Crossing the Nullarbor

The magic hit us all at the same time. Twenty mouths dropped open as an incredible sunset swept across the Nullarbor, stretching away forever before us.

Finally it sank down over the plain and we drove deep into the bush for yet another extraordinary night in the outback. As we sat round the camp fire, sparks flying up to the stars in an endless black sky above, we re-lived the first few days of our incredible trip.

We’d swum in a dark lake at the bottom of an ancient cave, clambered over sand dunes to photograph the eerie remains of an old telegraph station and crossed the state border. The day before that, we’d sand boarded high up in historic Fowlers’ Bay and bounced over the waves in a luxury cruiser to a secret hideaway where we swam with dolphins and played with energetic young sea lions. Nullarbor Traveller is the only tour company that goes to this magic place so the animals trusted us completely - and all of us agreed there’s something rather special about coming face to face with a sea lion who throws a strand of seaweed at you and expects you to pass it back.

The next morning our first stop was the startling blue sea of Lucky Bay in the Cape Le Grand National Park. Our guides, Andy and Kat called it Paradise Bay and had everyone fumbling for swimming costumes, boogie boards and snorkels. There was almost a mutiny when Andy and Kat tried to get us to leave the white beach in the morning - but the Stirling Ranges, one of the many spectacular national parks in Australia, soon made up for it. We clambered up to the top of Frenchman’s Peak and gazed over limitless miles of forest and space. Finally, back at the camp, 20 tired bodies just made it through dinner before crawling into their tents.

We needed our strength. The next day we were swinging through the trees on the famous Tree top walk in the Walpole Nornalup National Park. The giant Red Tingle Trees are aptly named: swaying gently, 40 feet up in the air on a sturdy, but decidedly mobile bridge.

That afternoon, back on the bus, we were all very quiet. Over the nine day trip from Adelaide we’d travelled nearly 4,000 km and experienced things we could never have imagined. The unspoilt Nullarbor had opened up to us, revealing all it’s wonders and secrets. We felt honoured.

The skyline of Perth opened up before us.

“So what do you do on the return trip to Adelaide?” I asked Andy as he drove the coach round the streets to our hostels.

You’ll never guess what I did. I booked myself on it.

And the adventures just kept on coming...but that’s another story.