Across the Nullarbor: Part 1

Leaving the hustle and bustle of Perth behind, we hit the road to embark on our big adventure: driving from Perth to Melbourne!

Bye civilisation!

It’s no small task, as all the locals who heard our plans would tell us. “You got a good car? It’s a long ‘ol walk out there!” “Pffft good luck with that!” “Don’t drive at night and watch out for the ‘roos” Although the general consensus was positive with a few regaling us with tales of their own travels, or expressing their wish to do the same. This filled us with more confidence, plus we had Syd the Saab on our team!

Our first stop was about 3.5 hours south of Perth, not wanting to push too hard on the first day we decided on a general area we’d stop and by chance, found a beautiful B&B to rest up for the night.

Welcomed by beautiful gardens, a friendly dog and lovely owners.

We arrived to the quaint and historic Dingup House in the evening, it was off the beaten track and down a gravel road, we weren’t sure what to expect (the reviews seemed too good to be true!) but we were certainly not disappointed!

One of the living spaces, the fire was on in the evening

The house was lovely, cosy and inviting. Phil and Chris were the perfect hosts: friendly and helpful, they gave us suggestions for where to get some dinner (food is never far from my mind) and helped us do all the important checks to be done on a car before a long journey. (Syd got a good bill of health)

The garden
The veranda

In the morning we were also provided with one of the best breakfasts we’ve had in some time, James went for fresh eggs and I had this delicious bowl of goodness!

Granola, fruit, yoghurt and so so much goodness
On track once more

Reluctant to say goodbye but keen to keep going on our journey we said goodbye and hit the road once more.Β Β 

Look at her – taking gravel like a pro!

Our goal for today was to make it down to Albany where we would be staying for a couple of nights to make sure we were properly charged before we hit the Nullarbor.

Not having any real rush to get there however we took a leisurely pace and stopped a few times to take in the surroundings.

One such stop had sign posts off the road promising an excellent photo opportunity. So we busted a quick u-ie, with tyres screeching, perfectly choreographed fireballs and an excellent guitar riff we pulled up at the photo opportunity.

A corten sculpture surrounded by forest. Worth it.
The forests of South West, Western Australia are really something to behold.

After being back on the road for a little while, surrounded by forest, another picnic stop provided an even better surprise.

Can’t see the woods for the trees
A little boardwalk off the picnic area, what could it be?
It seems the view is a “dramatic take the glasses off” situation
A quick peak through the trees shows the perfectly framed coast.

Having been driving through forest for so long it was quite a surprise to see just how close to the coast line we were.

After another hour or so of driving we had made it to the outskirts of Albany, with only one more obstacle in between us and the city.

These trains are reeaaallly long

Once the train that must have been going for a Guinness World Record had passed we were free to enter the city and check in to our hotel.

After settling in we still had a couple of hours of sunlight and so decided to go for a quick explore of the local area.

We decided not to go down the track to nowhere
We stuck to the roads

We pulled up at a local beach and took the short walk through the trees to the waters edge.

Lookin’ reeal natural there with your little handbag Hatti
Golden Hour is a beautiful thing not to be underestimated!
A view of the nearby island

Another little road off from the beach carpark took us up to a viewing point over the area and we’re glad we took the little detour up here too!

Upon witnessing the tyre tracks on the beach, James wanted to take Syd for a spin
4WD ONLY means not for Syd!

Convinced the car was better off where she was we satisfied ourselves with just taking in the view.

Mutton Bird Island
Sometimes we’re able to be in a photo at the same time!

Ready to turn in for the night after a full day’s journey we went back to the hotel and relaxed for the evening.

The next day we wanted to explore more of Albany itself and so we took a walk into town and along the main street.

The motel and everybody’s favourite car
I’d quite like to know how Drive In Groceries work? Do they let you drive the car round the store? Or do they just throw your groceries at you through the window?
The main street in all its quaintness
Umm…not sure keys are the only thing that’s cut here… at least you get the free show of watching batteries being fitted!

We had spotted a small tall ship on our way into the city the day before and wanted to get a closer look, so with minimum detours and “whoops I think it’s that way” we managed to find where it was on display.

The Brig Amity

It turns out this ship is a replica of the ship which brought the very first white settlers to Albany.

Replica Ropes ‘n’ Rigging

Our curiosity for the ship now fulfilled we continued our walk along the waterfront, taking the large pedestrian bridge over the busy road, it also provided us with some lovely views of the waterfront.

The bridge
The view – with bonus lamp posts
Another view
Back towards the town. While to some, cellphone towers are an eyesore. They’ve become a welcome view to whilst us on our travels.

Upon some light research, it seemed that one of the best things to do in the area was visiting the local wind farm. Having never been to one myself we thought we’d give it a go. The short drive out to the wind farm and our open minds were so worth it. It became one of our highlights of our time in Albany and hopefully the photos will show why.

We parked up the car and followed a path towards the cliff
The noise the blades made as they swished through the air was both distinctive and soothing.
We were also treated to bonus views of the ocean
A boardwalk (built by local prisoners!) took us round some of the closest turbines
Engineering can be amazing

The walkway enabled visitors to get up close with the wind turbines. It was astounding getting to see just how big they really are! 100m tall at their highest point, it’s easy to see how I was dwarfed by the behemoth in renewable energy.

Hatti for size comparison

The path wound its way up the hill and to higher viewing points where we could look back across towards the city, or further out to sea.

Most of the photos we take nowadays are really just photos of the car
Albany in the distance
James can be contacted through www.models.com.au.gov.co.uk

While we were exploring more of the local area we decided to stop in at a few more recommended spots before heading back.

Some spots were slightly off the beaten (or sealed) track and may or may not have been the correct or popular spot at all.

Our old frenemy, the gravel road

We arrived at a place known as The Gap, which was not the popular clothing retailer, but instead a geological formation on the coast of Australia.

We followed the small dune path round the hill and were faced with more views of the coast.

Dunes

We had to admit at this point that it might not have been the same part of The Gap that had been so recommended to us, and may have actually been a far less trafficked, but still beautiful viewing point along the coast.

The Not Gap

We counted this as a blessing however, as when we had left the wind farm, a bus full of tourists were also making their way round and we thought The Gap may have been their next stop. Luckily for us, Google got confused and our destination, was nobody’s next stop!

For our final stop before heading back for the evening, we managed to find our intended place. Frenchman’s Beach is across the bay from Albany and is a comparatively quiet and peaceful spot.

Fisherman on the rocks
Golden Hour again

The protected bay and white sandy beach was straight out of a travel guide and we were thoroughly enjoying it.

Forest right up to the beach
Sand so white it could be snow
It’s also a great spot for watching whales at the right time of year. We were there at the wrong time of year.

Thoroughly beached out we decided to head back to our motel to rest up and enjoy indoor living for our final evening until after we had crossed the Nullarbor. Our adventure would only continue from here.

Hatti x

2 Responses to “Across the Nullarbor: Part 1”

  1. What a fascinating place Albany looks ❀️ More wonderful photos, thank you. Keep them coming πŸ‘πŸΌπŸ˜ƒ

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.