I was eager to get on to the Eyre
Highway to experience the Nullarbor Plains. Ghastly stories of this area I have
come to know from the Internet and people who had more hearsay information than
firsthand knowledge. The Nullarbor, so known because of the vast expanse of
drab terrain that has no trees – Nullus and Bor, is supposed to be foreboding.
Along with the Eyre Highway, many sites on the Internet cite this as one of the
most dangerous roads in the world. The Eyre Highway runs from Port Augusta to
Norseman, a distance of over 1660 km and named after the intrepid explorer who
crossed these vast plains to chart them. The Nullarbor Plains has varying
geographical reaches. Some define it as concurrent to the Eyre Highway, some
others from Ceduna to Norseman and still some others from Ceduna to Balladonia.
The landscape from Port Augusta to Ceduna was also pretty much the same as that
to the Border Village today – drab with uninteresting shrubs, though green.
Satellite images, if to be relied upon, give more credence to the last of the
three geographical boundaries for the Nullarbor Plains, which is a large,
desert-like limestone patch of unfertile flat, and in some parts, undulating
land.
I was warned about non-availability of
fuel, water, ration and communication. A friend mentioned how he had equipped
his parents with a Satellite phone prior to a drive on some parts of the Eyre
Highway and the Outbacks. Ranjana told me in Melbourne how they had a fabulous
offer of a Campervan from Perth to Melbourne at AUD 1 a day and that they
finally didn’t take the offer wondering what would happen if they ran out of
fuel, as they also had a small child with them. Worries were expressed about
the possibility of a vehicle breakdown and how dangerous that could be on
lonely roads. The possibility of Kangaroos, Emus and such other animals causing
damage to the car and self were other causes of concern. Last, but not the
least, is the problem with Road Trains that bully smaller vehicles on the two
way road.
I waited with intense anticipation, as
I recapped all the above, for the day to break. As soon as I saw the bushfire
like lighting up of the sky I thought it was time to set off. The combination
of colors in the sky was stunning. All through the drive up to the Border
Roadhouse the landscape was indeed very drab, but was green for the most part
with shrubs and small trees. The road was as straight as a ruler in many
places, except for the undulations. And the surfacing was superb almost all
along the way. There were a few ‘rough patches’, but not a single pothole or
dangerous shoulder. As has been the feature of roads in Australia thus far,
there are parking places at frequent intervals for drivers to relax and there
are small ‘roadhouses’ for fuel, provisions and toilet. En route to the Border
Village there were such facilities at Penong, Coorabie and Yalata. Therefore,
there are really no worries about being out of fuel on this stretch or being
without food and ration. Moreover, save a very short stretch, I was connected
on the Telstra network right through. I did encounter road trains, long
vehicles and oversize vehicles during the day, but almost all of them were in
the opposite direction! One feature of all these vehicles is that they are in
extremely good condition and more or less match the section speed, which
invariably was 110 kph.
Almost halfway to the Border Village
is a 12 km detour to The Head of Bight lookout. This is the place where the Southern
right whales come every season between May and September to breed and calve.
They seek out the warmer climates suitable for calving and hence, the migration
from Antarctica. During off-season a reduced entrance fee is charged – AUD 7
for an adult. At the ticket complex there is a lot of information about the whales
and their peculiar migratory behavior. One is also strictly warned to enjoy the
environs from within the confines of the two walkways. One is a boardwalk and
the other is a lookout. The cliffs, for the most part, are dunes that have been
pushed up over thousands of years due to wave action. The sheer magnificence of
the Head of Bight is worth many hours of stay and contemplation, just to enjoy
the magic of Nature that she provides free of cost. Since I had a destination
to the day I had to, after a short stay, get back on to the Eyre Highway for
the rest of the journey to Border Village.
The Border Village Roadhouse is a
facility, fairly large, bang on the Southern Australian border. Besides a large
section allotted for ration and supplies the roadhouse has a large bar and
restaurant, both of which are awfully busy. Truckers come in for their fill and
the portions served in the restaurant suit their requirement. Toilets and showers
have been made available just for the truckers. The complex has a large area
with Camping facilities, cottages and accommodation of various other types. I
had asked for backpacker accommodation with shared toilet and shower. After
paying the charges for accommodation I was given the key to cabin 48. This
small sized cabin had a double bed and two single beds besides a TV, heater and AC.
Since I was not sharing the room with anyone I was okay with the space. What
got my goat was the toilet complex, which was 50 feet away from my cabin. At
the entrance to the toilet was a warning; that door must be kept closed at all
times as snakes have been sighted! I almost booted from the place. The door
also had photos and description of a couple of them for more effect, I
presumed. The toilets were neat and clean, though. Then came another shocker –
I could avail of a shower after activating it with AUD 2 coin, which would
luxuriate me for 10 minutes! I was indeed very cheesed off.
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