Every year, thousands of people take the time to plan and make the long journey across the Nullarbor Plain in South Australia. It is considered as a quintessential experience – one that many travellers want to experience at least once in their lives. Every year, groups and individuals make plans, both for leisure and business, for traveling over the Eyre Highway and across the Nullarbor Plain.
Why has “crossing the Nullarbor” become so meaningful?
Location
Perhaps more than anything else, the Nullarbor Plain is known for its vastness. 1,200 kilometers at its widest, it is a wild, open land. Most people envision a “plain” as an open, empty land. However, you wouldn’t have to wait very long on the Eyre Highway journey to realise that everywhere you look on the Nullarbor, you feel the very impact of all the wild land around you!
For individuals and families that may be used to city life – concrete jungles and buildings everywhere – the sight of so much open land will be an eye-opening change. From huge skies to a vast diversity of flora and fauna in all directions, it certainly is a pleasant (and startling!) change of scenery.
Many Australians consider this area as one of the most spectacular landscapes in the country. A range of sights from wooded hills to railway outposts, as well as a great deal of areas with historical significance for Australia, can be found over the Nullarbor journey. Any traveller looking for a change of sights should definitely consider this trip.
History
The historical importance of many locations that one may not be far from when on the Eyre Highway is also another great reason to tackle the journey. For example, Denial Bay in the Western Eyre Peninsula tells an interesting story as a dock from when it was first settled upon, and remains a great place for marine cuisine to this day.
The journey itself is rather historic. The first man to make the attempt across the Nullarbor Plain was Edward John Eyre (whose name the highway bears today). It took a great deal of luck, ingenuity, bushcraft and survival skills in order to succeed in this attempt. These days, with the Eyre Highway having been maintained well, it’s much easier for anyone to make the big journey over the Nullarbor.
Adventure spots
Many of the travellers going for the Nullarbor crossing are doing it for purposes of adventure. It’s not simply about getting across the plain: it’s about the other spots and stops to find interesting things in. One of the plain’s noteworthy characteristics is its network of caves and sinkholes.  Carved from limestone, this network is so imposing that an extensive caving experience and a permit from the CALM and SA Department for Environment, Heritage and Aboriginal Affairs is necessary to make the attempt. So for an experienced cave exploring groups looking for a real adventure, the Nullarbor Plain cave system is unbelievably interesting.
Apart from that, there are spots across the journey where one can catch their own food from the sea, tour over the Bunda Cliffs in a plane, and other numerous experiences to satisfy even the hungriest adrenaline-junkie.
The flora and fauna
Another reason that this journey is a must-go is the fact that so much of Australia’s wildlife  and fauna can be found through this journey. Apart from the marine life in the Eyre Peninsula, there are sightings of kangaroos, emus, wombats, and even lizards and eagles!
Similarly, the landscapes described earlier are covered with Australia’s native flora. This is especially interesting to travellers during September, in Albury and the South West, when the wildflowers are in bloom.
Many say that sometimes, the greatest adventures can be found at home. There’s no need to go abroad to find a great adventure. In Australia, the quintessential adventure is crossing the Nullarbor Plain – something that no one should miss. Contact us at Nullarbor Roadhouse to make plans for a great stopover during your journey.