We did say the next post would be about the big crossing, but there were a few pesky towns in the way between Coffin Bay and Nullarbor entry point, Ceduna. To be honest these were quite unremarkable but Shelley really wanted to show you her cave photos.
Travelling from Coles Point to Streaky Bay at the top of the Eyre Peninsula, we passed by Talia Caves. We decided to turn around to have a look. The site was similar to the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, where every 500 hundred metres, there was another cave or lookout with an enigmatic name.
The most spectacular one was the Wool Shed, which had a big cavern underneath the cliff viewing point. There were several channels of seething water coming in and out, as well as some nice looking boulders. Something for everyone then, or a nightmare world if you’re scared of heights, the dark, confined spaces or drowning at sea.
Speaking of nightmares, on the way to Streaky Bay, on an unpaved road, we also found a roadhouse that had strayed from quirky to outright creepy. It looked like a set from Wolf Creek (not that we watched it before we left, why would we do that to ourselves?) It begs the question, WTF are country killed meats? Brazilian backpacker burgers? German bratwurst?
We sped off for Streaky Bay, hoping to find more civilised civilisation. It’s supposed to be the biggest town on the Peninsula after Port Lincoln. Unfortunately it was another dead zone, as Winter Had Come and left behind a handful of salty zombies. All of the food places were closed, so we were stuck with another pie at the lone bakery, bringing the pie tally much higher than we’d hoped at only 10 days in.
That night we stopped at Laura Bay, a conservation area close to Ceduna. Camps Australia said you were supposed to pay but we couldn’t find the honesty box anywhere. Thank god we didn’t, as it turned out to be an unpleasant bit of wetland that only conserved mosquitos. Shelley somehow, through a series of strange three point turns, ended up reenacting the scene from Austin Powers where he gets the golf cart stuck between the corridor walls. We ended up with a major dent in the lower left hand side of the van trying to get it out from between two wooden poles. Oops! Lucky it’s not a hire car.
We intended to have a fire as there were fire pits, but the whole place was so miserable and mosquito-infested that we stayed inside the van instead and sulked. Gaz made a tasty pasta though, and carbs cheer everyone up!
The next morning we arrived in Ceduna and spent a few hours psyching ourselves up to start the Nullarbor trip. Luckily, the sloppy Hungry Jacks and ongoing police call outs to the roadhouse weren’t a big enough inducement to stay. We got the hell outta Dodge and hit the Eyre highway, heading for Perth 1,996 km away.
The Grand Tourists 