Perlubie Beach to Perenjori - 6th to 12th May

While we were at Perlubie, we drove 20kms to Streaky Bay for their famous fish and chips. But the shop is shut Sunday to Tuesday. We went on Tuesday, sowe missed out.

After 3 really good nights at Perlubie we had to get really serious about heading west.

Distant view to Perlubie Beach Camping from the other side of the bay

Fowlers Bay SA

We were last in Fowlers Bay Caravan Park in 2023 and we made a note "No need to come here again". We couldn't recall why we made that observation, but when we arrived we realised that there was "no need to be here" again! It's actually the 4th time we've stayed here and we don't think we'll be back.

The thing is the distances all line up so it's a convenient place to stop. We'll stay on the highway at a free camp next time. Fowlers Bay itself has deep history and it's an interesting little outpost. But after doing it once, or even twice, that's enough.

Fowlers Bay Wharf

The camp ground is unique, and we could recall that when we visited in 2023 there were some reason we felt uncomfortable with the owners. We didn't have any issues with them this time. They won't allow Wikicamps to list their camp ground, and that in itself is extremely unusual and says a lot. So much so that this is the only camp site we know of that don't allow their camp grounds to be listed on Wikicamps.

With signs like this around their camp site, you can just tell they are a bit off

52k Peg on the Eyre Highway SA

Its called 52k Peg because its 52km east of the Western Australia border. The Bunda Cliffs are an absolute highlight when doing the Nullarbor Crossing. They go on for ages.

The trouble is the cliffs are crumbling away fast from erosion, so most of the camps have been closed as they are deemed to be unsafe.

52K Peg is one that's still operational, although we're sure the 'closed' sign keeps getting taken down. 

The vast view is awe inspiring. There's nothing south over the ocean until Antarctica. The force of the ocean against the cliffs is relentless and you can hear the power of the waves against it. No wonder they are giving way. Definitely one of those must do places!

We had a beautiful afternoon sitting on top of the cliffs looking out, the wind was kind to us, and even though it was a bit cool, we managed it!

Our van in the distance

You can see why they don't like you camping here

Alan pondering the view

It was a great camping spot. Certainly a campsite with a view! Previously when we have camped along here we've seen dolphins in the water. No sign of life this time, and too early for whale watching.

The wind in the morning was very crisp, so we had to enjoy the view from within our van with the diesel heater running.

Baxter Rest Area - WA

As it was only 52kms to the border we crossed rather early. There's a unofficial 45 minutes time zone difference between SA and Eucla area. There are only 3 time zones in the world on the 15 minute.  So we gained 45 minutes driving 52kms. Then a further 270kms we gained another 45 minutes to get on WA time.

There's contention as to how this unofficial 45 minute time zone originated. One theory is that the time zone was created as a result of confusion when the old Eucla telegraph station was operating. The station had two operators, a WA one and a SA one sitting opposite each other and yet one was on an hour and a half difference to them. So they put an agreement in place to split the time difference from each capital city. 

We did heaps of research regarding what we could and couldn't bring into WA, knowing full well they are stricter than SA. And after our experience at the border of SA we weren't going to get caught this time. We didn't have any honey, had removed the skins from onions and garlic, and even chipped the bark off our 2 pieces of firewood, but ...

The information we researched said we could bring in pre-packaged salad. But guess what, if it has green leaves in it you can't. The quarantine guy said they have changed the rules just now, we think he said within the last 2 weeks. He told us of horror stories of trucks loaded with these extremely dangerous prepackaged green leaves being turned around at the border. That's 1,300kms from Adelaide! Imagine driving a truck at least 1,300kms and being turned around! He said their website hasn't been updated to these new rules due to complexity of it all. Great!

Apparently it's because WA have had recently imported salad bags containing green leaves in them that have had heinous grubs in them. WA mustn't have these bugs and they want to keep them out. Yeah, right!

So we had to hand over one brand new, unopened bag of salad, thankfully not a truck load of it! No salad for us tonight, just protein again.  He didn't check inside the Waeco in the car, the fridge freezer, or even look at the firewood!  The people in front of us looked like they were moving house and had all their goods and chattels in a cage box trailer.  The inspector waited patiently for them to undo all the tiedown ratchet straps, move the tarp off, and poked around their stuff for a bit.  Then they had to spend ages redoing their packaging.  They're very serious about the wrong things entering the state of WA.

We've been at Baxter Rest Area 4 times before. It's just a roadside stop but its very big.

Friday cheers

Baxter is 467kms from 52KM Peg, so it was a big day. With the 90 minutes time difference between SA and WA we arrived tired but very early. We were in bed by 8:30 pm.

We passed through Ceduna, filled up with water at a cost of $6. Water is precious out here. We also got supplies after having no fruit or vegetables after the various border crossings.

Jayne wanted to buy a Kangaroo Tail to make some soup. No thanks. Soups not a meal!

In Ceduna we took the opportunity to have fish and chips at their Oyster Barn. They have a cool seating area on the roof. Certainly their fish and chips were better than kangaroo tail soup!

Very nice fish and chips, and they're open 7 days!

Norseman WA

We stayed at the Norseman RV Free Rest Area and went to the pub for dinner. That was certainly an interesting experience.  Norseman has transformed into a big gold mining location, and we think most of the miners came here to eat. Most still wearing their High Vis shirts, and some looked as if they had just crawled out of the mine straight into the pub! We wondered if they got that dirty in just one day, or did they get dressed into these dirty clothes in the morning?

Norseman RV free camp, just great.

Jayne just had to give the baby Magpie one nut. Next thing you know we were joined by Mum, Dad and all their friends

Driving through Coolgardie Gold Fields we stopped for mornos.

I wanted to get Jayne a gold pendant for Mothers Day. But I couldn't find a chain strong enough for it!

Mukinbudin - 24hr RV Stop

We enjoyed our night here. Another free camp, with toilets, fresh water and dump point. All the essentials. It's just fantastic that these towns offer such services for free. We were the only ones there, so all the better for us.  These places are really remote, but they have such great services and facilities.

We walked across the railway line to the pub for a very nice dinner. Chatted with a young Dutch girl working behind the bar. She had been there since January and was heading off to Bali and Thailand in a couple of weeks. Then flying back to Holland, and in October flying back to Australia and Mukinbudin!

Another sensational free camp. 

So how do you get the car and van clean out these parts? Almost every caravan park doesn't allow you to wash your van onsite and most now don't allow car washing either.

You just pull up in a tarred or gravel area and give both a wash using water from the van. Mind you, you always get strange looks from the locals that drive past!

Perenjori - Stan Cannon Reserve Car Park

Another free camp in a small town. Just amazing. Had the whole slab to ourselves.

It's really fantastic that these small towns offer these free campsite services, and amazing that the last 2 nights we've had them all to ourselves. Even the RV site in Norseman is supposed to fill to capacity every night, there were 6-7 vacant sites all night.

The main reason we think it's so quiet is that it's not time yet for the Wildflower Season, around September.  The whole area transforms into spectacular wildflowers, as far as you can see.  We were lucky enough to do this trip a few years ago.

The area we've just driven through is the Wheatbelt.  Just open fields waiting to be planted for this year's harvest.  On and on they go for hundreds of kilometres. 

The park had a really nice playground including a Flying Fox. Jayne just had to have a go.

They even had a kids one!

Click here to go back to start of Broome and Exmouth 2025

Click here to go back to our HOME for our past adventures