Day 5: The Nullarbor Plain
Neither of us had a good night's sleep, with noisy fellow campers chatting around a fire on the beach until late and our neighbour loading up his 4WD and boat at 3:00 AM and returning three hours later to gut his catch and feed the screeching gulls and pelicans.
And then my sleep-deprived son and I had a falling out over a small hole I found in the floor of the expensive tent he'd loaned me.
We drove in stony silence into town, where we had breakfast on the deck of a cafe offering spirit-lifting views of the jetty and bay. I felt like tossing my son the van keys and telling him I was staying in Streaky Bay!
Cafe breakfast view at Streaky Bay (click for larger image)
Instead, while my son dozed, I drove us to Smoky Bay for a brief, soothing stop to paddle my feet on the beach before carrying on to Ceduna, where a crossroads sign listing the distances to Sydney and Perth confirmed we'd travelled over halfway.
We found a well-stocked camping store in Ceduna, and I bought myself a $30 tent, rejecting my son's assurance that I could still use his tent. "Thanks," I said, "but I don't want to risk any more inadvertent accidents or mornings like today on this trip."
Our next stop was for fuel in Penong. A large sign in front of a general store warned, "Last Shop for 1000 km" — a dubious assertion, as it's only 420 kilometres from Penong to Eucla, with several roadhouses in between. But I still bought two ice creams (just in case!), which we ate while visiting Penong's other claim to fame, "Australia's Biggest Windmill", in a quaint outdoor museum.
Australia's Biggest Windmill at Penong (click for larger image)
I drove again, listening to Harry Potter, narrated by Stephen Fry, on my headphones (a series I recommend for long journeys), letting my son rest. The Eyre Highway is well maintained and makes for good driving, but I had to contend with gusty crosswinds, passing road trains (including 4-stage trailers!), and an oncoming 4WD overtaking a truck.
Between Yalata and the evocatively named Nullarbor Roadhouse, I pulled off the highway to take one of my favourite dad-and-son photos of the road trip in front of the signpost marking the eastern end of the treeless Nullarbor Plain — the cover photo for this blog post. It was a pinch-me moment I know I'll treasure forever.
My son took over driving to the site he'd chosen for our overnight camp, Gilgerabbie Hut (Google Maps), on a deserted shepherd's outstation, 10 kilometres west of the Nullarbor roadhouse and 10 kilometres south of the Eyre Highway, down a corrugated gravel road.
Despite a strong wind from the Great Australian Bight, which forced me to set up my new tent in the lee of the stone hut and the van, it was quiet at Gigerabbie — very quiet! The big sky views across the flat, treeless plains were amazing and inspired me to stream the 1986 song by The Triffids, Wide Open Road, on repeat while I cooked dinner.
After dinner, I took another of my favourite dad-and-son photos of our silhouettes sitting in camp chairs as the sun set behind us, enjoying a drink together (friends again!).
Sunset silhouettes at Gilgerabbie Hut (click for larger image)
