Border Village CP to Nullabor Roadhouse campground.
Up about 7 o’clock local time. (Whatever that is) Quite chilly once the sun rose.
We got away and found the old Eyre Hwy and needed to stop shortly after and let the tyres down again. (It’s a bit gravelly, rocky and generally a track)
Then we set off again.
Stopped to find the Bunabie Blowhole but couldn’t find it where the maps indicated, only to find it a little further down right beside the track.
Then a noise was heard on the Tvan. A loose bolt that can’t be tightened and a relook at the ‘other’ bearing- which got a tweak. It seems that given the bolt can’t be tightened, it’s not going anywhere.
Detoured again to find Coompana Rockhole – to no avail. Did find some flowers, a weird glistening web and a curious dead bug stuck in a plant.
Koomooloobooka Caves for lunch. These caves were quite deep and no doubt opened up and joined together underneath. It was quite a drop into the caves – like all the caves out here – they are best left to the professionals.
Then on past several Shingleback lizards to Koonalda Homestead. An absolute step back in time.
Koonalda Homestead sits within the Nullarbor National Park.
Driving across the Nullarbor Plain, you quickly begin to appreciate how arid and isolated this region is. Early settlers experienced this same feeling of isolation and worked hard to make a living from this dry and lonely land.
The Gurney family leased Koonalda Station from 1938 to 1988.
This station was only feasible because water for their stock was pumped from Koonalda Cave lakes into above ground storage tanks. Historic pumping equipment still remains in the cave today.
On a vast and treeless plain, pastoralists often had to make-do with the materials at hand. Sleepers from the Trans-Australia railway near Cook were used to build the Koonalda homestead’s outside walls and fences. The timber windows and some of the doors are recycled materials from the old telegraph station in Eucla.
This homestead is a rare example of World War II construction in the outback.
The Koonalda homestead complex consists of a homestead, shearers hut, petrol outlet/generator room, workshop/storage shed, stables and shearing shed.
Koonalda Homestead was a service point for travellers along the Old Eyre Highway. Over the years, it became a graveyard for vehicles that broke down in this harsh landscape. The old wrecks and decaying vehicles could have me taking pictures for days.
The homestead itself was open and in good knick for having been deserted since 1988. The lino was a blast from the past and there newspapers in there from 1984 which took you back to the time of Steven Speilberg’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (which was being lambasted for being too violent). The old Aga stove in the kitchen and a meat safe out the back.
You can camp there with a few different options to set up. One for another time.
Just down the track about 800m was the Koonalda Blowhole. Blowing very cold air at pressure up from the ground. Very cool experience.
Next stop was Koonaldo Cave. Under heavy video surveillance- a culturally significant place for the Mirning people.
The water for the homestead was piped 6km from this cave.
The Nullarbor is the ancestral lands of the Mirning Traditional Owners who have strong cultural ties with Country.
Mirning people are Traditional Owners of the Nullarbor parks region; including portions of the marine parks in the Great Australian Bight. This was recognised through the Far West Coast Native Title Determination 2013 and Nullarbor Parks Indigenous Land Use Agreement. The Nullarbor Parks are managed by a Co-management Advisory Committee of Mirning Community members and State Government staff.
Many places across the Nullarbor have great historical and spiritual significance to the Mirning people; some of these places have cultural protocols, requiring restricted access where visitors are asked to respect the wishes of Traditional Owners.
Mirning peoples continue to play an active role in caring for their Country, including in the Co-management of parks and reserves across the Nullarbor region. Co-management recognises the importance of the cultural and natural values of the parks. These parks will be managed using traditional knowledge, scientific knowledge and contemporary park management practices.
Back onto the blacktop and backtrack a bit to The Great Australian Bight lookout. I’ve always wanted to see this and it was pretty damn good.
Then air up the tyres again so we can go faster on the bitumen.
We were headed towards the next lookout point when we came across a car and van on the roadside with the bonnet up.
Of course Stef and Phil did a U turn and went back to check on the situation. The poor bugger had lost battery power and was waiting for a tow truck and had no idea what was going on with no phone service.
Phil and Stef chatted for a bit and had some thoughts about what we should do. We called Steve and Brian back so he could contact his wife and daughter who had gone ahead to a roadhouse in the daughter’s vehicle and camper. This proved to be fruitless as wife and daughter had no phone service. (Thanks Optus!)
So Phil and Stef got to work pulling the battery out of his car and Phil pulled his battery out to swap, thinking it’s probably the alternator. A bit of difficulty fitting the flat battery into Phil‘s car, then they had no power and couldn’t open the back door to access the jump starter, so Stef grabbed his jumper leads and came to the rescue. Mary started the car and off they went in convoy towards Nullabor Roadhouse.
Stef, Steve and I followed a little later after packing up. Stef suggested that I stop off at the lookout and Steve came along to. We had a quick look at The Great Australian Bight under the almost full moon and hit the highway again towards Nullabor.
We were now travelling in the twilight to dark and keeping a close eye out for critters.
We arrived to find the crew had made it to Nullabor with no further battery swaps needed. They had the batteries back in the correct cars and Richard was back with his family. Phil was just trying to sort out a back door that wouldn’t close. By this time meals were nearly off at the Roadhouse so we raced through the very full CP to the back row where we backed ourselves in and got over to the restaurant/bar to order. Richard and his wife, daughter (Sarah) and Grandson (Jacks?) were there too. Richard was wanting to pay for our meals, which we refused. He did buy a couple of rounds of drinks and ate his dinner with us. He was very grateful for the help provided otherwise he would still be on the side of the road.
Dinner was delicious and we enjoyed a couple of drinks before closing time at 9.
Then over to set up our camp and shower and bed.
Another good day, never a dull moment.
Travel adventures with Nicola & co. 