What you have said about the Nullabor is true. Hardly an adventure these days, especially when you come to the Ninety Mile  Straight. .My first crossing of the Nullabor was as a 20year old young ' un in an old ford  with around 40 gallons of petrol stashed in the back. A bit of food, ( bread, beans and some canned fruit ) some water, plenty of beer and not the slightest idea of what lay ahead. Apart from 1 puncture and truelly  tough roads, my mate and I got from Kalgoorlie to Adelaide in 6 days. In 1993 ( 30 years later) I did the same road from east to west. Totally sealed , comfortable but totally devoid of any sense of adventure. Arghhhh, the good old days.  lol 

I wouldn't worry too much Beth.  I remember some-one asking on this Forum a few years ago now, how far was the distance between Fuel stops, across the Nullarbor.   I read the answer, and thought "Great, that's no problem.  I can fill up before the tank gets empty every time.'   My tank holds 70 ltrs. 

Unless I'm not remembering correctly, when I came by Bus across from Perth to Canberra in about 1983, I think there were only 2 or 3 Roadhouses across the Nullarbor.   Bit like Cape York.  When I lived up there, it was a big deal to get a couple of thousand Tourists up there in a year.  Now there's a Bloody great bridge over the Wenlock, and Tens of thousands go up, complete with Families.

I can't believe how much things have changed over the last 20 odd years.

Cheers,

Sheba.

As I said earlier, different strokes for different folks, you either hate the trip or enjoy it.  My wife and I enjoy it and do find it is away from the hustle and bustle of city life.   It is remote enought to warrant having a Flying Doctor airstrip on the highway for traffic or other emergencies and more than one person has had to pay for long and expensive tows to have their vehicles repaired at towns at either end of the highway, there is not a lot that can be done along the route for major repairs if you are unfortunate enough to need them.

I do agree John, it is hardly off the beaten track (unless you take the side bush tracks) and the main southern road route between east and west for road trains and tourist buses as well as RV's, cars etc.   I enjoyed your description of your trip though, you certainly spent a long time exploring the area.   For those crossing the Nullabor, always good to make sure you have a plentiful drinking water supply as John said, especially if venturing off the main route.

These days of course there is the challenge of the Nullabor Golf Links for those who enjoy Golf (I am not a golfer and don't travel the highway for that reason, but was amused at the Nullabor Roadhouse link where a couple told us of when they hit the ball they had to run to it quickly because the crows were swooping on the balls and flying off with them).  As the golf course is now becoming internationally known, I would imagine that eventually the facilities along the route would need to be upgraded to accomodate international tourism, so will probably get a lot busier.   Mind you some of the places along the way can certainly do with a facelift.  This is some info on the golf links some may find interesting;

 http://golfer.com.au/directory/nullarbor-links-the-worlds-longest-golf-course-kalgoorlie/108 

And then there is the legend of the Nullabor Nymph, Wombat claims to have seen her and has photo's to prove it, but I think he was drinking Wombat juice at the time.  See these links;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nullarbor_Nymph 

http://www.perthnow.com.au/true-story-of-nullarbor-nymph/story-e6frg4nl-1111113172831 

Apparently there has been more than one "Nymph" over the years to keep the legend (hoax) alive...... 

This link for the Nullabor would be handy for some too;

http://www.nullarbornet.com.au/ 

I never met the Nymph or that bloke you spoke about Glenda, but you do feel someone is watching you sometimes so who knows.....

Well done John. Yes its a big country & its forever changing, season to season it looks different & yes we have done that trip as well.

Another area of contrast in different seasons is the run up through Winton, Longreach & accross the Barkley.

We have done this one several times & have seen it in lush green with local flooding still in place, right through to golden yellow as the grasses fade away , to where it has been in full drought not a blade of grass all the way, just bare dirt.

Due to these types of conditions we get to see nature in many varied pattens, it gives many versions of the story making this country what it is.

Safe travells mate;

JC

Gday...

Thanks Vic - unfortunately, I am afraid I did not find "remoteness and spiritual feeling of the plains away from all the hussle and bussle of the more populated areas". In fact I found it the opposite ... Lots of traffic, camping areas well populated (both roadside damps and roadhouse sites), crowds of travellers simply buying stuff at the roadhouses each time we stopped. Perhaps my expectations had been raised by comments of others.

I took three weeks to go from Ceduna to Norseman - so I took my time to absorb the Eyre Hwy and as many of the side-trips I could find.

Better than being in Melbourne/Sydney/Brisbane/Perth or large country towns for sure - but certainly a bit hard to call it remote these days.

Cheers - John

Thank you so much for that wonderful account John.

I've often thought about going to WA but have been both freaked out and excited at the thought of crossing the Nullarbor. It would also mean going around the whole block, because it'd be silly not to. Maybe one day.

Have done the Indian-Pacific Nicholstone lots different from the road Nullarbor,a great trip..

So when do we get to see the pictures Wombat, suitably covered in strategic places of course, I am sure all GN's would love to see them   

Being a Wombat, you must take a long time to get over the Nullabor from WA when visiting your home town in NSW and see a lot more than we do.

Sorry for the hijack John (Rocky Lizard), have you had some experience writing ?  A very well written post

rockylizard wrote:

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Snip........the humour generated between certain incorrigible forumites always adds to the lives - if not the intelligence - of the rest of us  ....... 

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Very true John, and we all know the worst offender (lives in a hole!)  

PS:  Your writing ability shows, look forward to future such posts... 

Gday...

OI ..... that's me missus .... she sed no-one saw her ... geez....   

Cheers - John

Gday...

wommie .... oh wommie ..... that's what they all say when they meet a handsome, virile, furry, cuddly animal .......

at least that's what used to happen to me until I got OLD ! !   

Cheers - John