The quick Nullabor trip

I wasn't originally going to write a journal entry on this trip, but I've decided I need the writing practice so strap yourselves in as I attempt to turn 39 hours of driving over 4 days into an entertaining read.

It was mid-January, and the first (of what would become many) difficulties of our troopy journey began to unfold. The deal was the troopy and tinny won by Rein would be shipped direct to our door, fully covered, as part of winning the grand prize. An Australian wide port strike soon put a spanner in the works with it becoming seemingly impossible to get a car from one side of the country to the other. Shipping prices soared through the roof and our contact from Ausso informed us shipping times were now 99 business days OR MORE. Frustration was building on either side with all parties just wanting the car to be handed over ASAP.

It was Rein who came up with the idea that perhaps we could just go and pick it up. He reached out to our contact at Ausso and proposed the deal, they pay for our flights and fuel and in return we pick up the car and drive it across the Nullabor, saving in shipping costs and wait times. With the terms found to be agreeable, we started planning. With Rein only home from work for 6 days and with me having very little leave, we decided we were going to have to do a shotgun, no stops trip over the long weekend to get the job done, with one exception, a detour to see Granny.

On the evening of Friday the 24th of January, we made our way to Perth airport for our flight. We found out about a week before that the car and trailer were both unregistered, so we sat at the airport pub, drinking a beer, attempting to get our final duck in a row. We were able to organise moving permits for Victoria and South Australia but were having trouble with the West Australian side of things. An unpaid fine attached to the trailer related to the previous owner was preventing the issuing of a permit. Rein called Ausso and we left it in their hands, praying that it would all be sorted before reaching the outback border crossing, not daring to consider what we would do if we weren't allowed back into our home state.

Timezones are a bitch. We left Perth at approx. 5pm for a 3 hour flight which had us landing at approx. midnight in Melbourne. Trudging through the dark, we made it to the airport hotel at around 1am to get a precious few hours sleep before having to be up at 6am the next morning (aka 3am Perth time).

As we sat in our Uber the next morning bound for Mornington, I spent my time pondering over how bizarre I found it being in Australian cities outside of Perth. Being thousands of kilometers away from home where everything is same same but different. Parmas instead of Parmies, toll roads and town houses. The towering city makes Perth seem like a hick country town.

We were greeted in Mornington by Harls, the director of Ausso, and his adorable puppy Cruiser. After a quick tour of the vehicle and boat, just like that, we were handed the keys and it was ours. Harls informed us that the sanction on the car/trailer had been lifted and we were granted our WA moving permit, the final piece of the puzzle. We joined Harls for breaky, both me and Rein couldn't resist a look in an antique shop where we picked up a cool tribal mask (yes, this is absolutely going to blow our budget when we do the lap) and we were off!

Cruiser the puppy!

We made a quick detour to Ikea for bedding and to Bunnings for supplies and a snag. We were both left disappointed by the East Coast sausage sizzler standard which comprises of a sausage in a piece of bread, not a bun. Definitely not as satisfying and much higher chance of a sauce overtop.

Then, we were on the road. The kilometers started ticking down and we began to settle in for our 4 day sprint across Aus. A toilet break in Horsham had caused us a wrong turn that lead us to cross into South Australia at Frances instead of Bordertown. By this stage, 4 hours of sleep and exhaustion were creeping up on me as I felt a migraine setting in, putting me out of action. We pushed onwards to Tailem Bend and set up camp for the night on the local footy field for $10.

Tailem Bend local footy field.

We eased through a quiet Adelaide on Sunday morning and headed for the Erye Peninsula. The landscape in SA quickly changing from lush greenery, to mangroves, to golden fields. I was shocked at the size of towns in both Vic and SA. Seemingly isolated towns in the middle of nowhere were expansive and full of people, a stark difference from the tiny, sparsely populated towns of the wheatbelt back home. We stopped in at Arno Bay for a toilet break, a small coastal town on the Erye Peninsula that really stuck with me. I couldn't help but think it's the exact kind of town Tim Winton would write about. Quirky beach shacks that were charming and captivating. A classic fishing town isolated enough that it has remained out of the reach of hungry developers and urban expansion.

We arrived in Cummins late afternoon to an eager Granny and her boisterous pomeranian Fergus. Rein beelined for the garden, and, like a kid in a candy store found the mulberry tree for an afternoon snack. After a lovely evening, we regrettfully left early the next day, grateful that we managed to see Granny, though briefly, on our journey.

We will be back next year Granny!

By breakfast time we were in Elliston and we stopped in at a local petrol station for a coffee and snack. Even as I'm writing this, I'm beginning to drool. Both me and Rein rated that random Elliston roadhouse bacon and egg toastie the BEST we have ever had, and the coffee was banging to boot. Who knew that the pinnacle of breakfast could be found in Elliston of all places.

Just before midday we hit the iconic Nullabor Roadhouse. After a toilet stop, a few snaps and a couple of pairs of footy shorts later, we took off.

The old Nullabor Roadhouse

Hitting the infamous Nullabor crossing was a treat. Our papers were checked and the border police Sergeant was smiling ear to ear listening to our story of winning a troopy, even asking for a picture to show his mates.

The funny thing about the border crossing is you think you are half way there, but in reality much more of the Nullabor crossing is actually on the WA side. As we jumped timezones, the day stretched on and on. We ended up driving for around 15 hours before parking up at a roadside camp just past Balladonia.

Despite the long day, we still took a moment to take in our surrounds. We were parked up in a secluded, quiet spot all to ourselves with no light for hundreds of kilometers. The stars here were the most magnificent I had ever seen. An endless expanse of twinkling white lights. It truely was an amazing site for our last night on the road.

The most incredible night sky

The next day was a slog to get home. Driving familiar roads wasn't as exciting and by this point we were starting to feel sick of driving. We eventually got home and back to our own bed, troopy proudly sitting in the driveway.

The drive was epic and we are excited to do it again but slowly and take in all the sights our beautiful country has to offer. There is a lot of work we need to do now to get the troopy ready for our lap, but we can't wait.

All to ourselves