travelling the Nullarbor next week / any tip on the crossing

Kim and Glenys · Newbie

travelling the Nullarbor next week / any tip on the crossing

hako · Guru

Our best most spectacular night was spent at the 52K peg parking bay which is 52km east of Eucla in SA. I think it's 808 in Camps 6. We parked right on the edge of the 100ft cliffs for a beautiful slightly windy night about 20ft from the edge. In the morning we went for a walk and discovered that where we parked was undercut meaning the ocean was directly below us.

After we parked there at about 2pm a few other vans turned up but after they looked over the edge they than backed off and parked about 100ft inland so we had the place to ourselves really.

Only tip I can give apart from "do it" is to fill your tank before it gets low and don't worry about the cost.

Good Luck.

Kim and Glenys · Newbie

That sounds great. thanks.
As for the cost of fuel we won't be worried. Had the wife push the van and car once to save fuel, don't think i have recovered full from the pain she inflicted. LOL
Did you do any driving at night?

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Welcome to the gang Kim and Glenys, enjoy here and out in the playground.

Kim and Glenys · Newbie

Thanks for the welcome Doug .
this is our first time accross the Nullarbor so we are looking for all the tip we can get.
we both love bush camping along with caravan parks.
We are travelling with a very small dog so need to plan our stop at dog friendly spots.
Have all the books etc on dog friendly spots although he is only 2.5 kg ringing wet.
got to do the right thing

Bill B · Guru

hako wrote:

Our best most spectacular night was spent at the 52K peg parking bay which is 52km east of Eucla in SA. I think it's 808 in Camps 6. We parked right on the edge of the 100ft cliffs for a beautiful slightly windy night about 20ft from the edge.

Think you will find that these areas are now fenced off so you can't (unless you climb the fence and ignore the signs) get too close to the cliff edges.
Very spectacular views though.

KFT · Guru

I would advise that you don't drive after about an hour before sundown.

The risk of colliding with wildlife is too great.

remember there animals like cows, camels, horses, roos, emu's all out there wandering around.

very expensive if your car is disabled out these, in many ways

frank

RodLainie · Senior Member

We only drove around 3hr max a day,pull in early and find a good spot,get out the chainsaw, cut wood, dig hole and start the fire.we did not find a bad area,and loved it all.Its what you make of it all,and once you get the fire going friends will turn up out of the dark and join in
Take care
Rod

Bruce and Bev · Guru

don't know if youre going from SA or WA end, but you will find the WA rest areas are like 5 star hotels compared to those in SA and on this road. If heading east, your SA rest stops are on the right (the cliff edges and the turnoffs from the road are very sharp - so be careful you don't get another vehicle hit you from behind and many have nasty drop offs from the tar seal onto the metal tracks. There is no shelter from the wind at all - so if it is windy, don't stop side on to it if sleeping over - you might have a very rough night!
There is a great caravan park (CP is a word here you will get used to) at Echla on the WA side. Good food, good CP, hot showers ($1 for 3 mins), great swimming pool if its hot that day and fuel.
Most of the WA rest areas (as opposed to those regarded as short stop area, have good tracks leading well back off the road so you wont have the 24/7 truck noise.

We came from the WA side about 8 weeks ago and found it to be a little boring after a while, especially once we crossed the border as there is only low tundra to look at. We didn't try to make a right turn into an SA rest area of viewing area as there was too much traffic and we were concerned about getting a shunt in the rear as we would have had to slow down to about 15kmh to be able to turn into the very sharp rest areas track entrances (a common problem in SA).
When we go back to WA we will turn into these SA viewing areas

If you look at the top of your Forum screen, in the blue strip in the middle is the word "search". This subject has been discussed at length many times and if you enter some key words like "Nullaboor" or Eyre HW" you should gets lots of interesting info - some people love the drive and spend 1-2 weeks doing it.

However you go, have a great trip and a warm welcome to you both) We all look forward to you helping us and us assisting you in the future

frangipani · Guru

Visit the Nullabor Roadhouse, they have $1 hot showers that last a long time, pressure is really good, loved it., I free parked just outside the caravan park, and waited for all the roadtrains to come in, it was great..., they were everywhere.

rockylizard · Guru

Gday...

If you take your time and absorb the drive, it is quite a rewarding experience. However, you can do it in three days or so - and just drive and see the edges.

This website could be useful - http://www.nullarbornet.com.au/

I have also attached a rambling narrative of my last trip across. You may find that of some interest as well.

As someone else mentioned fuel - cost is pretty high, but there's no other places to buy it. I filled up at each roadhouse and figured that just might 'spread/average' the cost rather than a big fill at any of them.

