Monday, November 9, 2020

A ghostly Nullarbor crossing

Nowhere was the evidence of the impact of this pandemic more obvious than on our trip across the Nullarbor from WA to SA.  With the WA border still officially closed to all incoming traffic - freight trucks exempt as are essential service providers - the only passenger vehicle we saw on the whole trip was a caravan going in the same direction as we were.   Not a single car coming from SA into WA.  All that will, I imagine, change on 14 November as the traffic stream going both ways will begin.


It is difficult to effectively portray nothing.  This was our view of the road across the Nullarbor, normally a scene of much going and froing traffic. It was a bit like the Apocalypse had hit earth with only the trundling of Mad Max trucks every so often.  And to add insult to injury, the force of the wind one of those beasts generated tore off the covering on our air vent above the spare bed which contains all our treasured purchases on this trip.   If it should rain in the next three weeks, we are rather unprotected from rain coming in that vent.

In this way, we say goodbye to beautiful WA.  We loved everything it had to offer, including safety from Covid-19.  What good fortune for us to have picked this year to come here and have the freedom to explore it in depth.

We clocked up 17,400 kms driving within Western Australia.  It is a might large state, geographically the largest in Australia but with the smallest population.  Distances between towns is quite daunting.



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