Leaving Albany we were pretty sure that this was the last place to stock up on food, water and petrol until we reached the other side of the Nullabor… and in many ways were right. Esperance was a ghost town at the weekend, so fortunately we already had 30 litres of water, enough food to last a family of six several weeks… and a jerrycan in the back of the Saab!
Each tone of green represents the milage we travelled each day, over the three day period, in Nullabor: Part 2!
We took a pause after a couple of hours, to top up on caffeine and let the car cool off a little in the shade!After our prescribed 416km we turned off the route 1 onto a dirt road that took us to the coast.
The dirt road was around 10km long and dead straight until it terminated at the shoreline. It took us just over 5 minutes to reach the shore… and the dust cloud we left in out trail was immense!
Gravel, the tarmac of the outback!The shoreline complemented the overnight stop perfectly!Beach-combing for treasure……we didn’t find treasure, but we did find pools of fresh sea salt!…and some sun heated rock pools. Nice for a paddle.The Dune Runner.We followed the beach round to the next bay. The shadows began to lengthen.Untouched sand!We returned to the car to rustle up some grub. Prep started with carrot waving. Essential.
This was the first night sleeping in the car, minimal trial and error was required, the Saab accommodated our reclined needs well. We folded down the rear seats so we had a suitably long flat surface to kip on, and shifted our belongings into the front while we slept. The self inflating mat and sleeping bag combo worked a treat!
Ready for another day on the road we departed the coastal camping spot.Captain H. took the helm. I took on a navigation role, ‘stay on this road for 360km’.We arrived just outside Esperance, this is Pink Lake… when its not pink!Turns out the conditions have to be just right, perhaps it was too cool!
Deciding that it was unlikely that the lake was going to change pink, regardless of how hard we believed that it might, we headed into Esperance.
Esperance at noon.
Most of the town was celebrating the weekly hiatus know in some circles as the ‘weekend’, so little was open, but the beach was… so we headed there!
Esperance’s sandy beach, home to many a wave.
After a quick stroll along the beach we took a trip along the ‘Great Ocean Drive‘ 40km of roadway that looped back around to the pink lake. We checked if it was pink yet, it was not.
Great views along the Great Ocean Drive!A rocky formation between the land and the sea!
We still had a long drive ahead of us, so we hit the road once more; Up to Norseman and on to Fraser Range (our stop for the evening).
Where did we park the car?The road stretched far into the distance, H. for scale.Passing through Norseman, this is when the Nullarbor starts getting real, goodbye civilisation!Finally, just as the sun was beginning to set, we reached our destination. Fraser Range.The kangaroo pen!
Fraser Range, predominantly a sheep farm, also catered for travellers passing through. Although mainly popular with RV’s, there was a small zone for unpowered campers like ourselves next to the kangaroo pen. It was an open kangaroo pen, more used as a destination to munch on grass.
The moon appeared bigger and brighter than usual as we settled down for the evening.
We set off bright and early, aiming to hit the boarder with South Australia by the end of the day!
Road trains frequented the Nullarbor, this is the average length of these colossal vehicles!Nearing the boarder we happened on this road sign!Quick stop to take a picture of the Saab……well in truth, a photograph of this sign. The road ahead was impressively long & straight!As always we were warned to keep an eye out for animals crossing the road. We now have a similarly themed tea towel!Every now and then a sign for a viewpoint intrigues us… we took this detour!We tucked the chequebook back into our bags…
Finally we reached the boarder village; a BP garage, a motel & a campsite!
This spot really felt like we were camping in the outback!The Saab parked up, and the chopping board hung out to dry!
Wonderful views and such long roads! London is how far away ! An interesting sign post which gives you a great perspective to the distance you’ve travelled.
The photos are stunning. ❤️
I’m glad to see that Harriet taking her stint at the wheel 👍🏼 Hopefully she will get a bit of driving experience too 👍🏼 ❤️ You are both doing so well 😍👍🏼❤️
ps did you spy any little roos?
Wonderful views and such long roads! London is how far away ! An interesting sign post which gives you a great perspective to the distance you’ve travelled.
The photos are stunning. ❤️
I’m glad to see that Harriet taking her stint at the wheel 👍🏼 Hopefully she will get a bit of driving experience too 👍🏼 ❤️ You are both doing so well 😍👍🏼❤️