What’s it like travelling across the Nullabor Plain
What’s it like travelling across the Nullabor Plain

What’s it like travelling across the Nullabor Plain

I’ve just travelled across the Nullabor Plain. It was a fabulous journey. I’d love to tell you what you need to know to travel across the Nullabor Plain, but I think the more important question is where is it.

I’ve just crossed the Nullabor/Eyre Highway, from Ceduna to Norseman. Wikipedia will tell you that this is the Nullabor Plain, but there is a sign east of the Nullabor Roadhouse stating it’s the eastern edge of the treeless plain, and another before the Bunda Cliffs camping area stating it’s the western edge. Both signs are in South Australia.

This would mean that the actual Nullabor (ie treeless) Plain is not very long at all, so as to it’s actual location – your guess is as good as mine.

I can tell you, however, that the whole stretch from Ceduna to Norseman is not treeless. The scenery changes constantly. In fact, as you get close to Norseman you enter magnificent red gum forests. “Nullabor” that definitely isn’t.

Whatever you want to call it, it is a fabulous road trip. Beaches, cliffs, wide open outback plains, caves, red gum forests, and some fabulous roadhouses (more on those in a later post).

I camped at 2 roadhouses, 1 clifftop area, 2 beaches (for 2 days each), and 2 roadside areas. So all up, it took me 9 days to get from Ceduna to Norseman. Around 1,200k, plus whatever I did off the highway.

So what are my thoughts/observations on the Nullabor/Eyre Highway

  • There are a lot of trucks. And I mean a lot. Not just trucks – road trains
  • In places it felt to me like a lonely road. I don’t know why. There are a lot of people travelling, and they’re very friendly. Most people wave as they pass by on the road. Roadhouses aren’t very far apart so you’re never far from anywhere. But they are just roadhouses, not actual towns. I often felt like I was driving on a side track
  • Side tracks to places of interest aren’t very well signposted. Perhaps that’s deliberate
  • Don’t count on having fresh fruit and vegetables in Western Australia. The quarantine inspection station is at the border and you can’t bring anything in to WA from SA. There is nowhere to buy more fresh food until you get to Norseman, which was 4 days for me. By the time I got to Norseman I would have killed for a lettuce. I felt like I did when I got to the Birdsville Track after a week in the Simpson. I thought I was going to get scurvy. Heading east is fine. The inspection station isn’t until Ceduna, and you can get fresh produce immediately the other side.
  • There are a lot of roadside rest areas where you can free camp, but most don’t have any facilities (ie toilets). Either be self sufficient or check to make sure those places you want to camp at do have toilets. Wikicamps, Camps Australia Wide, or other camping apps are excellent sources of information.
  • I did not see one live animal the whole way across. There were signs of them, such as poo, tracks and the very occasional roadkill. And there were warning signs about dingos at the Nullabor Roadhouse, but I did not see a single one. Not even a feral.
  • If you take your time you will meet lots of people who are also travelling the highway. And you’ll probably run into some of them again and again. It’s great!