Goldfields-Esperance 

On leaving Perth in an eastward direction, the main road is called the Great Eastern Highway. It leads you directly to Coolgardie through smaller towns of varying interest. From Coolgardie, you can turn south-east to follow the Adelaide sign or continue on to Kalgoorlie-Boulder, known as the gold capital of Australia.

That golden heritage can be viewed, enacted, bought and sold. For more check out the Kalgoorlie Tourist Information Centre. There we bought our score card for the Nullarbor Links Golf Course – The Longest Golf Course in the World!

We stayed at the Discovery Park in Boulder just to do prep purchases for the longer stint eastward but we’ve been to ‘Kal’ many times before. So, our only touristy things were Mount Charlotte for the views across town, the Super Pit to see how much deeper and wider they’ve dug since our last trip and the golf course for the first two holes of our long game.

Kambalda next hole and then Widgiemooltha where the Tavern looked like a draw card for the locals. Lake Cowan is a good free camp and allows you to wander and take in a bit of the scale of this (usually) dry salt lake.

Norseman’s golf course looks onto Lake Cowan too – more expanse admiring! We started to get the idea of course conditions by now. As expected, dry, dusty, rocky and uneven with very fast synthetic greens.

Norseman (named after a horse!) is Western Australia’s start of the Eyre Highway (named after the famous explorer) and is a good point of last minute shopping, fuel and water needs.

Our first free camp was at Southern Hills and we snagged a great site overlooking another picturesque, red, dry lake.

After a slow start, we made it to the first of well-spaced roadhouses along the route. I have to agree with the fuel tip as you cross the Nullarbor – top up at each roadhouse which we did at Balladonia.

Balladonia is famous from an event in 1979. The Skylab is falling!

We did stop in athe tiny ‘museum’ before playing hole 5 beside the motel rooms. Long grass grew on this fairway with a narrow path laid bare by previous players. Keeping the ball on the path was the key to success. Caiguna Roadhouse came next after Australia’s longest stretch of straight road at 146.6km or better known as The 90 Mile Straight.

By the time we approached Cocklebiddy the temperature was soaring to 35 degrees! So, we played our third hole for the day before stopping the night at Olwolgin Bluff.

Pleasantly surprised by how much phone connection there is nowadays, we could see that strong winds were forecast the next day. We opted to stay put an extra day in this pretty area and I snapped beautiful images of Budgerigars. See them on my Instagram  page.

Madura is positioned in very picturesque environment. You drive down off the Hampton Tablelands onto the Roe Plains below. Awed by the vista but humoured by the golf hole, I giggled!

The road to the car park cut the fairway in half. We had to cross the road to reach the green. The parking signage wasn’t excellent and we thanked a young couple who moved their car away after our first shot. Just as well, because the second shot would have hit their car!

Mundrabilla fairway reminded us that we are playing in a wilderness. I went to collect a stary ball from under a bush and jumped back quick – SNAKE!!! Only to relax when I realised it was the skin a snake had shed and left behind. Bear certainly went on higher alert though!

We stopped for lunch with a view at Eucla and took the time to head down and explore the old telegraph station and jetty. The sand dunes keep moving and the station and the station master’s house disappear from time to time – all that is left of a once sizeable hamlet.

Eucla has it’s own golf course a good few kilometres down a dirt road. The course sits alongside the sports ground which appears to have a large playing field – larger than a footy oval or a cricket ground surrounded by what we supposed was a horse racing track, some rifle shooting targets and a donga style club house.

Not so far on, we crossed into South Australia and played Border Village’s  hole 13. It’s a really short hole but bushes are a menace if you don’t hit straight. Unlucky for some!

That night we stopped at one of the Bunda Cliffs camp areas. It was cold and cloudy now with a fresh wind off the sea and drizzle in the air so views, such as they were, were largely enjoyed from inside the van.

More laughter at the Nullarbor Roadhouse because the fairway this time was split in two by a live runway!!!!! I’ve seen golf courses with roads laid through them but never a runway!

One MUST pull into the Head of the Bight! A real landmark for Australians and a whale spotting mecca in season. We were out of season unfortunately but the weather had cleared up enough to give us great views.

We camped at Whitewell Tank before returning to the Eyre Highway, inside the fences and wondered what we were being protected from or more likely was being protected from us travellers!

Another hole of golf was played at Nundroo and then we detoured for a couple of nights as Fowler’s Bay. This is actually where the explorer Edward John Eyre set off with his Aboriginal companion Wylie, to traverse the Nullarbor to the West and all the way to Albany.

Fowlers Bay is a tiny holiday paradise for fishermen. Off the jetty the longest squid can easily be caught and various fish may be hooked. Know your catch size and bag limits which are displayed at the jetty. A beautiful green Wrasse decided our bait was tasty – and so became a tasty dinner too! Whilst fiddling with the line we were stunned to watch the largest ray I have ever seen glide under us and out to deeper water on the other side of the jetty. It was at least as large as Hetty the Ranger’s bonnet, if not larger.

The sand dunes are at work in Fowlers Bay too. Parts of the town have been submerged, last seen in the 1970s. They loom above the town making a good spot for landscape photography. Perhaps one day the township will be like the telegraph station at Eucla.

Approaching Penong one can spot the odd windmill the town is famous for but I think many have now been gathered at the town’s museum. It’s free, next to the caravan park and quite impressive. The most impressive is the Comet Windmill which it is claimed, is the biggest in Australia.

