ON TO PENONG

 After the atrocious windy conditions at Eucla on Sunday night, it changed direction and on Tuesday assisted us as we made our way to the South Australian border, lost an hour+half there, and headed for the Nullarbor Roadhouse. Now we were on the REAL Nullarbor Plain. Null = none; arbor = trees. But vegetation there was, which had been washed clean by a minuscule amount of rain making it look hydrated and healthy. Some wildflowers even made an appearance.

Bacon and egg toasted sandwiches at the Roadhouse was great value … unlike the price of diesel which was $2 per litre! I usually refuse to complain about prices; I know the situations they work with. But why one roadhouse can charge $1.67, another $1.90, and Nullarbor $2 … is beyond my reckoning.

Then to Head of Bight to see the whales. There were ten mothers and calves cavorting in the swell in the sheltered bay. They were so close to the spectacular Bunda Cliffs and we didn’t have to get in a boat to see them! My attempts to photograph them were pathetic; both the camera and me being too slow for the good action shots. But, we can see them there in the water.

Eventually we emerged off the sandstone plain which is the Nullarbor. Back into the mulga and salt-bush for a while, before emerging into the agricultural cropping country at Nundroo. How long since we’d seen open paddocks growing a crop? AND here was the Dingo Proof Fence … the other end of it! We constantly travel through the Queensland end of this fence, opening and closing the gates, when we visit the Care Outreach personnel out from Miles. It’s one of the longest fences in the world, 5614 kms of it.

But what really amazed us that, at times, we were travelling a few metres below sea level – according to our G.P.S.

Next day at Ceduna, a great tradesman came to the Caravan Park at Shelley Beach … and re-attached the cover which had blown off the air-con on the roof back at Eucla. Now we really feel ready to face the still long roads into Port Augusta, then Coober Pedy.