Thanks Peter,
I've just learnt something (of the blow holes) - have seen several of them in various states of blow/suction. The best "blow" I've seen is the one near the gate into Maralinga where there was enough cool wind blowing out to blow your hat off! We had permission from Yalata to go there (Pat worked there prior to our marriage).
Most of the radio techs based at Ceduna have pictures from inside the Webubbie Cave - can't say we had permission, though. The water was the clearest I've seen & the depth was deceptive, not that anyone "went in". It was COLD! We had to do regular bearer testing between Eucla & Kongwirra (as well as Kongwirra & Port Pirie on the other side) & then go looking for any faults as a follow up.
We never had permission to explore some of the other caves & blowholes either! As long as it was done outside working hours & no-one had any accidents, all "was ok".
Cyril was always hard to leave after we refuelled - he was a good yarn spinner! Of course we had the option of refuelling at Eucla or Nullarbor but it was almost a law to drop in if we were out that way to support & see Cyril! Fixing their phone in early 1973 was an experience (corroded batteries) with goats wandering through the house. It was made of sleepers.
One of the Gurney "boys" (a bit younger than me) now runs the Whale watching site at Head of Bight. There are quite a few Gurneys at Ceduna & Coorabie - near the Fowlers Bay turnoff.
I see you mentioned Goog's Track - have been up it in a 1980 Subaru with three passengers as far as Mt Finke (south of Tarcoola) after which we had the shiniest Subaru exhaust system in Ceduna! The Far West 4WD Club had their 21st reunion a few years ago at Goog's Lake a few years ago (I won the Op Shop clothes prize for the best dressed)!
Tonight there is a show on SBS - Crossing the Nullarbor via the Indian Pacific train - finishes at 10.40pm.
Peter_n_Margaret said
11:19 PM Jan 6, 2019
For those wanting a better look at the Nullarbor, try crossing it from South to North. :)
Drive north from Nullarbor roadhouse via Knowles Cave to Cook on the railway line. No problems for anyone to do that, even with most vans (we were towing a boat).
From there you can continue north (with a permit) to Vokes Hill Corner, or return to the Highway via a wide graded road.
And as far as swimming in the caves goes, here is a 1954 pic of some brave souls....
From memory, the water was about 15C. Too cold for me.
Cheers,
Peter
-- Edited by Peter_n_Margaret on Sunday 6th of January 2019 11:25:36 PM
Another point regarding communications, 3G/4G Tesltra network is still the best and widest coverage service.
Look for a phone with the BLUE TICK country phone identification as they perform better, longer distance from the towers.
Add an antenna and car kit phone holder, a glass mounted antenna is good ensuring that the antenna is above the vehicle rooftop height. Some mount them on a bullbar or nudge bar but that, even with a longer antenna, tends to reduce reception from and to following vehicles and mobile towers behind.
All travellers in remote areas should have a UHF radio to receive and send messages, the truck drivers really appreciate it when a driver communicates and invites them to overtake when ready and then back off when they overtake, that is when the truck is on the right hand side, not while still behind your vehicle. Radio also receives Police messages, and if your vehicle has broken down and there is no mobile phone coverage you can ask a passing vehicle for help.
I have received police warnings about accidents on the road ahead and other hazards, including a couple of families of indigenous people trying to get vehicles to stop north of Coober Pedy.
Cant call the Nulla reomote travel, even at night there would be a vehicle going past every 1/2 hr. Don't disagree with your other statements but don't confuse the Nulla with remote
cheers
blaze
"Feel the wide open space of Australia's vast Outback beneath your wheels on one of the world's greatest adventure drives, across the vast, semi-arid Nullarbor Plain. The Nullarbor stretches across the southern edge of Australia between the goldfields of Western Australia and the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. You can connect to this journey from Adelaide or Perth and drive west to east or east to west along the Eyre Highway. While this is a sealed road, it goes through remote areas and the trip requires thorough preparation. You should carry extra petrol and plenty of water and food. You'll need a 4WD vehicle to venture off the highway. Nullarbor means "no trees" in Latin but in reality the Nullarbor is covered with bluebush and mulga scrub, and even wildflowers after rain. You'll see plenty of wildlife, including wild camels, kangaroos and emus (be careful at dusk), meet eccentric Outback characters and even discover space junk that fell to earth. Go whale watching on a clifftop lookout, visit vast cattle stations, and play the world's longest golf course an unbelievable 1365 kilometres (848 miles) long, with a hole at each town or roadhouse along the way."
rockylizard said
03:09 PM Jan 7, 2019
Knight wrote:
"Feel the wide open space of Australia's vast Outback beneath your wheels on one of the world's greatest adventure drives, (yes, for those doing their first time crossing from Ceduna to Norseman or vice versa, it can be an adventure) across the vast, semi-arid Nullarbor Plain. (The actual Nullarbor Plain stretches for about 180Km of the 1,200Km drive from Ceduna to Norseman) The Nullarbor stretches across the southern edge of Australia between the goldfields of Western Australia and the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. (Now that is a fair bit of journalistic licence there ) You can connect to this journey from Adelaide or Perth and drive west to east or east to west along the Eyre Highway. While this is a sealed road, (an excellent, wide well maintained road) it goes through remote areas and the trip requires thorough preparation. You should carry extra petrol and plenty of water and food. (No more "thorough preparation" than any other drive - e.g. Pt Augusta through The Alice to Darwin and places north) You'll need a 4WD vehicle to venture off the highway. Nullarbor means "no trees" in Latin but in reality the Nullarbor is covered with bluebush and mulga scrub, and even wildflowers after rain. You'll see plenty of wildlife, including wild camels, kangaroos and emus (be careful at dusk), meet eccentric Outback characters and even discover space junk that fell to earth. Go whale watching on a clifftop lookout, visit vast cattle stations, and play the world's longest golf course an unbelievable 1365 kilometres (848 miles) long, with a hole at each town or roadhouse along the way." (Definitely follow this advice and take as long as it takes - could take a traveller three weeks to see all the sights there are to see. There are dozens of great spots off the highway to set up camp for the night particularly on the WA side)
Gday...
