Bet you thought there wasn’t much out here on a day’s drive from Balladonia to the South Australian border. Wrong. We had an exciting day on this very straight road. We got through the longest straight stretch of road on Australia – 145.6km, or 90 miles in the old. In fact, the whole darn thing is straight really.
We camped last night in the bush east of Balladonia, and this morning moved on to explore the caves near Cocklebiddy. Now I have to admit to complete ignorance of these caves, but John assures me everyone’s heard of them. They are not publicised, nor sign posted, so you have to be committed to finding them – which of course we did!
The huge opening to Murra El-Eleveyn Cave
There’s at least a 10m drop into this one, with no steps or ladder to get in. But we read that once you get to the actual opening of the cave, there’s a 300m walk to an underground lake. Now that’s a carrot.
We used the electric winch to lower John, Fergus and Harry into the sinkhole. I volunteered to stay above ground and operate the winch. Someone had to make a sacrifice.
Organising the winch cable to lower themselves down
John fashioned a harness out of some rope to sit in, and used a bike helmet to make them look safe. Ha. They disappeared underground, and I didn’t even get half way through my new House & Garden magazine before they were yelling to be winched up.
Fergus at the end of the cable being winched back up
In the cave there were puddles so clear and so still that they couldn’t be seen. There was calcified limestone of which Harry brought me back a sample. It had a big open cavern, and the descent was about 50m down under the surface over rock and rubble. Oh, and it was dark. So if you’re passing Cocklebiddy, be sure you have a winch and a torch for an unusual excursion.
We stopped for lunch at Madura Pass, where the view is magnificent.
A glimpse of our wide brown land….and sweeping plains
The wind was insanely strong and we cowered in the lea of the trailer eating our sandwiches while our calves got sandblasted. Not pleasant.
Next up was Eucla. Another roadhouse, but with the added reason to stop of visiting the remains of the Overland Telegraph Station, which may or may not be covered in sand. We tried (and failed) to find a track to the beach to see the remnants of the old jetty. Yes, I hear you say, we should have walked.
Telegraph Station at Eucla in varying states of burial
We crossed the border into South Australia and I made the boys do silly photo poses for me. Again.
This is where we did find a track to the cliff tops. To Wilson Bluff in fact. The explorer, Eyre, and his aboriginal companion, Wylie, passed through here on their epic journey from Adelaide to Albany in 1840.
The Great Australian Bight was a magnificent sight, with dead calm water. The wind had finally left us, although the flies moved in instead. I walked along the cliff top looking down on the ocean in the late afternoon light. We were just 4km from the Eyre Highway, but a world away. There are no signs to these tracks. You just have to look a little further than the bitumen.
Our camp site view of the Great Australian Bight
On such a perfect evening, and after a few days without a shower, we thought it was time to use our own shower. We have a small hot water system and shower rose that has been stowed until now. I did take some photos of the shower being used, but Harry won’t let me put them on our Blog. I can tell you that a hot shower, on a windless evening, on the edge of the continent with a view of the ocean is a beautiful thing.
We had a fire that night, a great chicken curry, and a
pretty good sunset.