Cheers - John

kiwijims · Guru

When you are getting near to the Nullarbor Roadhouse, keep a sharp lookout for the huge Wombats that inhabit many large holes around the local area, Ugliest thing the Missis has ever seen, wouldn't like to clobber one of them in a car, they would do as much damage as hitting a Roo.

Have a good trip folks, take your time, there's a lot to see, but watch those low flying Truckers, they really whistle along, you may be unlucky enough to see them in convoy, just give them plenty of room and you'll be O.K.

K.J.

hako · Guru

Bill B wrote:
hako wrote:

Our best most spectacular night was spent at the 52K peg parking bay which is 52km east of Eucla in SA. I think it's 808 in Camps 6. We parked right on the edge of the 100ft cliffs for a beautiful slightly windy night about 20ft from the edge.

Think you will find that these areas are now fenced off so you can't (unless you climb the fence and ignore the signs) get too close to the cliff edges.
Very spectacular views though.

It was only 7 months ago so I don't think they'd have done that, also there is over 100km of cliffs and it would cost a fortune to fence it all off unless they just fenced off the carpark. Just use commonsense - a bit of adventure makes life worth living.

Regards

spida · Guru

Take your time, lots of camps, some toilets a bit hohum but then road houses have loos. Please dont go into them and complain about the price of petrol/coffee/food etc! Just be thankful they are providing a service in the middle of no-where and need generators etc to do so.
Dont forget to go in to Head of Bight - very clean camp spot at the gates, and excellent facilities when they open at 8.30 am. Worth the boardwalk trip too.
I agree about filling up often and dont worry about the price.
I have done the trip 3 times and love the isolation - and still want to see a big mob of camels!

villatranquilla · Guru

if you have the time a side trip (overnight stay?) to Koonalda station is worth the 16 k trip in- was a fuel stop on the old Eyre Hwy - do a google search but think its about 80k's east of Eucla on the right travelling west. Not sign posted so need to use the k's on the speedo or GPS

-- Edited by villatranquilla on Friday 1st of May 2015 12:22:15 PM

Ondabeach · Senior Member

I got excited when I saw the camel signs when I came west to east last month... unfortunately, apart from birds, the only wildlife I saw was 6 rabbits.

Can't really add to the good advice above, except to be aware that the Yalata roadhouse has closed down, so don't plan on getting fuel there.

Delta18 · Guru

Bruce and Bev wrote:

We didn't try to make a right turn into an SA rest area of viewing area as there was too much traffic and we were concerned about getting a shunt in the rear as we would have had to slow down to about 15kmh to be able to turn into the very sharp rest areas track entrances (a common problem in SA).
When we go back to WA we will turn into these SA viewing areas

One wonders how you manage to safely make a Right Turn at any country intersection or even in the suburbs?

Felicia · Guru

Went across the Nullabor last April and back in May. Were going to stay at Nundroo Roadhouse on the way back but after seeing it changed our minds instead went to Coorabie Farm Accommodation which was a turn off on the right hand side going to Fowler's Bay not far away from the roadhouse. It was an all weather graveled road. It cost $20 a night but we decided to stay 2 nights and explore Fowler's Bay and surrounding area so we paid our $40 but second night the hosts decided we might need food, so they cooked us a roast lamb dinner, with dessert for nothing. Great people. If coming from east don't take the first turn off to Fowler's Bay. It is in Camps 8.

Lynda

Dunmowin · Guru

villatranquilla wrote:
if you have the time a side trip (overnight stay?) to Koonalda station is worth the 16 k trip in- was a fuel stop on the old Eyre Hwy - do a google search but think its about 80k's east of Eucla on the right travelling west. Not sign posted so need to use the k's on the speedo or GPS

-- Edited by villatranquilla on Friday 1st of May 2015 12:22:15 PM

While I would highly recommend this site, Kim and Glenys indicate they are travelling with a dog, this site is in the Nullarbor National Park.

Dunmowin · Guru

rockylizard wrote:
Gday...
If you take your time and absorb the drive, it is quite a rewarding experience. However, you can do it in three days or so - and just drive and see the edges.
This website could be useful - http://www.nullarbornet.com.au/
I have also attached a rambling narrative of my last trip across. You may find that of some interest as well.
As someone else mentioned fuel - cost is pretty high, but there's no other places to buy it. I filled up at each roadhouse and figured that just might 'spread/average' the cost rather than a big fill at any of them.
Cheers - John

Agree here with everything RL has to say here. The web site has valuable information. ditto for spreading the cost of the fuel. We just topped up everywhere we saw it available. (Yatala was closed when we crossed)

Oh, year, take your time. Plenty to see

-- Edited by Dunmowin on Friday 1st of May 2015 07:02:49 PM