In early October 2022 when we ended our employment on a dairy farm in Kerang (Victoria), we were faced with the dilemma of how to reach our next job in Ravensthorpe (near Esperance, Western Australia) by the end of October. We decided to buy a car, however our budget of $10000 was far too low, and barely any cars were available in the Kerang region. In the end, we had to take a big risk and purchase an old 2005 Ford Futura with 220000km on the clock. This car was our lifeline for the next 3200km, so in retrospect we probably should have spent more time and money finding something more suitable and reliable.

The first leg of our journey took us down to Melbourne to pick up some friends, before we completed the Great Ocean Road and crossed the border into South Australia (see our earlier blog post about this part of the adventure). After dropping off our last mate in Adelaide, we embarked on the riskiest and most exciting part of our journey; the 2300km slog straight across the Great Australian Bight and the Nullarbor.

On the morning of the 13th of October, we left Adelaide bright and early, heading north to Port Augusta. The road here in the heart of South Australia is flanked by green vineyards, lush pasture for cattle and sheep, and plenty of tourist attractions and places to eat- a stark contrast to the rest of the journey. After reaching Port Augusta, we veered westwards towards Ceduna. This is where the green rolling hills gave way to shrubs and desert, and signs of human life became few and far between.

We drove past Bumbunga Lake, where a sign proudly displayed a flamboyantly pink body of water which looked very different to the grey lake in front of us. Then we cruised through the Lincoln Gap, where the flat plains with distant craggy hills on the horizon look like something out of Western film. We were treated to a rain storm which blocked out the sunset, and eventually arrived in Ceduna after nightfall. We stayed in a very pleasant and reasonably priced motel, and took a well deserved rest, having covered 780km over the course of the day.

We had originally planned to drive from Ceduna to Madura on October 14th, however we left booking the motel in Madura until the last minute. By the time we started looking, the nearest available place to stay was in Norseman, WA. The gravity of our faux pas dawned on us first thing in the morning when we set the sat-nav to Norseman, and realised we were going to cross into a different time zone and travel across 1200km of mostly desert in one day.

Our first stop of the day was the world famous Point Sinclair Pink Lake. The lake was grey. Following this, we didn’t see much of anything. We were now on the Nullarbor. Derived from the Latin for “no trees”, the Nullarbor certainly lives up to its name. This flat, featureless plain stretches out as far as the eye can see in every direction. This part of the journey is genuinely dangerous, and we had been warned to pack lots of water and always stop for fuel when it’s available whether you need it or not. With up to 191km between petrol stations, it is not worth risking running dry and being marooned in the desert.

After many hours of turning no corners and trying to stay entertained, we stopped to stretch our legs at one of the best view points of the Great Australian Bight. Standing on these magnificent cliffs truly makes you appreciate the size and grandeur of the Australian continent. With nothing but South Australian desert behind you, and nothing but ocean in front of you (until Antarctica), we were dumbstruck and even a little humbled by the grey cliffs and the blue crashing waves in the baking sun.

The next point of interest was the Western Australian border, where we had to scoff a whole bag of apples to avoid losing them to the quarantine bin. A short time later we arrived in Eucla, and were happy to see civilisation. We filled up the fuel tank and grabbed a cold drink, and then trundled on, watching the odometer on the car hit 222222km.

The Nullarbor continued to be mostly desolate, save for the small towns of Mundrabilla and Madura. Finally, after a very long day, we arrived in Norseman. We stayed in another reasonably priced and very comfortable motel, and fell straight to sleep. In the light of day, Norseman appeared to be a tired and run-down town. Once the centre of the Australian gold rush and the home of the Norseman Gold Mine, the town now boasts very little industry or funding. We grabbed a quick breakfast and made tracks.

After Norseman, the desert of the Nullarbor gave way to straight, tree-lined roads and wide blue horizons. The sandy soil in this part of WA sustains a dense bush of tall and thin trees, interspersed with the occasional sprawling arable farm. The farms became more regular as we closed in on Esperance, and the bush had been fought back by western civilisation to the least accessible river valleys and the odd outcrop which was too rocky to farm.

What had only been a three day journey felt like a week of travelling. When we were eventually faced with the same choice of how to return to the east coast of Australia, we simply sold the car and took a plane. That said, crossing the Nullarbor was a once in a lifetime experience, and we are very glad we gave it a go. The car miraculously did not miss a beat and delivered us safely to our harvest job in Ravensthorpe, although it was showing plenty of wear and tear by the time we parted with it.

Arriving in Esperance, we instantly knew the journey had been worth the effort. The town itself is very charming, and has a good number of pubs, shops and places to eat. The beaches are absolutely sublime. In and around Esperance, the water is crystal clear and the sand is stunningly white. We couldn’t have asked for a better finish to our Nullarbor drive. After Esperance we continued another three hours west into the bush to Ravensthorpe- we will release a blog post on our time in Ravensthorpe next week!

We would recommend a drive across the Nullarbor as a distinctly Australian experience, and although it felt boring in places at the time, we are now glad we gave it a go. However, our planning was atrocious and we took some pretty hefty risks with our vehicle which we would advise against to anyone planning a similar journey.