The Nullarbor and Beyond Day Three

Round Australia Road Trip #23

On day three there’s not much more to go before we reach Ceduna, at the eastern end of the crossing of the Nullarbor. The landscape changes dramatically as the saltbush is replaced by broad fields of wheat ready for harvesting.

The little town of Penong, known as the Town of 100 Windmills, relies on the windmills on its outskirts to draw water from deep underground.

After Penong it’s only another 75 kilometres to Ceduna and we’ve achieved our goal. We’ve crossed the Nullarbor Plain from west to east, a distance of 1194 kilometres. Our first stop in Ceduna is the Visitor Centre, where we claim our “Across the Nullarbor” certificate.

Ceduna is the main town of the north west Eyre Peninsula, in South Australia. Located on Murat Bay, Ceduna’s main industry is fishing. A memorial to local sailors who’ve been lost at sea overlooks the coast at Thevenard Port.

The name Ceduna comes from the Aboriginal word “chedoona” which means “resting place”. There’s no time for us to rest though, as we leave Ceduna and head south on the Flinders Highway to Streaky Bay, a seaside town at the eastern end of the Great Australian Bight.

For one last look at the Bight we drive round the Cape Bauer Loop, past towering cliffs, wide sandy beaches and rock formations carved out by the pounding seas of the Southern Ocean.

Boardwalks through the dunes lead to lookouts over the coast. Where seawater has reacted with the limestone, shafts have formed in the rock platforms, creating spectacular blowholes.

From the Indian Ocean to the Southern Ocean, from Western Australia to South Australia, from Norseman to Ceduna – our crossing of the Nullarbor is complete.