A drive with real bite!
Top Drive 2: Nullarbor

Once a part of the ocean floor, the Nullarbor Plain is the world’s flattest slab of limestone, covering an area of approximately 200,000 square kilometres, up to 300 metres thick. The Nullarbor Plain lies between Head of Bight on the Eyre Peninsula, in South Australia, and the South Australian / Western Australian state border. At 200,000sq kms, the Nullarbor is almost a third of the size of France.
The drive from Adelaide to Perth, across the Nullarbor, is a journey as unforgettable as it is long - 2779 kilometres. That’s further than London to Berlin and back. Be prepared, take your time, and you will be rewarded. To prove the point, here are ten highlights along the way:

1. Riesling Trail (Clare)
Linking the townships of Auburn and Clare and traversing the picturesque Clare Valley Wine Region, the Riesling Trail is one of SA’s premier trails. A 25km walking and cycling trail suitable for people of all ages and experiences.

2. Wadlata Outback Centre (Port Augusta)
Wadlata is a hands-on, interactive Interpretive Centre that interprets the history or the evolution of the Flinders Ranges and the Outback of South Australia through a vast series of entertaining educational displays. This is a journey you will never forget. As you enter the time tunnel and step back 15 million years to the Greentime, when lush rainforests inhabited the Flinders Ranges and Outback South Australia and dinosaurs roamed the area freely.

3. Fabulous Seafood at Port Lincoln.
Known as the “Tuna”-rama City, Port Lincoln is set on the shores of sparkling Boston Bay, Australia’s largest natural harbour. A magnificent marina development, Lincoln Cove is home to the tuna fishing fleets of the Great Australian Bight. Here you can take a seafood-lover’s guided tour of Port Lincoln’s leading multi-species fish processing factory. and visit the only seahorse farm in South Australia.

4. Gawler Ranges National Park (near Wudinna)
Gawler Ranges National Park is a 120,000ha reserve and is situated 40km north of the Eyre Highway. Vast hill and gully complexes, with rocky gorges and seasonal water flows, create a stunning landscape of natural beauty. An entry fee of $7 per vehicle and camping fee of $4 per person, per night applies.

5. Murphy’s Haystacks (near Streaky Bay)
Located approximately 40 kilometres south of Streaky Bay, these haystacks have nothing to do with farming and are in fact large standing granite pillars and boulders that are reminiscent of Stonehenge in England. Entry to Murphy’s Haystacks is made by a donation of $2.

6. Ceduna Aboriginal Arts & Culture Centre
Opened in July 2001, this has been an initiative of Eleanor Coleman, a local Indigenous artist, and the local Aboriginal community. Already the business has established itself with a strong reputation for producing unique high quality, authentic Aboriginal art and craftwork. The building itself is a work of art and its interior displays make it well worth a visit. >

7. Whale Watching at Head of Bight
Watching southern right whales in their natural environment is a spectacular experience, particularly from South Australia’s Head of Bight on the Nullarbor Plain, considered one of the best areas in the world to view these gracious mammals.
Up to 100 adults – many weighing 80 tonnes and measuring up to 18 metres long – migrate here every May to breed, give birth and teach their calves the ways of the ocean. The South Australian Government recently constructed a new viewing platform, education shelter, visitor centre and ranger station.
Whales frequently come within 100 metres of the platforms and are often seen breaching, tail lobbing, body rolling and blowhole spraying throughout the breeding season, from May to October. Where: Head of Bight, part of the Great Australian Bight Marine Park, is located approximately 300-kilometres west of Ceduna, on Australia’s southern coast, on Yalata Aboriginal lands.Whale watching passes for access through Yalata Aboriginal land are available from the Yalata Roadhouse or Head of Bight Interpretive Centre (12kms off the main highway).

8. The Bunda Cliffs
The spectacular Bunda Cliffs stretch for 200 kilometres west of the Head of Bight to the Western Australian border. These cliffs are 70 metres in height and are the remains of an ancient ocean bed that was subject to geological uplifting millions of years ago.
There are six coastal lookouts, the first of which is located 50km West of Nullarbor at Australia’s “Land’s End”.

9. Kalgoorlie-Boulder
Visit the Mining Hall of Fame for a unique experience that combines a historic gold mine with interactive galleries, a changing display of art works and contrasting landscapes. Experience the range of tours and glimpse the life and times of miners and their families of the early Gold Rush days in the adjacent Hannans North historic mine reserve.

10. Wave Rock (Hyden)
Located just 4km east of Hyden, Wave Rock rises 15m above the ground like a giant wave about to break. It is streaked with vertical bands of red, ochre and sand grey, simulating the rolling movement of the sea.