Exit Stage Right

Tuesday 24th October to Saturday 30th October 2023

After three months in the state of Western Australia it is time to leave and make our way east. From Kalgoorlie there’s generally two routes to travel east (excluding tracks such as the Anne Beadell Hwy), namely a northern route via the Great Central Road to Uluru, which we used coming west, or the southern route via the Nullabor. As we had an appointment at the eastern end of the Nullabor, that was the route we had to take.

By the time we broke camp in Kalgoorie, filled with water and did some grocery shopping it was mid-morning. We travelled south to Norseman where we stopped and had a look around town. We were there in 2020 during COVID so didn’t have a good look then. From Norsemen we headed due east. 80 km east of Norseman we stopped for lunch at the Ten Mile Rocks rest area and decided to call it a day, having travelled only 280 km from Kalgoorlie, but an easterly wind was getting up so best to get off the road.

The winds were forecast to ease on the following day, but become a very strong easterly the day after. So we made a dash across the Nullabor, covering 640 km after leaving the rest area, skipping a planned overnight stop, and stopping at the Old Telegraph Station near Eucla for two nights to sit out the windy day. We’re so glad we did as the wind howled all the following day and night. We had to keep the van windows closed. Unfortunately I had left one front window cracked open in Henrietta. Oh the mess inside, which took nearly an hour to mop up the worst of it!!

The wind didn’t ease until about 10:00am on our day of departure from the telegraph station, giving me time to do the clean up, and giving us more favourable head winds to continue east, crossing into SA just east of Eucla. We had ended up a few days ahead of time and tried to move our appointment forward, but to no avail. So we booked a camp in the Fowlers Bay Conservation Area on the coast for a few nights, but didn’t have time to reach it in one day  so stopped at a very exposed free camp at the eastern end of the Nullabor. a relatively short 170 km the next day had us at the Mexican Hat campground about lunchtime. A lovely location until we realised the extent of the bee population, which kept us inside the van, rather than sitting outside, as we couldn’t relax with the little critters constantly around, despite us having placed a water source for them about 10m away. We did manage to do a few beach walks however, and evening drinks with neighbours, well away from the vans. A few bees found us but it was manageable, just.

Our camp at Ten Mile Rocks east of Norseman. We realised we stayed there in 2020 whilst escaping WA before their lockdown. We setup well off the highway in a nice quiet location, with views to the Fraser Range, and some interesting vegetation, especially the gold growing on the tree trunks!
100 km after leaving Ten Mile Rocks we reach the start of the 90 Mile (146.6 km) Straight. This was Henrietta’s first crossing of the Nullabor, and she did 640 km that day to reach our camp at the Old Telegraph Station near Eucla. The only remaining building (shown) is actually not the telegraph station, but the WA Postmaster’s residence (c 1890). It has been partly consumed by the sand dunes. Henrietta was also partly consumed by the sand dunes, having left a window partly opened during gale force winds.

Over the sand dunes from the ruins is the remains of the Eucla jetty, now occupied by a variety of sea birds. The birds had difficulty landing on the jetty in the strong winds.

(Clockwise from top left) A few km east of Eucla is the WA/SA border at the Border Village, with its giant Vegemite kangaroo. From here, the Eyre Highway follows the coastline very closely, offering opportunities to view the Bunda Cliffs that soar over the Great Australian Bite. We were able to camp in several locations along the cliffs in 2020, but access to those sites is now forbidden, either for safety or cultural reasons. As the highway tracked inland we stopped overnight at the Whitewell free camp, which really highlights the “treeless plain”, the eastern end of which we reached after a few km the following morning.
(clockwise from top left) On our way to the Mexican Hat campground in the Fowlers Bay Conservation Area we passed through the tiny town of Coorabie and the Wookata School site (1919-1939); despite the campsite being deemed unsuitable for caravans we found a suitable site; then took a walk along the windy beach; from which we spotted a large alligator in the headland; red at night – shepherds delight….does that mean a sunny day tomorrow?
The following day was gorgeous, so we could enjoy a beach and headland walk beside crystal clear water, free of bees which preferred hanging around Blake.
During our beach walks we disturbed a pair of oyster catchers who must have had a nest in the dunes. They made quite a ruckus as they tried to scare us away. Several pieces of colourful jellyfish littered parts of the beach.
Within a secluded and protected bay at the base of limestone cliffs, a number (6 adults and 3 pups) of Australian fur seals were sunning themselves on the beach.
Our eastbound route (lime green) from Kalgoorlie to Fowlers Bay

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