Off to buggerup. Oops Ongerup

[EmeraldSue]

We left the farm and headed towards Ceduna. It was spotting rain, and the winds were very strong. The van is top heavy and was quite battered by the winds. I didn't enjoy that part at all as I have been in a rollover accident before and never want to experience that again!
We passed paddocks of wheat and barley with the occasional canola and lupin.
We stopped by the side of the road for a break and DH noticed a spiny lizard sunning itself.

[EmeraldSue]

The rain cleared as we got closer to Ceduna. We had a lovely lunch at the pub on the foreshore at Ceduna. The radio told us that the temp was 27C, but as we stepped out of the van, we were blown over by strong winds. We had to race back to the van to get jumpers.


As we headed towards the nullarbour, we came to a signpost that showed us how far we had come....and how far we had to go

[EmeraldSue]

As we drove West from Ceduna, the crops got drier and drier, and eventually gave wAy to scrub. There were signs on the highway to be wary of wombats and kangaroos.


We saw lots of dead wombats and some kangaroos on the road. We were conscious not to drive after dusk, and pulled up at the Nullabor roadhouse/caravan park.

As we drove towards the Nullabor, we noticed that the trees started to disappear, and the landscape changed from Mallee scub, to very low scrub. 

We passed the entrance to the Head of the Bight whale watching platform just after it closed for the night.
We pulled into the caravan park and it looked like a dusty car park. We chose a spot back from the road, a long way from the toilet block and spent our first night in the van.

[judydawn]

Loving this trip and your photos, have never done it and am never likely to ES - thanks so much for sharing it with us.  How are the kids coping so far?

[EmeraldSue]

On Sunday morning we headed back to see the whales. The whales start to migrate in Oct, so we were lucky to see lots of mothers and their calves. We stayed for about 45 minutes watching them. We saw them breach, flap their tails out of the water and blow water. There was even a whale that acted more like a dolphin surfing the waves. The cliffs along the coast were spectacular too. I tried to take photos, but it's difficult to capture them.

We headed off across the Nullarbor, so called because there are no (null) trees (arbor). We stopped to look at some breathtaking cliffs. The photo doesn't show just how blue and clear the ocean looked. We saw some more whales here too.

We then headed down the road ....

[gertbysea]

ES thank you so much for the pics and the story. I am enjoying it so much..

Gert

[fundj&e]

thanks from me 2, now i know what Nullarbor means

[Yvette]

 Great photos ES thanks for sharing glad you are having a great time 

[Halex]

Fantastic photos ES. Love the whale, what a treat.

Keep them coming.

H

[obbie]

Love the photos and all about your trip.

[Mama Fergie]

Great photos ES 

Enjoy the rest of your trip 

[EmeraldSue]

We headed down the road

And headed towards the boarder.

I gave the kids more fruit to munch on the drive, and my daughter polished off a whole bag of sugar snap peas.
We had glimpses of the ocean, and stopped at the SA Border Village, just before the Quarantine checkpoint.
We pulled up under a tree and set about polishing off our remaining fruit and veggies

[EmeraldSue]

Our next stop was at Eucla  for petrol. petrol was close to $2/L across the Nullarbor. Behind the toilets was a lovely garden area and views of the sea. It was like an oasis. Totally unexpected.
We then drove across the Hampton Tablelands and stopped at Cocklebiddy for more petol. We were making good time, so we drove on to Caiguna. And stayed there the night. the weather started to look menacing, but there was no rain.
DH was feeling lousy, so we paid for a room and he had a sleep before dinner. The people in the roadhouse were lovely and we had a good, but cold, night

[EmeraldSue]

I have to say, that I enjoyed having an ensuite for the night. The room was basic, but comfortable   Mind you, the walls were paper thin. About 8.30 the previous night, the kids were a bit boisterous and noisy, so the guy in the room next to us yelled for them to be quiet. Before long, we could hear loud snoring drifting through the walls. Th people in the room behind us seemed to talk all night. Despite this, we slept well.
In the morning, we decided to visit the blowhole for brekky, despite the people in the roadhouse telling us that it was just a hole in the ground ( which it was)
DH informed me that it was my turn to have a go at driving the van for the first time. Yeek! I don't like driving large vehicles.
The van has a reversing camera, so I reversed it and headed for the highway. It actually wasn't too bad as it was quiet on the roads and I didn't pass any big semis or B doubles. Besides, it was only a 5 min drive.
We got there safely and I cooked bacon and eggs while DH tool the kids for a walk

[Cuilidh]

We did a similar trip many years ago on our motorbike - I can still remember it vividly (and I don't know whether that is a good or a bad thing!).  Enjoying your pics. and descriptions - very nostalgic.