Welcome to South Australia. Photo by Luke Yates
Luke Yates is continuing his Australian travel adventure. In his last post, he cycled from Bunbury to Albany. Now, leaving the relative safety of the well-populated south-west behind, he heads out on his toughest stretch to date – to the Western Australia/South Australia border.
Leaving Albany was tough. The south western part of Western Australia had been very kind to me and easy to travel through. I had had some hard days, mainly with being near the start of my trip, but generally it had been a beautiful and accommodating area. The stretch from Albany to the border with South Australia would prove to be much tougher, with heat, distance and lack of water posing a far more significant threat.
Camping in Jerramungup
The next major town after Albany on the route that I had chosen would be Esperance, some 480 km to the east. This is quite a staggering concept to someone from a country as densely populated as the UK. There would be three small towns on the way but this stretch would provide excellent practice for managing my water and food ahead of the truly desolate Nullarbor Crossing.
Esperance Bay. Photo by Luke Yates.
175 km to the north of Albany is the agricultural town of Jerramungup. I reached Jerramungup in just one extremely tiring day. The road runs almost due north and inland, with some stunning views across to the Stirling Ranges, a region I would love to have had the time to explore. There is a very small settlement about halfway between Albany and Jerramungup called Wellsteads which turned out to have a very nice roadhouse. It was a good stop for me to refuel and grab a cold drink but there really is very little else to see.
From this point on there are some quite long hills to climb as the road repeatedly drops down into river valleys. Jerramungup itself is the largest town on the way to Esperance and had a fairly decent campsite. It was a little expensive but given the distance I had covered I was happy to pay and get a warm shower before bed.
The next morning the town felt fairly lively and certainly had a lot more to it than many towns of similar size that I have passed through. The library had excellent internet and other services and the supermarket had a pretty good range of products at a reasonable price. I was fairly impressed with Jerramungup!
Sunset in Jerramungup. Photo by Luke Yates.
The road to Ravensthorpe
The run to Esperance from Jerramungup is essentially due east for 300 km and I think it is fair to say I didn’t enjoy this section all that much. This may be slightly unfair as the hot headwinds made the experience very difficult but there really isn’t all that much to see or do! The majority of the scenery is rolling farmland with some very long steady hills but of course there were, as ever, some occasionally stunning views.
I did really begin struggle with the heat though. I spent my first night out of Jerramungup 110km to the east in a rest bay near Ravensthorpe. I hadn’t passed a shop village all day but at least this was a fairly good free camp.
The next morning, I had breakfast and headed to Ravensthorpe. The town is small but certainly had a little life to it as I passed through and grabbed some drinks to keep me going for the day. It also has a caravan park and hotel with a restaurant so I could easily have stayed in the town if I had needed or wanted to.
Munglinup
The only other shop before Esperance is a further 85 km down the road and the landscape becomes drier and emptier the further east you head. One sight of interest is a huge mine that can be viewed from the highway. It really brings home the staggering scale of the mining operations in Australia! The next roadhouse is at a spot called Munglinup. It’s little more than a collection of houses just off the highway with little to recommend it save for the usual roadhouse food and drinks. I really needed these however as the headwind had made progress extremely difficult.
Youth hostelling in Esperance
After an uneventful night spent at the side of the road just out of Munglinup (where I have to say the views and sunset over the farmland were wonderful) it was full speed ahead for Esperance.
Esperance is a major tourist town with understandable claims to some of the best beaches in Australia. I was immediately impressed with the town. Having passed through the usual industrial sprawl the town centre is right on the beach and the tourist information team (I love these people) were very helpful.
Esperance Beach. Photo by Luke Yates.
I stayed in the youth hostel as it proved cheaper than the caravan parks. This is situation that has been repeated several times more since Esperance. I really feel this is a damning indictment of the way many of the campsites (especially major branded sites) treat tents and single travellers. I don’t need a powered site and all I want is a small patch of grass for a tent, a warm shower and maybe a camp kitchen. To charge more than a bed in a youth hostel for this is just ridiculous.
