time".
Drivers are encouraged to stop and take rest breaks every two hours.
Greg 1 said
02:08 PM Jan 11, 2020
WA police have put on extra patrols to make sure people are not doing something stupid. Be careful out there.
Tony Bev said
11:27 AM Jan 15, 2020
Just come across the Nullarbor, west to east, from the Esperance area to Norseman, and now at Penong SA
It is hard to believe that we had major fires on the Nullarbor About 30 kilometres west of Balladonia, there had been spot fires on one side of the road About 6 kilometres east Balladonia, there are 80 KPH speed signs, and you can see where the fire had jumped the road
There is a sign in the Balladonia servo saying, that due to the water restrictions, there is no water for sale, or words to that effect
At Mundrabilla servo, they have 10 litre container of water for $15
Wild animals were conspicuous, by their absence About 40 kilometres east of the South Australia/Western Australia border, I saw the first signs of live, animals I saw three camels, and two rabbits
Also there is less traffic, (in way of travellers), than in previous years, with most of the free camps, (with toilets), deserted.
tracks said
06:46 AM Jan 16, 2020
Thanks for the update Tony, next time I cross which will be in several weeks I be bypassing Mundrabilla $15 for 10ltrs water that's outright price gouging, last time I stop there for a break.
Interesting you saw camels I have a very good old mate who lives in Albany, he worked for the WA Ag dept helicopter aerial shooting camels many years ago, don't think they do it any more but he was saying they can breed very fast in the right conditions but seeing them that far south is unusual maybe the drought is having some sort of affect on there movements.
Was there any road damaged caused by the fires, I have been across in the middle of summer years ago and the roads had melted in some places.
Thanks Tony.
Les
PeterD said
07:54 PM Jan 16, 2020
tracks wrote:
Thanks for the update Tony, next time I cross which will be in several weeks I be bypassing Mundrabilla $15 for 10ltrs water that's outright price gouging, last time I stop there for a break. Les
Is that tap water or is it packaged water? If it is packaged water then I don't think the price is too bad when you consider the supermarket prices. Here are some from Coles web site.
-- Edited by PeterD on Thursday 16th of January 2020 07:59:29 PM
TheHeaths said
08:46 PM Jan 16, 2020
The $15 for spring water in the cask is comparable to prices elsewhere in remoter areas.
We prefer to use it, as it saves getting used to different water around the country. We generally carry 3 casks as we go, and accept the cost as part of the travel.
Bearing in mind the remoteness of Mundrabilla, and the fact that most of us travellers would not want to live there, or places like it, I think it is unfair to call it price gouging to have things available in these locations.
tracks said
02:23 PM Jan 17, 2020
Righto I was under the impression it was de-sal water, not bottled, having never bought bottled water and never will, I didn't even know it comes in 10ltr containers, if it turns out to be de-sal make your own mind up as it's very cheap to produce compared to this plastic bottled water.
Cheers
Tony Bev said
03:23 PM Feb 6, 2020
tracks wrote:
Thanks for the update Tony, next time I cross which will be in several weeks I be bypassing Mundrabilla $15 for 10ltrs water that's outright price gouging, last time I stop there for a break. Interesting you saw camels I have a very good old mate who lives in Albany, he worked for the WA Ag dept helicopter aerial shooting camels many years ago, don't think they do it any more but he was saying they can breed very fast in the right conditions but seeing them that far south is unusual maybe the drought is having some sort of affect on there movements.
Was there any road damaged caused by the fires, I have been across in the middle of summer years ago and the roads had melted in some places.
Thanks Tony.
Les
Sorry for the delay, Les
I seem to have Internet connection drop outs, when travelling
There was some (not a lot) of road damage, as it looked as though they had been filling pothole type damage, on the section of 80 KPH
Tony Bev said
03:26 PM Feb 6, 2020
TheHeaths wrote:
The $15 for spring water in the cask is comparable to prices elsewhere in remoter areas.
We prefer to use it, as it saves getting used to different water around the country. We generally carry 3 casks as we go, and accept the cost as part of the travel.
Bearing in mind the remoteness of Mundrabilla, and the fact that most of us travellers would not want to live there, or places like it, I think it is unfair to call it price gouging to have things available in these locations.
Going from memory, Ian
I did not notice any stickers on the 10 litre containers, (such as "Spring Water etc")
But on the other hand, I was in a bit of a hurry, and only went inside to pay for fuel
Greg 1 said
10:00 AM Feb 7, 2020
Water is normally in very short supply at any of the roadhouses across the Nullabor and it's why you should carry sufficient for your needs and not expect to get any between Norseman and Ceduna.
I have seen roadhouses shut their accommodation down due to the lack of water so don't get a suprise at the cost of it out there. It's worth it's weight in gold.
By by passing Mundrabilla you will be doing yourself a disservice as Mundrabilla along with Eucla has normally the cheapest fuel on the trip across, usually up to 10 cents or better per litre.
I usually top up at both these stations so I don't have to put as much in at the real rip off merchants like Border Village or Nullabor Roadhouse.
tracks said
08:53 AM Feb 17, 2020
Thanks Tony re road damage, I've had to postpone my trip across till April so roads should be ok by then, thanks again.