The golf hole is just behind the museum and a good clear fairway.

Finally, we passed through quarantine 2km out of Ceduna. Only a few potatoes we hadn’t used to hand in. It’s very important to be honest about any fruit or vegetables you are taking east beyond Ceduna or west past Border Village to protect the farming crops and harvests each side of the Nullarbor. No pest allowed! Bears, yes!

We played the penultimate hole and the 18th hole at Ceduna’s golf course. It seems a well-kept course if still dry and rough but at least the grass is kept short. The fairways are wide and long and unusually, the greens are black. A black sand or ash is used instead of synthetic grass.

With the 1365km game of golf played, the score card filled with stamps (each road house or tourist information centre along the route will stamp your card) we collected my certificate.

Proudly, we celebrated with a slap-up meal at Ceduna’s Foreshore Hotel, attached to the Foreshore Caravan Park where we slept well, listening to the sea lap on the sandy shore.

Hopetoun - One of my favourite places in Western Australia, indeed the world.

This small settlement on the southeastern coast of WA is a gem, lying on the edge of the Fitzgerald River National Park and within the Fitzgerald Biosphere.

Many travellers will miss this locale, as they keep to National Route 1, but they miss a fantastic geographical and relaxing area. In my opinion, Hopetoun rivals Esperance.

The bays and beaches are simply stunning with soft, powdery white sands, turquoise lagoons, wide open inlets and sharp rocks that break the rolling waves and create clifftop viewpoints.

The town beach, tucked to the west of the jetty provides a calm swimming spot protected from the prevailing winds and is attractive to dolphins chasing herring. A free chance to swim with dolphins! I’ve seen large rays swimming in the shallows along the sweeping bay out towards the National Park too.

Heading east from town the sealed road takes you as far as 12 Mile Beach but continues on towards Munglinup. A bit closer to town and just a few metres past 5 Mile Beach is another small parking spot on the brow of a hill on the seaward side of the road. We stopped there for a picnic lunch and admired the views out to the Great Southern Ocean and inland to Jerdacuttup Lakes. 2 Mile Beach is pretty, too but I suggest busy in good weather and peak tourist season.

The National Park itself boast over 100 species of flora that can only be found here and the birdlife loves it. I saw Wattlebirds, White Eyes, Honeyeaters, Fantails, Red-Capped Parrots, Eagles and, if you are lucky, you may spot a Malleefowl or at least it’s nest.

A few hiking trails are marked out for you to take it all in. The two we chose this time were the short walk up to the Hammersely Inlet Lookout and the more challenging climb up East Mount Barren.  

There are various camping sites within the Park or you can pitch up at the Hopetoun Beachside Caravan Park, tucked away under the trees and bushes behind the sand dunes leading to a pristine, sweeping bay. Hopetoun is an RV Friendly Town with free 48hr sites available for self-contained vehicles on a first come first served basis. They too are right behind the beach sand dunes on the east side of town. Alternatively, Wave Crest Village  just 5km north of town has a pool, a bar and bistro and powered sites. Being away from the immediate coast, it is also away from the strongest of winds - most of the time.

The town boasts a fabulous wee bakery, The Shipwreck Gourmet Bakery. We enjoyed the dark rye bread very much. There are a couple of cafes, the hotel, the general store and an IGA supermarket. Two fuel stations and a car/caravan washing bay means you’ve got most of what you need to hand before or after exploring the pristine environment.

See my Instagram account for the scenic, flower and bird photography opportunities I took.

I should say the Western edge of the Park can also be accessed from Bremer Bay. However, Hopetoun holds my heart!

I wanted to stay two nights at Eucla and we did. This was a welcome break from sitting a few hours each day in the car and a beautiful walk to stretch the legs, down to and along the beach.

You can stay at the Caravan Park or at the free camp down beside the Telegraph Station Ruins, which is what we chose to do protected from wind by sand dunes and bushes.

Having never stopped at Caiguna Blowhole, this was our opportunity. Again, lots of space in away from the road and a track to follow even further if you want to stretch legs.

The Blowhole is right next to the road and entry, on your left. It wasn’t ‘blowing’ when we wandered over to it but then again, the wind itself was blowing quite hard. Nothing to hear but the wind through the trees.

Our final night on the Nullarbor gave us the luxury of air conditioning, ablution block, dump point, laundry and a bar. We pulled into Fraser Range, reopened since we last crossed the plain.

40 degree heat meant enjoyed a refreshing shower after setting up camp. Then relaxed inside in the aircon while the washing machine did the hard work.

Later, we headed for a pre-dinner drink at the restaurant/bar. It was cooler in the shade outside and back at the van than in the bar so we only indulged in one round of drinks.

Do go on one of the four designated walks that are well sign posted and each expected to take you 2 or more hours. I got up at dawn and opted for the Woodlands Walk, taking trusty camera in the hopes of some birds. I caught a decent shot of a brown bird I identified afterwards as a Rufous Treecreeper, a first for me. Ringneck Parrots and kangaroos were my other photogenic captures.

Suddenly, we were at Norseman, a shop for fresh groceries and, because it was early in the day, we drove on to Coolgardie. There, the heat had built up. There was no shade at the free camp so we checked in for power again at the Caravan Park. It was the most expensive we’ve paid in a really long time, even more than Fraser Range!

Still, we got spoiled with air conditioning and another shower. Now we truly felt we had returned to WA and familiar territory.