Esperance has excellent services in the town and I got my bike checked over at the local bike shop – they really did a brilliant job. The range of shops is very good and I was able to stock up for the next part of my trip and received some good advice from the outdoor store in the town as well.
As a tourist, the views from the rotary lookout just out of town were beautiful. The bay has a large number of islands dotted across it and you can see right across to some distant peaks. The town beach is very nice, with regular visits from whales and dolphins. However, the best of the beaches lie to the east with a mixture of rugged surf beaches and more sheltered coves.
Just 45 minutes out of town (by car) is the spectacular Cape Le Grand National Park where kangaroos hop along the sand and a few small mountains beckon you to hike and explore. The sand is so fine and clean that it squeaks as you walk along it.
It is worth mentioning that this is a very wild stretch of coastline and this brings unavoidable risks. On the day I arrived in the town, there was a shark attack in which a surfer was lucky to escape with his life. I spent two nights in Esperance and really enjoyed myself. The youth hostel was quirky but clean and had an excellent kitchen. Overall I loved the spot and was very sad to be leaving.
Norseman
The last town before the Nullarbor Crossing is Norseman, 200km to the north. On heading out of Esperance you pass through a few small places and Grass Patch and Salmon Gums are worth mentioning for their friendly and accommodating taverns (and for their catchy names) but the second hundred kilometres has no stops at all.
Welcome to Norseman. Photo by Luke Yates.
I spent one night at a bush camp on this stretch but was very glad to reach Norseman after a very dry and arid couple of days. When looking at a map of the area, there are several large lakes marked either side of the road, but these turned out to be almost completely dried up and sandy. It was a clear indication of the lack of rainfall in the area.
Norseman is an odd place. In better times it was a thriving gold mining town, but with the last major mine shutting recently, it feels like it is clinging on. The major industry seems to be travellers preparing for the Nullarbor and the campsite seemed determined to make the most of this by charging an extortionate $35 for an unpowered site. The most I had previously paid was $20. They managed to lose my business entirely as the Railway Motel in town offered a double room with breakfast included for $40. The decision was an easy one to make.
I spent a very enjoyable evening having an excellent meal and pint of beer while watching the Australian Rugby League Grand Final in the nearest pub and settled in for my last night in civilisation for a while! The last supermarket to stock up at before crossing the Nullarbor is the IGA in Norseman. They had a pretty good range of products and I was able to grab a few final rations!
Crossing Nullarbor
The Nullarbor Crossing itself is a 1200 km stretch from Norseman to Ceduna in South Australia. There are no towns between them, just 11 roadhouses, with the first 700 km or so in Western Australia. The experience is quite mind-blowing. There are endless plains to cross and the need to conserve water is something very unusual in modern life. I found myself very dependent on fellow travellers with large water tanks on their caravans.
Sunset in Nullarbor. Photo by Luke Yates.
There are some beautiful moments in the Fraser Ranges near Norseman, at the Madura Pass and Roe Plains, but crossing the Nullarbor is a serious undertaking in a car, let alone on a bike. The roadhouses provide welcome relief from the heat and dehydration with a decent range of fast food and drinks, but they have very little in the way of groceries or supplies. The Nullarbor Crossing would turn out to be the most incredible part of my Australian travels to date – and one of the most remarkable experiences of my life. I really would recommend giving it a go some time but be prepared, it’s pretty tough.
So that was it. 700 km of almost nothing took me to the border with South Australia. I had cycled 2,184 km in Western Australia and seen only a small fraction of what it has to offer. The ranges of environments, the beautiful towns and wonderful people have left a lasting impression on me.
Roe Plains South Australia. Photo by Luke Yates.
It is staggeringly empty with genuine wilderness still easily reachable from major towns and cities. I would love to go back. My dream trip would be to get a 4WD and explore the stunning national parks, travel through the outback and end up with a few days to really experience Perth.
Why not give it a go? Have a read of my other guides to the state, investigate further with the excellent links on Global Grapevine and get out there. Travel Australia, and see what this incredible place has to offer!
You can follow my progress here, on my website and on twitter @lhyates89 and @GlobalGrapevine so please don’t hesitate to check out my adventures and get in touch. I would love to hear from you!
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