If you are thinking of going the Great Central instead that has been closed too due to rain. Check with local police before setting out. The Eyre Hwy could be closed for awhile if the reports we are getting here are anything to go by

Re the ships, There is only a handful of Australian flagged vessels these days, in the past our fleet was huge, foreign flagged with foreign crews now run supreme around our coast which means they cannot be commandeered in a emergency in which suitable Australian vessel could have been, forget the navy nothing big enough to carry bulk containers.
Only way for the government is to charter a foreign container vessel if one is available, that could take months and that's not going to happen.

For the north west there is no real suitable port to handle large container vessels, some years ago they tried running 2 small RoRo vessels between Fremantle, Dampier and Broome that came to a end due to not being financial, WA had State Ships in the 70's and 80's which ran a 2 or 3 vessels to service several northern ports of WA, which was very successful but could not compete with the growing truck industry, so there you have it our Government and that's both parties have let us down having their heads in the sand, she be right, well it's not right.

I think they should think about building another hwy inland from the Eyre which would bypass any fire prone areas and have connecting roads between, it's pie in the sky stuff but having one access road across this country is ridicules.

Fire on the Eyre Highway has flared up again, and therefore the highway is still closed

The WA authorities, are not letting the public travel east from Norseman, or west from the SA/WA border

There will be another update, at 11 am tomorrow, (Friday 10 January) West Australia time

No one is taking a guess, as to when the highway will reopen

From SAPOL this morning, 11/1/2020

The Eyre Highway and border between SA and WA have been reopened.

The highway was closed due to catastrophic fire conditions and damage to the road surface in Western Australia, with the traffic stopped at the border with South Australia.

Motorists are advised that the highway will be very busy over the next few days while that backlog of traffic clears and services along the highway, particularly near the border, will need time to restock. You may wish to delay travel to the area if possible.

Police will be paying attention to traffic along the highway and urge drivers to resist the temptation to "try to make up for lost time".

Drivers are encouraged to stop and take rest breaks every two hours.

Just come across the Nullarbor, west to east, from the Esperance area to Norseman, and now at Penong SA

It is hard to believe that we had major fires on the Nullarbor
About 30 kilometres west of Balladonia, there had been spot fires on one side of the road
About 6 kilometres east Balladonia, there are 80 KPH speed signs, and you can see where the fire had jumped the road

There is a sign in the Balladonia servo saying, that due to the water restrictions, there is no water for sale, or words to that effect

At Mundrabilla servo, they have 10 litre container of water for $15

Wild animals were conspicuous, by their absence
About 40 kilometres east of the South Australia/Western Australia border, I saw the first signs of live, animals
I saw three camels, and two rabbits

Also there is less traffic, (in way of travellers), than in previous years, with most of the free camps, (with toilets), deserted.

tracks wrote:

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Thanks for the update Tony, next time I cross which will be in several weeks I be bypassing Mundrabilla $15 for 10ltrs water that's outright price gouging, last time I stop there for a break.
Les

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 Is that tap water or is it packaged water? If it is packaged water then I don't think the price is too bad when you consider the supermarket prices. Here are some from Coles web site.

Pureau Ultra Pure Water  - $8.55 - 10L, $0.86 per 1L

Mount Franklin Pure Spring Water 500mL -  $8.00 - 6 pack, $1.33 per 1L

Pureau Ultra Pure Water - $4.15 - 5L $1.03 per 1L

     

-- Edited by PeterD on Thursday 16th of January 2020 07:59:29 PM

Righto I was under the impression it was de-sal water, not bottled, having never bought bottled water and never will, I didn't even know it comes in 10ltr containers, if it turns out to be de-sal make your own mind up as it's very cheap to produce compared to this plastic bottled water. Cheers

TheHeaths wrote:

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The $15 for spring water in the cask is comparable to prices elsewhere in remoter areas.

We prefer to use it, as it saves getting used to different water around the country. We generally carry 3 casks as we go, and accept the cost as part of the travel.

Bearing in mind the remoteness of Mundrabilla, and the fact that most of us travellers would not want to live there, or places like it, I think it is unfair to call it price gouging to have things available in these locations.

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 Going from memory, Ian

I did not notice any stickers on the 10 litre containers, (such as "Spring Water etc")

But on the other hand, I was in a bit of a hurry, and only went inside to pay for fuel