From a FB Post by SAPOL 7.30 pm 5/1/2020
Due to catastrophic fire conditions and damage to the road surface, the Eyre Highway, the main and ONLY road from South Australia to Western Australia has been closed to all traffic at the border.
Travellers are urged consider alternate travel plans - DO NOT ignore road closure signs.
Please follow all signage and remember; closed means closed. Stay alert when driving in smoke affected areas and watch for emergency personnel.
Only way for the government is to charter a foreign container vessel if one is available, that could take months and that's not going to happen.
For the north west there is no real suitable port to handle large container vessels, some years ago they tried running 2 small RoRo vessels between Fremantle, Dampier and Broome that came to a end due to not being financial, WA had State Ships in the 70's and 80's which ran a 2 or 3 vessels to service several northern ports of WA, which was very successful but could not compete with the growing truck industry, so there you have it our Government and that's both parties have let us down having their heads in the sand, she be right, well it's not right.
I think they should think about building another hwy inland from the Eyre which would bypass any fire prone areas and have connecting roads between, it's pie in the sky stuff but having one access road across this country is ridicules.
This of course depends on, what the fire is doing, as at the moment it is unpredictable
I have not heard anything, to suggest that the trains have permanently stopped running, along the Nullarbor section of the track, so we should be OK for tucker
I also agree that as an Island Nation, we should have our own ships, regardless of the cost
The WA authorities, are not letting the public travel east from Norseman, or west from the SA/WA border
There will be another update, at 11 am tomorrow, (Friday 10 January) West Australia time
No one is taking a guess, as to when the highway will reopen
Not sure what will happen in the near future
I have planned to travel across the Nullarbor in a few days time, (14/15 January, providing the Eyre Highway is open)
Not complaining about the road closure, as any inconvenience it may cause, is nothing compared to what has already happened, to those who have been caught in the fire zones
As the West Australian authorities have said
It is not the Emergency Service who have closed the roads, it is the fire which has closed the roads.
Or words to that effect
The Eyre Highway and border between SA and WA have been reopened.
The highway was closed due to catastrophic fire conditions and damage to the road surface in Western Australia, with the traffic stopped at the border with South Australia.
Motorists are advised that the highway will be very busy over the next few days while that backlog of traffic clears and services along the highway, particularly near the border, will need time to restock. You may wish to delay travel to the area if possible.
Police will be paying attention to traffic along the highway and urge drivers to resist the temptation to "try to make up for lost time".
Drivers are encouraged to stop and take rest breaks every two hours.
Just come across the Nullarbor, west to east, from the Esperance area to Norseman, and now at Penong SA
It is hard to believe that we had major fires on the Nullarbor
About 30 kilometres west of Balladonia, there had been spot fires on one side of the road
About 6 kilometres east Balladonia, there are 80 KPH speed signs, and you can see where the fire had jumped the road
There is a sign in the Balladonia servo saying, that due to the water restrictions, there is no water for sale, or words to that effect
At Mundrabilla servo, they have 10 litre container of water for $15
Wild animals were conspicuous, by their absence
About 40 kilometres east of the South Australia/Western Australia border, I saw the first signs of live, animals
I saw three camels, and two rabbits
Also there is less traffic, (in way of travellers), than in previous years, with most of the free camps, (with toilets), deserted.
Interesting you saw camels I have a very good old mate who lives in Albany, he worked for the WA Ag dept helicopter aerial shooting camels many years ago, don't think they do it any more but he was saying they can breed very fast in the right conditions but seeing them that far south is unusual maybe the drought is having some sort of affect on there movements.
Was there any road damaged caused by the fires, I have been across in the middle of summer years ago and the roads had melted in some places.
Thanks Tony.
Les
Is that tap water or is it packaged water? If it is packaged water then I don't think the price is too bad when you consider the supermarket prices. Here are some from Coles web site.
Pureau Ultra Pure Water - $8.55 - 10L, $0.86 per 1L
Mount Franklin Pure Spring Water 500mL - $8.00 - 6 pack, $1.33 per 1L
Pureau Ultra Pure Water - $4.15 - 5L $1.03 per 1L
-- Edited by PeterD on Thursday 16th of January 2020 07:59:29 PM
We prefer to use it, as it saves getting used to different water around the country. We generally carry 3 casks as we go, and accept the cost as part of the travel.
Bearing in mind the remoteness of Mundrabilla, and the fact that most of us travellers would not want to live there, or places like it, I think it is unfair to call it price gouging to have things available in these locations.
Sorry for the delay, Les
I seem to have Internet connection drop outs, when travelling
There was some (not a lot) of road damage, as it looked as though they had been filling pothole type damage, on the section of 80 KPH
Going from memory, Ian
I did not notice any stickers on the 10 litre containers, (such as "Spring Water etc")
But on the other hand, I was in a bit of a hurry, and only went inside to pay for fuel
Thanks Tony re road damage, I've had to postpone my trip across till April so roads should be ok by then, thanks again.