Well we made it! We left Port Augusta in good time and drove 5 hours via Poochera (home of some prehistoric rare ant) to arrive in the 40 degree heat of Ceduna and a much needed swim in the warmest water we have been in to date. On the way back we recognised a campervan belonging to an old school friend of Jo’s, Bruce Levick, parked right across from our own caravan. Great to catch up with Bruce and look at his amazing photos and get a copy of his children’s book, Drop Bear Roy, for Holly’s birthday!
Another long drive to the Western Australian border town of Eucla saw us passing the dog fence on the way. This fence is the longest continuous vermin fence in the world running 5614km from Queensland to South Australia. We passed through the famous flat and treeless Nullarbor Plain covering 200,000sqkm and took in the views from the cliffs of The Great Australian Bight. Tom played a hole on the longest Golf course in the world which also starts in Port Augusta and finishes in Kalgoolie! Before we arrived at WA we drove the famous 90 miles straight, Australia’s longest straight road which seemed to go on for ever! At the WA border we had a quarantine inspection before setting up for the night at Eucla.Holly’s birthday was spent driving from Eucla to Balladonia stopping at Midura in the middle of nowhere for pink birthday cake with candles as well as balloons and party hats! We stopped at Cocklebiddy for lunch before arriving at Balladonia 6 hours later for more cake and Strawberry Jelly. Holly had a great day and had some great presents including the Muppets Treasure Island on DVD, clothes and books.
The last leg of the big crossing saw us arrive back in civilisation and to beautiful Esperance via Norseman for a lunch stop. We stayed across the road from the beach where Sammy the sealion still frequents 18 years after Tom last saw him! The girls loved seeing him each day whilst scooting along the foreshore.
We have visited so many beautiful beaches all with white sand and clear blue waters and our first day was spent exploring Twilight Cove where we all enjoyed the cool water and the girls played in the surf and went for a long walk through the limestone rocks collecting fossils and shells!Next day we visited Cape Le Grande National Park which boasts Australia’s whitest beach at Lucky Bay. The water was so clear and the sand squeaked under foot. Other bays we visited included Hellfire Bay (just as the temperature reached 40 degrees) and Thistle Cove. We stopped at Le Grande Beach near Frenchman’s peak before heading back to Twilight Cove where the temperature topped 45 degrees, we have never enjoyed cool water so much! At Twilight Cove we were all pulled out of the water as a 7ft shark was spotted in the bay! A great few days in Esperance after crossing the Nullarbor and now onto Albany and south west corner of WA!
24.02.12
Another long drive to the Western Australian border town of Eucla saw us passing the dog fence on the way. This fence is the longest continuous vermin fence in the world running 5614km from Queensland to South Australia. We passed through the famous flat and treeless Nullarbor Plain covering 200,000sqkm and took in the views from the cliffs of The Great Australian Bight. Tom played a hole on the longest Golf course in the world which also starts in Port Augusta and finishes in Kalgoolie! Before we arrived at WA we drove the famous 90 miles straight, Australia’s longest straight road which seemed to go on for ever! At the WA border we had a quarantine inspection before setting up for the night at Eucla.
We have visited so many beautiful beaches all with white sand and clear blue waters and our first day was spent exploring Twilight Cove where we all enjoyed the cool water and the girls played in the surf and went for a long walk through the limestone rocks collecting fossils and shells!
