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This page captures my relocation from
Perth (Western Australia) to Brisbane (in Queensland). The trip was
origionally planned to take 10 days, but because of a lack of
tourist, or other attractions it ended up taking me 6 days. It is
worth pointing out that trucks do it in less that 4 days.
The Nullarbor is one of the last undamaged
places on the planet. The plain is made of one of the largest single
sections of sand in the world with an area of 250 thousand
km˛. The name Nullarbor does not come from the Aborigines, but
from the latin nullus arbor meaning WITHOU
TREES. Though this is not quite true as you will see on
the following photos.
In some places the 360ş view of the flat plain was broken only by
tufts of grass. Populated areas on the map were scattered along the
highway no more than 200km from each other. Most of them were
consisted of a petrol station only. The road was sealed in the 70s.
It is one of two sealed roads connecting Western Australia with the
Eastern states. All of the goods transported to Perth by land take
this route.
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The
first day at Wave Rock in the middle of a flat plain
near
Hyden. A stone wall follows
the whole perimeter of Wave Rock (about 1km) in order to
catch any rainwater. On the right you can see
part of the wave (from above). |
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| Another look
at Wave Rock to get an idea of the size. The next shot
is from Esperance - a town without trees, but with fantastic
beaches. The electricity grid is too far,
so they produce theor own using the wind and the tides. Lots
of small islands are dotted along the coast. |
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I
decided to take a shortcut for the next
200km straight to Balladonia. The road was origionally for 4x4. And there
was a reason for it. I have never seen such fine dust
- like talcum powder, you could almost swim in it. |
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| Just after
Balladonia begins the longest section of straight road
in the Southern Hemisphere. 147 km without a single turn, actually,
without anything. During the trip it was obvious that lovers
of bends and corners don't bother visiting the Nullarbor. |
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In the
middle of the desert
plain near Madura I was surprised by the geographical fault
which brought with it eucalyptus forests and steep slopes. And then it
continued as before. |
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| This plain is
broken up by bushes which have the appearance of miniture trees. Emus
and kangaroos can be seen from the road, but
they are seen more often at a closer distance as road-kill. The desert
is populated by wild horses, goats and even camels as you
can see on the pictures. |
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After
arriving in the state
of South Australia, the highway wound along the cliffs where the flat
plains suddenly fell tens of meters into the Southern
Ocean. Such a big contrast between flat plains and cliffs is truly
breathtaking. |
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| The route from Port Augusta wound
through inland New South Wales via BrokenHill. This lonely road
is reminiscient of the Nullarbor plains (on the right). The
Australian "outback" has its onwn magic in its amazin night skies
and 180ş sunsets. |
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Unfortunately the number of attractions
are not in proportion to the kilometers travelled so my
attention was caught by this 500 year old Eucalyptus tree with
a circumference of 11 metres as well as the whole
Coonabarabran National Park near the town of the same
name.
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| After
thousands of kilometers of nothing but flat plains
the sky was suddenly punctured by sharp volcanic peaks. The
camping places made for a great place to spend the night
and wake up to a magnificent view. |
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In the
morning there
were kangaroos spread out over the paddocks. In Coonabarabran
National Park there is also Siding Spring
Observatory. |
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| The highway
went through areas of burnt forest
as you can see on the left. The tree on the right is
typical for Queensland - and so that is almost in Brisbane. |
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Dwellingup is located 100km South of Perth. Petrol cost $1/litre on average. Total distance Perth - Brisbane is 4 606 km.
| First Day |
Dwellingup |
Esperance |
755 km |
| Second Day |
Esperance |
Madura Pass |
661 km |
| Third Day |
Madura Pass |
Streaky Bay |
783 km |
| Fourth Day |
Streaky Bay |
Willcannia |
893 km |
| Fifth Day |
Willcannia |
Coonabarabran |
764 km |
| Sixth Day |
Coonabarabran |
Brisbane |
750 km |
Shortcut Esperance - Balladonia recommended
only in dry conditions or for those with a 4x4. More information:
Eyre Peninsula Tourism Association www.epta.com.au
Western Australia Tourist Centre www.westernaustralia.net
Coonabarabran a National Park www.coonabarabran.com |
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