7th March 2010 - Border Village to Norseman

Distance travelled: 718 kms
Cumulative distance: 3685 kms


It rained again overnight so we were doubly glad of a roof over our head, though the accommodation was cramped and expensive. There were quite a few bikers there so we had a few yarns to tell.

We left early aiming to have breakfast at Mundrabilla about 60 kms down the road. First we had to pass the quarantine check for fruit which is not allowed across the border. A nice young lady looked into our bags and made notes.

Munddrabilla had a special meaning for Colin. When he first came to Australia and was still looking for a job, he watched a lot of the 1976 Olympics on TV. The main sponsor was Caltex and one oft repeated ad was located on the Eyre Hwy with the hosts intoning "You can get anything you want at Mundrabilla" With that thought in mind Colin pulled in expectantly to the road house only to find the worst one of the trip! There was a surly Kiwi sheila serving as well instead of the nice young ladies from Scotland/England/Germany. They had obviously gone backwards since 1976.

The only bright spot was meeting a couple and their young son who were playing the Nullarbor Golf Course. There was a hole every 200 kms behind the road houses. We watched them play a Par 4 behind Mundrabilla. It had an artificial turf tee and green, but in between was saltbush and scrub.

The road kill started to appear at this point, mostly kangaroos, though the signs warned of camels and emus as well. The local crows feasted on the carcases and only flew off as you were almost upon them. The big thing to see was a Wedge-Tailed Eagle feeding. These are the largest Australian birds and they have a huge wing span. Seeing them take off just as you go past was very memorable.

We came to the 90 mile straight were the road was dead straight for 146 kms. It undulated up and down the low hills but disappeared into the distance gun-barrel straight. We had to pass road trains which are trucks with up to three trailers. They create a very big bow wave in the air and if the wind is blowing from behind them as well, as you come along the side you are hit by a very violent blast of air just as you pass the cab. The tactic we used was to gun the bikes as we passed and get ready to steer to counter the wind blast - very hairy.

The western end of the Nullarbor was even more deserted than the start. There were more trees but no buildings at all. One place was shown as having an old telegraph station as a ruin so we pulled off the road to have a look. The track was blocked off with a Private Land sign. So much for tourist attractions!

We got to Norseman at about 5 pm and found the campsite OK. After pitching the tents we headed off to town for a bite to eat. Being Sunday, not much was open but we found the Norseman's Working Mans Club. This was a real country institution. They had a kitchen that was running about 1 hour late with orders: probably because of all the bikers in there. There was a chook raffle and we had to play Mel to get a game of pool because she "owned the table". Mel beat us even though she was pretty pissed.