From: Ceduna (SA)
To: Nullarbor Road House (SA)
Via: Cactus Beach and Head of Australian Bight
Distance: 360km
Highlight: At least 20 (!) Southern Right Whales at the Head of Australian Bight
Low: Forgetting my back pack with laptop on a lookout point on Cactus Beach and having to walk all the way back.
Statement of the day: By Bink when we left the whale watching "Mum, I loved the seals!"
Animals: Sheep (a few), Dead Kangaroos (9), Whales (at least 20), Pelicans (6), Water Birds (many different kinds), Foxes (1), Dingo's (only warning signs)
Surroundings: Bushes and mainly grain fields up to 150km from Ceduna. Windmills in all sizes and shapes. Then bushes and low trees, endless. Then just low bushes and nothing.
Cars: average 13/hour
Giant animal statues: Whale (at Nullarbor Road House)
Colours: Green grain fields, dark green/gray bushes, black and red tarmac, blue blue ocean, dark grey and cloudy sky, huge white dunes, pink salt lakes, grey windmills, red rocks, rainbows (5)
Average day temperature: 7C in the morning and cloudy, 20C in the afternoon and lots of rain towards the end of the evening.
Ceduna
On the way to Cactus Beach
Wind!
Amazing what love you find on the beach .... 1
........... 2
Headset?
Exploring shells and their colours
Cactus Beach
Dunes
Art
The Head of Great Australian Bight.
Whale is waving!
Evening on its way.
Curtains of rain
Nullarbor Road House, view from our room
With full tummies it is easy to travel. So we decide to buy a breakfast in the restaurant of the motel. It is huge and the toast, scrambled eggs with bacon and juice are very much enjoyed by ever-one. So much that when I checked out and asked someone if there is a bakery around, a staff member asked whether I was worries I did not feed the tribe enough this morning......
There was no bakery by the way, the freshest bread we could buy was in the local super market.
Cactus beach is our first stop. To get there we have to drive on a 21km dirt road. And with no other car in sight, it is the first time the kids can have a turn in steering the car. This is one of the highlights of our road trips. It is Binks' first time behind the wheel and he screams with delight. The others enjoy it too, meaning that it takes us twice as long to get to the beach, but oh what excitement and fun we have :-).
Cactus beach is supposed to be one of Australia's best surf beaches. It must have been a calm day as there was an incredibly strong rip, but low waves. The surrounding made up for that and we spent a few hours at this beautiful and desolated place. The wind is strong and there is a constant threat of rain, but this makes the colours more intense and the experience unforgettable.
We have to hurry if we want to be in time for the whale watching platform on the Head of the Great Australian Bight. We drive 200 km through storm and ever changing landscape. From farms and agriculture, to protected Aboriginal area's with trees, past the dog fence and then all the sudden we find ourselves on the Nullarbor Plain. No tree in sight. Flat landscape with just grey-green low bushes. Treeless is what Nullarbor means. The landscape suits its name. We feel isolated with our little group in the car, surrounded by endless plains, a storm and huge grey clouds.
I shed a few tears when we see our first whale at the whale watching platform of the Head of Australian Bight. It is so incredibly beautiful. It exceed all our expectations. There are at least 20 whales, including baby whales playing in the waves. Some whales make noise, an amazing sound. Most of them swim calmly and determined through the deep blue waves. It has a calming effect. I can almost feel my heart rate go down as I watch them swim. We stay as long as we can, watching these huge animals swim undisturbed through the warm waters along the coast. For 1,5 hour we see whales come and go, we have never seen so many at the same time......
The moment we leave it starts pouring down. The Nullarbor looks dark and a bit threatening. But we have booked a room in the Nullarbor Road House 15km down the road. That, together with the prospect of eating the best hamburger in Australia (at least, that's what we have been told) keeps the spirit high. Everybody is satisfied but tired.
Nullarbor Road House awaits us in a huge rainbow with a small but neat motel room. We are in the middle of nothingness. An experience in itself....
Another beautiful day.
