• December 9, 2009
• Adelaide, Australia, Lake Gairdner, Nullarbor Traveller, South Australia

Now I could spend my holidays on videos galore or lie on the beach getting sorry and sore or I could sail the oceans and see another foreign shore. Well, I packed up my stuff to sail the Nullarbor.

I’m awake at 5am and in bad need of coffee. By 6am I’m up, packed and ready to leave. I’ve been looking forwards to this trip. It is one of the areas of Australia I’ve wanted to see and having looked at the possibilities of bus (no longer running) and train (not enough stops) going with Nullarbor Traveller is now the only way to get across the south coast on land (short of driving it myself).

The driver and guide for this trip was Simo and after grabbing another coffee at the Adelaide bus station while everyone loaded their stuff we were away, heading up into the Flinders Ranges.

First stop along the way was at Snowtown, for use of the toileting facilities and a little of Australia’s recent history. Then it was up towards Quorn for the camel ride around Devil’s Peak (with Pichi Richi Camel Tours), something which I had to pass on but instead enjoyed the scenery of the Flinders Ranges.

Driving around here brought back a lot of memories from the last time I was here. I do like this area of South Australia. The roads kept close to the original journeys of the early explorers and the original Ghan train line. Passing through Horrock’s Pass provides one of the many tales of early exploration in Australia. John Ainsworth Horrocks had been a farmer in the area before financial difficulties and a desire to explore got the better of him.

Horrocks is credited with bring the first camel to Australia to use in explorations of the country. It was unfortunate then that after setting out to search for new land suitable for farming his camel knocked Horrocks while reloading his gun. Horrocks lost fingers and teeth from the shot and would die a month later from gangrene after being taken back to Penwortham.

Next stop, Port Augusta for lunch and to stock up on the essentials of Aussie life, namely beer, before heading on to Lake Gairdner for the first night.

Lake Gairdner is one of the many large salt lakes in South Australia, often used for speed records, it stretches some 160km long and 48km wide. Getting here meant leaving the roads and heading across the tracks, a rough and bouncy ride at times. The first of many to come.

Dinner was cooked on the camp fire, not the planned way but when you’ve got the wrong cable for connecting the gas with the stove alternatives means of cooking must be found!

Sleeping out on one of these trips is part of the fun. Before booking everyone has the choice of tent or swag. Having thoroughly enjoyed the swag in the past I had to do it again. There is something special about it. Australia in summer may have some cool nights but there are few experiences more pleasurable than lying awake at night watching the stars. Plus a swag can merely be rolled out when ready to be used rather than messing about setting up a tent (which has to be taken down again in the morning).

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