Crossing the Nullarbor is definitely an adventure for the first timer - and well worth doing the trip.
Doing it slowly the first time and taking the time to see as many of the sights along the way - meaning to venture a little north and/or south of the Eyre Hwy is well worthwhile and rewarding.
The comments above, and by others, that there is the need to be "thoroughly prepared" is good advice for travelling anywhere away from the large/larger towns throughout Straya. She's a pretty big place is Straya.
Any normal, standard vehicle in good nick and driven to the conditions will have absolutely no trouble with the journey from Ceduna to Norseman.
OH - and the weather is a varied situation ... the 7-day forecast for Eucla is indicative of the weather one would encounter at the moment on a drive across.
Cheers - stay well, enjoy the journey rather than the destination - John
-- Edited by rockylizard on Monday 7th of January 2019 03:14:46 PM
I've just learnt something (of the blow holes) - have seen several of them in various states of blow/suction. The best "blow" I've seen is the one near the gate into Maralinga where there was enough cool wind blowing out to blow your hat off! We had permission from Yalata to go there (Pat worked there prior to our marriage).
Most of the radio techs based at Ceduna have pictures from inside the Webubbie Cave - can't say we had permission, though. The water was the clearest I've seen & the depth was deceptive, not that anyone "went in". It was COLD! We had to do regular bearer testing between Eucla & Kongwirra (as well as Kongwirra & Port Pirie on the other side) & then go looking for any faults as a follow up.
We never had permission to explore some of the other caves & blowholes either! As long as it was done outside working hours & no-one had any accidents, all "was ok".
Cyril was always hard to leave after we refuelled - he was a good yarn spinner! Of course we had the option of refuelling at Eucla or Nullarbor but it was almost a law to drop in if we were out that way to support & see Cyril! Fixing their phone in early 1973 was an experience (corroded batteries) with goats wandering through the house. It was made of sleepers.
One of the Gurney "boys" (a bit younger than me) now runs the Whale watching site at Head of Bight. There are quite a few Gurneys at Ceduna & Coorabie - near the Fowlers Bay turnoff.
I see you mentioned Goog's Track - have been up it in a 1980 Subaru with three passengers as far as Mt Finke (south of Tarcoola) after which we had the shiniest Subaru exhaust system in Ceduna! The Far West 4WD Club had their 21st reunion a few years ago at Goog's Lake a few years ago (I won the Op Shop clothes prize for the best dressed)!
Tonight there is a show on SBS - Crossing the Nullarbor via the Indian Pacific train - finishes at 10.40pm.
For those wanting a better look at the Nullarbor, try crossing it from South to North. :)
Drive north from Nullarbor roadhouse via Knowles Cave to Cook on the railway line. No problems for anyone to do that, even with most vans (we were towing a boat).
From there you can continue north (with a permit) to Vokes Hill Corner, or return to the Highway via a wide graded road.
And as far as swimming in the caves goes, here is a 1954 pic of some brave souls....
From memory, the water was about 15C. Too cold for me.
Cheers,
Peter
-- Edited by Peter_n_Margaret on Sunday 6th of January 2019 11:25:36 PM
"Feel the wide open space of Australia's vast Outback beneath your wheels on one of the world's greatest adventure drives, across the vast, semi-arid Nullarbor Plain. The Nullarbor stretches across the southern edge of Australia between the goldfields of Western Australia and the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. You can connect to this journey from Adelaide or Perth and drive west to east or east to west along the Eyre Highway. While this is a sealed road, it goes through remote areas and the trip requires thorough preparation. You should carry extra petrol and plenty of water and food. You'll need a 4WD vehicle to venture off the highway. Nullarbor means "no trees" in Latin but in reality the Nullarbor is covered with bluebush and mulga scrub, and even wildflowers after rain. You'll see plenty of wildlife, including wild camels, kangaroos and emus (be careful at dusk), meet eccentric Outback characters and even discover space junk that fell to earth. Go whale watching on a clifftop lookout, visit vast cattle stations, and play the world's longest golf course an unbelievable 1365 kilometres (848 miles) long, with a hole at each town or roadhouse along the way."
Gday...
Crossing the Nullarbor is definitely an adventure for the first timer - and well worth doing the trip.
Doing it slowly the first time and taking the time to see as many of the sights along the way - meaning to venture a little north and/or south of the Eyre Hwy is well worthwhile and rewarding.
The comments above, and by others, that there is the need to be "thoroughly prepared" is good advice for travelling anywhere away from the large/larger towns throughout Straya. She's a pretty big place is Straya.
Any normal, standard vehicle in good nick and driven to the conditions will have absolutely no trouble with the journey from Ceduna to Norseman.
OH - and the weather is a varied situation ... the 7-day forecast for Eucla is indicative of the weather one would encounter at the moment on a drive across.
Cheers - stay well, enjoy the journey rather than the destination - John
-- Edited by rockylizard on Monday 7th of January 2019 03:14:46 PM