Crossing the Nullabor Plain

Whilst Australia is a beautiful country, its is also an arid, harsh dry land once you break away from the major cities antwhere west of the Great Dividing Range that winds its way up the Eastern seaboard.  The Nullabor plain is one of the great Australian road trips that any adventure loving Aussie would love to do.  Is is long, oftentimes with long gaps between towns so pour strong suggestion is be prepared.  Carry plenty of water, some food, and some form of shelter as a minimum.  We also recommend taking a second spare tire and hiring a satellite telephone; as well as a thermos of coffee or tea for along the way

We will assume in our description that you are travelling East from Perth, although this information is still valid going East to West.

Nullabor Crossing Choice #1 - The long way or the short way?

Before heading out form Perth you have you frst decision to make:  either follow Highway 1 South and take in the great southern coastal area through towns like Bunbury, Bussleton, Albany and Esperence, or head out due East along the Eastern Highway (Highway 94). Both these routes end up in a Norseman which is about midway between Perth and the Western Australian-South Australian Border.

The long way gives you some spectacular scenery, but is is about 1200km from Perth to Norseman.  Whereas the short way is only about 770km to Norseman, but it gives you the opportunity to stop over in the famous gold mining town of Kalgoorlie along the way (about 640km from Perth). 

Whereas the short way is an easy day's drive, realistically to do it justice want to take 2 or 3 days to see the great southern region through the long way.

We are assuming you will take the short way and stay overnight in Kalgoorlie (but if time is no problem the long way is worth it and Kalgoorlie is only about 170km North of Norseman if you dont want to miss a thing.

Nullabor Crossing Choice #2 - How many days to travel?

As a rule of thumb a driver should not travel more than 2 hours without a break, so make sure you have a thermos of coffee and something to sit on when you pull over to the side of the road.  If you have more than 1 driver you can go further between breaks, but stopping every 2 hours is a good way to go.  I dont suggest travelling after dark in case stock cross on to the road, so 2 x 2 hour stints before lunch and 2 x 2 hour stints after lunch will give you a comfortable 8 hours of driving in a day which should take you 700 - 900km.

Day 2

Assuming you took Day 1 to get to Kalgoorlie, then Day 2 will just about get you to the border. Kalgoorlie to the border is about 890 km so we recommend stopping at Madura (695km), Mundrabilla (776km) or Eucla (877km); and we strongly recommend planning your crossing of the nullabor plain and book your accomodation ahead if you dont have a campervan.

Day 3

Ceduna is the next stop and it is 469 km from Eucla (or a full day's drive from Madura).  There are plenty of roadhouses along the way.

Your Nullabor Crossing Choice #3 for Day 4

Just after leaving Ceduna you can follow Highway 1 to Port Augusta (about 480km), or alternatively you can follow the coast South down to Port Lincoln (229 km), then another 354km North back up to Port Augusta for a total trip of 683 km. 

Day 5 - Port Augusta to Adelaide

It's about 350 km from Port Augusta to Adelaide - and we strongly recommend staying here for at least a day or two to recover.  If you took the short way on Day 4 then you may be able to squeeze in this leg to day 4, but we recommend doing it the easy way and getting to Adelaide more refreshed so you can take in the sites.

There you have it Crossing the Nullabor Plain - one of Australias great drives.  We hope you enjoy it if you ever get the chance.