Day 9: Wed 27 Mar 24 - Ceduna to Bunda Cliff (Camp 2)

Wed 27 Mar 24 - Ceduna to Bunda Cliff (Camp 2) (350km)

We woke to 12 feeling like 9 Deg with a lazy 18 km/h SSE wind, reaching 19 feeling like 12 Deg with 42 to 55 km/h gusting winds at Bunda Cliffs. 

We packed and drove away from Ceduna at 08:30, heading west along the very good Eyre highway. There were a lot of trucks heading east and a lot appeared to be driven by Indians. Unfortunately, from UHF radio interactions, many Australian drivers are not too kind to them - in fact they're very nasty. Apparently there are more than 70,000 truck drivers on the roads in Australia, and many Indians are being attracted to working in the heavy transport industry. We also encountered a few cyclists and three runners making their way east. We couldn't help but feel concerned for the cyclists when being passed by trucks travelling in both directions at the same time. The cyclists that we saw are taking part in the Indian Pacific bike race from Perth to Sydney (5,475km) which is solo and unsupported. Unfortunately, one cyclist lost his life on the Nullarbor a few days ago.

The roads today were fabulous, and the landscape surprisingly green. We had several stops along the way including Penong, an underground watertank ruin and the Nullarbor Roadhouse, with our final destination the Bunda Cliffs for a night. We considered driving into the Head of The Bight Whale Centre, but it was a 24km round trip, so we decided to leave it for the return trip home. We arrived at Bunda Cliffs at about 2:00pm, and the wind was picking up much more than forecast, reaching gusts of 55km/h. Noeleene wasn't keen to stay but we had already driven 350km, and there were not many other options nearby that would be completely wind free, so we decided to stay the night. Nevertheless, I managed to go for a few short walks along the cliffs taking photos, and I even sent the drone up for some aerial photos, thankfully landing it safely again. After dinner looking out over the Great Australian Bight, we watched the changing colour of the sky and the setting sun. By 7:00pm, there were about 15, or more, caravans spread out along the cliffs, each giving everyone plenty of space. It's a great to be finally doing this iconic drive. 


The Penong Windmill Museum

On the edge of the Nullarbor, the museum holds Australia's largest windmill and features a unique collection of donated and restored windmills collected as far away as the Riverland and Alice Springs

The Penong Windmill Museum


The very good Eyre Highway, but it does narrow with nasty dropoffs from around 40km east of Yalata

Brew break near an Old Underground Water Tank Ruins

Old Underground Water Tank Ruins


Non of the above wildlife was spotted today. Noel was hoping to see a camel - maybe another day

Nullarbor Plain - Eastern End of Treeless Plain (Can you tell it's windy?)

Nullarbor Plain heading West

The Old Nullarbor Roadhouse


Nullarbor Roadhouse Fuel Stop.

Nullarbor Roadhouse Fuel Stop. Thankfully just a top up at $2.94 / lt. Still cost $137.92. Fairly impressive fuel consumption until the wind picked up. Ended up 16 lt/100km from Ceduna

Bunda Cliffs - West View


Bunda Cliffs - East View

Our (late) lunchtime view over the Great Australian Bight

Starlink doing its job well - very happy it.

View east along the Bunda Cliffs

View West along the Cliffs - we're the first van on the right

Our overnight camp

Careful not to send the drone up too high into the wind

Looking West

Looking East


Another Drone flight for sunset photos - East View.

Another Drone flight for sunset photos - West View


Another Drone flight for sunset photos - West View

Lovely pastel colours

The end of a wonderful day





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