Port Lincoln to Ceduna

I bounded out of bed at 7.00am (I had no choice the workers in the next room were making a hell of a racket) and was on the road by 8.30am. The plan today was to get to Ceduna which is essentially the starting point for the run across the Nullarbor. I achieved my aim and saw a bunch of interesting things along the way. Not sure that Ceduna is a place of great merit, then again I only have myself to blame for its choice. Let me explain.

I knew I would be taking the more circuitous route in getting to Ceduna, and really I wasn't sure I would make it the entire way. I took the Eyre Highway out of Port Lincoln and not the Flinders Highway which meant that much of my trip was through the inland. First town of note was Cummins where I stopped at the delightful Five Loaves Bakery for a coffee. The lovely people there not only made great coffee but were great company too. They tried to upsell me on any of their many tempting products. The challenge was set. I told them I had sworn off flour and sugar and if they could find me something that didn't have either I would buy it. Sadly (for them) my wallet stayed in my pocket as apart from the hot beverages nothing else met my criteria. 

You can judge the prosperity of the region you are in by the size of the grain silos. They are massive and can be seen many kilometres away, well before you enter a town. They are like giant agricultural cathedrals with the farmers as their high priests. Cummins had a massive one of these. They are dotted along the highway even in towns with not much more than a post box.

Lock was the next town I passed through and it gave me no reason to stop. it did have one interesting feature though. There was a little ten room motel built almost on top of the highway in a flattened "V" shape. At the epicentre of the "V" were two petrol bowsers. It was bad enough that the traffic would be right on top of you anyway but for added bonus some would pull and fill up. You could reach out your motel window and take their money. 

I stopped for coffee at Kyancutta where I decided to give the Vectra a bit of a wash, in coffee. Not being entirely used to my new glasses I thought I'd put my coffee on the roof of the car but instead I added to the splendid mud artwork along the drivers side buy scumming up the rear passenger window with a double shot flat white. 

Minnipa was the next town of interest, and my real reason for this long detour. For it was here that you turned off to Pildappa Rock. For people who know (or for that matter care) Pildappa Rock is an inselberg (I'm sure someone smart can actually tell me what that is). For me it was an interesting rock. Its erosion rate is 50 centimetres every million years so if you are interested in seeing it there is still a little time.

Its pretty impressive in its scale and you can see it has been an important source of water to both the indigenous and early European setters (notice the drain around the bottom). Plus you can still climb all over it in a very un health and safety kind of way. I spoke to a local there who tells me it is a popular place to bring your push bike and even your off road motor bike. Sadly the weather was lousy so it is hard to get an idea of the scale of the place but suffice it to say it is an impressive site.

From there I headed out to Streaky Bay (I so wanted to tell you it was Australia's first nudist colony but I somehow don't think you would believe me). It seemed like a nice little coastal village. I called in at the local visitor centre only to see a sign up saying they were shut (this despite their operating hours saying they were open). The sign said (and I wish I'd taken a photo of it) "Back at 2.00pm, having a long lunch". Now I know what a long lunch is like and my guess is 2.00pm would be more of an indication than a promise. I had 20 minutes to wait to find out, so I left. If it had been open I would probably have stopped the night, I'd had enough of driving at that point. Somewhat reluctantly I went and checked out the local scenery instead then pushed on to Ceduna, a bit annoyed with the visitor centre closure. 

Here's what I saw, The Granites, this is impressive sheer granite cliff face when it is in full sunlight. Fortunately I got to see it that way but by the time I got close enough for a pic, the sun was behind a cloud. Then I headed for Point Labatt and its sea lion colony, all very nice but still hard to compete with Kangaroo Island. Next stop however was sublimely ridiculous, a place called Murphy's Hay Stacks. More inselbergs (look it up) jutting up out of the hillside in a unique and mildly amusing manner. I spent a while combing over the site and stretching my legs before heading off.

I had one last tourist activity to fo before I heading for Ceduna. I wanted to stop at Eyre's Water Hole. Edward John Eyre's name is like a rash all over the map in this part of the world. He has a peninsula, a lake, a highway and a creek named after him. He also has a High School and a pub with his name above the entrance. He was Deputy Governor of New Zealand and Governor of Jamaica. In this latter role he ruthlessly put down a rebellion and was twice charged (though both cases never went ahead) with murder. In Australia by far his most impressive achievement however was crossing the Great Australian Bight using an overland route. The water hole that bears his name was the last reliable source of water for his expedition before it set off and is located 3 kilometres east of Streaky Bay. He still had another 1,200 kilometres to go before he would be sure of reliable water.

This was not only a water source for Eyre and his expedition but was also used by the local Aboriginals well before Eyre came on the scene. It also served as a significant part of Streaky Bay's water supply until reticulated water was piped to the town in 1936.

I sped into Ceduna after all my touristing, hoping to beat the sunset (I did by about ten minutes). I did a circuit of the town on foot to try and get a feel for the place and to stretch my legs after a long day in the car. It is a mostly unremarkable place from the bessa block and hardi plank architectural schools. However the sunset was absolutely stunning over Murat Bay and after a couple of glasses of red, some local oysters and a rare rump steak the town seemed so much more inviting. 

Tomorrow really does see me start across the Nullarbor.