Leaving Norseman on Eyre Highway 1 we have a 700km cycle to reach Eucla, the next small settlement on our route.  

Our accommodation will be either Roadhouses (basically a petrol station with accommodation) or bush camping. As some Roadhouses are nearly 200km apart, bush camping is inevitable.  We are now properly in the Australian Outback. 

The highway is well maintained with a reasonable hard  shoulder and the traffic is infrequent. Everyone passing gives us a wave, flashes lights or sounds horn and no that’s not because we are in the way! 😃. Mind you, I think they’re more amused than impressed 😃. 

Last night we stayed at the Fraser Range Station after 105km from Norseman. Fraser Range is an old sheep shearing station and steeped in Australian history. Our accommodation was basic to say the least. Opting for the queen room in the stone cottage we found it was about 8 square feet with rough stone walls and floor. Essentially it was a cave with a window!  All that didn’t matter, however, once we were refreshed with a hot shower followed by a home cooked meal in the communal dining room. For a reasonable price we helped ourselves to a mountain of shepherds pie and vegetables. Desert was apple crumble and custard. Simple food but must rank as one of my top meals of the year – it’s all about the timing! 

Tonight we are in Balladonia Roadhouse, which has the benefit of a local Skylab museum. Remember Skylab that fell from the sky in 1979?  Well parts of it came crashing down around Balladonia and there is a small but interesting display. 

Tomorrow we head away from the hills (thank goodness) and enter Nullarbor. The Nullarbor desert is a ancient dried up sea bed and is the world’s largest pice of limestone and about 1200km wide. A long cycle but hey it’s flat for the next week or so. 

953km to date. 

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