Ceduna – Travel Australia

Before I left home, I stuck a few golf clubs in our caravan Dora and we bought a dozen balls for $5 from a fellow traveller in Broome Caravan Park, thinking that I might play a round of golf somewhere on our trip. The Nullarbor Links is the unique 18-hole par 72 world’s longest golf course, that spans 1,365 kilometres along the Eyre Highway – from Ceduna in South Australia to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. We stopped off at the Ceduna Information Centre and the rather officious attendant said that the Nullarbor Links had considerably reduced accidents on the Eyre Highway, and I should give it a go. While I thought the concept was terrific, I considered the $70 to purchase the score card a touch steep, so I left the sticks in the cupboard to play another day.

We decided to invest the money towards our visit to the Head of Bight, which is run by the local Aboriginal community and purportedly the mecca for whale watching, offering “an unparalleled opportunity to view large numbers of Southern Right Whales” on their viewing platforms. After missing out on the Hervey Bay whales, we weren’t optimistic about our chances. We shouldn’t have worried.

After paying $15 each at the Centre, we were soon blown away by the whale exhibition in front of us. These majestic Southern Right Whales are amazing creatures… like huge natural black one man submarines with barnacles on them, occasionally bellowing fog horns as they blew through their spouts. Some were lazing around, while others were frolicking about with their small calves. We counted 14 adult whales and a number of calves in the bay, and the Bunda cliffs provided a stunning backdrop to this truly amazing spectacle. Much better than hitting a small white ball on mulga bush sand fairways and fake grass greens!

Head of Bight!

Bunda Cliffs

Whale Flippers (Not Shark Fins!)

A Whale of a Tail

Frolicking with Calves

Barnacle Bob

Sleek Beautiful Black

Big Bones

As we drove the next few hundred kilometres west, we were stunned by the cliffs of the Great Australian Bight. The wild unique beauty of the Bight is extraordinary. It’s a striking assault on your senses: you see the astonishing beauty of the sheer white limestone cliffs, hear and feel the constant mighty roar of the Southern Ocean relentlessly pounding the cliff faces, and smell and taste the salt air that whispers up the cliffs.

Great Australian Bight SA — Great Australian Bight

We set up camp on a cliff top overlooking sand dunes and the Southern Ocean and the light breeze carried the roar of the ocean’s rolling waves pounding the coastline. As a kid, I remember being intrigued listening to what seemed like the constant roar of the ocean by putting a large cowrie shell against my ear. The Bight reminded me of that incredible sound. The timeless rumble echoing from the coastline up the cliffs was melodic, and we lit a fire and immersed ourselves in the natural beauty of this remarkable land. This was a poignant moment for us. We reflected on the start of our road trip when we camped by the open fire on our lonesome on the coast of the mighty Indian Ocean. Here we were on the last leg of our amazing journey by the open fire by the great Southern Ocean and no one within coo-ee of us. We knew we were close to finishing our amazing road trip, so we just enjoyed the moment.

Camp next to the Bight

Wilson joined us at our camp

Dunes West

Dunes East

Bert and Daisy at the Bight

Recommendations:

Try to time your visit to the Head of Bight between May and October, when the Southern Right Whales mate, give birth and socialise there.
A free camp next to the cliffs of the Great Australian Bight will give you awesome views, but be careful not to park or walk too close to the edge. Be warned that there are often no safety barriers and the limestone cliff face can be unstable. A free camp next to the dunes also gives wonderful views and allows access to the ocean for a dip.
If you’re mad keen on golf and want the kudos of playing the longest golf course in the world, bring along your golf gear (though you can hire clubs at each hole) and expect to pay around $70 for the pleasure.

Travelled 596 kms today @ 17.4 litres / 100 kms

Travelled 562 kms @ 15.8 litres/100kms (average speed of 100kph)

We left Nackara East through thick fog, crossed the border from New South Wales to South Australia, and then drove into Peterborough. As well as a great name, Peterborough had beautiful classic old buildings, terrific railway and historical museums, and Bob the Railway Dog. In 1883, Bob was adopted by a railway guard in Petersburg (the name changed to Peterborough during the Great War). Bob began travelling on the trains first with his owner and then on his own. The story goes that Bob jumped on and off trains as the mood took him, making interstate journeys and short suburban trips on trams and even Murray River steamers. He travelled far to places like Sydney, Melbourne, Oodnadatta, Broken Hill and Mt Gambier. Apparently when Bob died in 1895, he was mourned by the travelling public all over Australia.

After a brisk stroll along the main street, we hopped back into Troy, and headed along the very picturesque Horrocks Pass though the Flinders Ranges, before arriving at Port Augusta. We approached a road junction where the road sign had two bold arched arrows: one heading west to Perth along the Eyre Highway, the other heading north to Darwin along the Stuart Highway. I recalled Bob’s story, travelling around the countryside as the mood took him. The road sign brought home to me that we were indeed homeward bound, and our fantastic road trip where we went where our mood took us was nearing an end. I paused for a fleeting moment; eased my foot off Troy’s accelerator and considered the road north, instead of the road west back home…

Alas, we continued west as my rational self regained control. We passed through Iron Knob before arriving at Kimba for lunch. From ‘Bob the Railway Dog’ to ‘Kimba the White Lion’ in a couple of hundred kilometres! Reminiscing the 1960’s cartoon ‘Kimba’, we just had to stop off for our lunch at the Lions Park in Kimba. While there, an old codger came along on his motorised scooter and welcomed us into his town. A retired cocky and real character, Bruce was 93 years old (of which 92 years had been spent in Kimba) and funny (humorous funny, not odd funny). We loved his stories, particularly how Kimba claimed the half-way point of Australia “…cos we were the first to think of it, even though it’s a few miles away”. Old codgers like Bruce are absolutely priceless, and we felt fortunate that he’d come to say G’day. It is fitting that Wudinna, the next town along the highway, has an impressive granite sculpture of ‘The Australian Farmer’ in recognition of the contributions made to this land by blokes like Bruce.

As we drove out of Kimba we found a giant 8 metre high galah and then sighted a dinosaur ant at Poochera. With a few drops of rain falling, we tossed up whether to head to Streaky Bay or Ceduna, but the Poochera Roadhouse attendant convinced us to stick with our plan and head to the Bay. I’m glad he did, as Streaky Bay appeared as a quiet slice of paradise. The rain stayed away, and the scattered dark clouds and absence of wind allowed the bay to mirror a stunning sunset for us as we set Dora up on a site facing the bay at the Caravan Park. The next day was spent meandering along the coast exploring the great jetty and nearby cape, before dining on delicious fresh locally caught whiting and chips at the local cafe. We were taking it easy in preparation for the next leg of our journey: crossing the Nullarbor.

Tag: Ceduna

Whales Ahoy!

Border Crossing: NSW to SA

Share:

Share: