Day 14 / 2025 - Esperance to Ceduna

We departed Esperance, the weather was fine and hoped this would continue for the rest of the week while we crossed the Nullarbor. We were a bit late out of the gate but not concerned as we did not have to be anywhere at a certain time.

We headed towards Norseman approx 200 Km north of Esperance, arriving about 12:30 where we topped up our fuel tanks. It was quite busy, seems every one travelling east or west converged there at the same time. We then headed up the Eyre Hwy stopping at a nearby rest area for lunch. Moving on we decided we would stop at Frasers Range Caravan Park as we needed power to run the fridge overnight. Arriving about 3:15 we could see the place was already quite full and just managed to snag the last powered site available. We had hoped to book in for their evening meal but alas dinner was already booked out so opted for our own cooking instead. Gina made a lasagna and Anne whipped up a salad. Finished the evening sitting outside with a glass of wine and looking at the star on very clear night. We started out by pointing out stars and satellites with a laser pen but ended up pretending to shoot them down.

Retiring to bed and around 8 PM the wind started to blow up, but of no real concern as we had retracted the awning and put the chairs away. About 2 am it started to rain with some thunderstorms again. This time we were packing up in the rain. Fortunately we never unhooked from the car so had little to do to get rolling again although still managed to get wet. Leaving Frasers Range we could see the gravel road was starting to get a bit sloppy with water but it was still passable and we were able to easily make our way to the main road.

The rain continued to fall, we fuelled up at Balladonia and pressed on. Our plan was to try to drive out of the rain area but It wasn’t until we made it to Caiguna, some 250 Km from our starting point, the rain finally started to ease up. We stopped for lunch at the next truck bay. Inspecting the caravan I could see some water had leaked in around the windows and through the four seasons hatch near the main door. It did not surprise me as there had been a lot of rain as well as large amounts of spray coming off the road and other passing vehicles. Bruce and Gina’s van also developed a leak but this was from their hatch just above the bed soaking all the beding in the process.

Finishing lunch we headed off noticing it was starting to sprinkle again. We made it to Cocklebiddy and topped up our fuel tanks again. The rain started to get heavier so we decided to stop at a Rest Area about 40 Km’s on for the night. Our fridge doesn’t work on gas but didn’t really matter as the weather was now quite cool so hopefully it will stay cold without power.

Pulling into the rest area the rain started to increase and while not pelting down it was one of the continuous soaking rains. Again there were some leaks from the spray of the road but not as bad as earlier. The rest area looked reasonably safe as most of ground was a gravel base and hopefully we shouldn’t get bogged or flooded in. I was quite amazed at the width of the rain band usually you go a hundred clicks down the road and you are all clear but not this time, seems like it was following us it was from Norseman to Cocklebiddy some 350 Km wide. We think the problem lies with us and Bruce and Gina being rain dancers now we have doubled the rain attracting power. We hoping the rain won’t be with us too many more times but as they say you can’t control the weather.

We don’t mind off grid camping you have some much more room and a lot of Rest Areas are free. We are reasonably well setup as we have a Gas Heater for warmth and a Gas water heater for hot water, water pump a shower. It’s a pity we don’t have a Fridge that works on Gas. Damm you Dometic for making a $4,000.00 fridge useless you could even have supplied a method of retrofitting the new PCB controller to an older model fridge.

Next morning we woke to the sound of silence i.e. no rain. There wasn’t any real sun either but at least it wasn’t raining. Having breakfast we met a chap who was walking from Sydney to Perth. He was raising awareness and money for Mental Health as he had experience mental health issues himself. He talked about his life and the challenge of walking helping to bring clarity and meaning.

Packing up we headed further east where we caught up again with the rain. We had decided to stop at Mundrabilla as we needed power for the fridge as everything was starting to defrost in the freezer. Mundrabilla caravan park was quite cheap at only $25 for the night seemed like a good place to ride out the rain The rain was also getting quite heavy so seemed like the perfect timing to stop. We are hoping the next day will be a bit dryer giving time for everything to dry out.

Pretty wet stop and van park area was full I guess due to the rain pelting down, probably the heaviest it has been. We ended up having a meal at the roadhouses restaurant. Ended up ordering the Big Billa burger really should know better eyes are always bigger than my stomach.

Leaving Mundrabilla the sun was actually shining we were hoping for a better day. Heading further east we stopped at Eucla for a fuel up before pressing on again towards the border. We wanted to use the dump point at Border Village but when we arrived we could see it was in the middle of a large lake. The rain did follow us again but more showery than anything else. We stoped at the 164 K Peg rest stop. There was plenty room and not very many vans. The wind was a bit gusty and a few showers passed through. It was a peaceful nights rest.

Next day we moved on again heading East, stopping briefly at Nullarbor Roadhouse then headed further on towards Penong where we stop for lunch and check out the outdoor windmill museum. We also fuelled up there then headed for a rest area called Bush camp about 10 Km west of Ceduna. The cool evenings were getting us to retire early as it was too cold to stay outside. It was probably a good thing as the evening and early morning bought in lots of Mozzies.

Next day we left 'Bush Camp' and headed to Ceduna. Passing through the Quarantine check point we then made our way into town parking behind the Tourist Bureau. Being Monday a public holiday there wasn't a lot open for business. We did find a Cafe where we sat down for a coffee and cake celebrating Gina's birthday. No candles were produced so was a very low key celebration. After finishing we picked up a few grocery items then made our way to Shelly Beach Caravan Park. Apparently we were 20 minutes early but they did let us in as our sites were already vacated by the previous occupants. For a drive through site it was a bit awkward to get into, the slab was on the opposite compared to the other sites so we had to come in backwards.