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!

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.

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!

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)

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!

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

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.

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

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.

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

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!

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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