The Nullarbor Plain stretches across the southern edge of Australia. It starts in Norseman, Western Australia, and ends in Ceduna, South Australia. The Nullarbor spans for over 1200 kilometers. The major highway running across the Nullarbor is the Eyre Highway. It connects Norseman and Ceduna. The Eyre Highway is sealed. It has a number of rest stops and a few roadhouses with basic facilities. There are also attractions along the way.
The name “Nullarbor” means “no trees” in Latin, reflecting the vast, arid landscape.
Western side of Nullarbor
Norseman
Norseman is the gateway to Nullarbor. It marks the beginning of the epic Eyre Highway, if you travel west to east. It is a great place to get information at the Visitor centre and buy food (after returning from east). If you are visiting in summer, you will enjoy in the Olympic size outdoor swimming pool. It was free to use when we travelled in early January 2025. We were returning from Nullarbor and swimming pool in hot weather was a real savior for us.
90 Mile sign
This is an iconic sign, signifying the beginning the straight road, without any turns or curves for 146 km. Everyone who travels across Nullarbor for the first time stops there to take a compulsory photo. That included us too :).
Balladonia Roadhouse museum
Despite being small, we found it was worthwhile to stop and visit the museum and learn about the history. The main focus of the museum is on Skylab space station. Although reading about European exploration and Afghan cameleers was also interesting. The museum is free to visit. Balladonia is the first fuel stop on Nullarbor after Norsman, traveling east.
Eucla
Eucla is the most easterly town in the Western Australia. It lies 11km from the South Australian border
Eucla old telegraph station – history buried in the sand
Eucla was once a busy town. Its significance lies in its telegraph station that was built in the 19th century. Thanks to this telegraph station, communication between Western Australia and the east of the country was established. These days, there are only remnants of what once used to be a bustling place. The town itself was eventually abandoned due to rabbits’ infestation. The rabbit plague destroyed dune vegetation which is now causing constant sand shifts. The sand dunes movement is so rapid that the whole town became buried under the sand. Only the telegraph station remained. But even the telegraph station is only partially visible. It will be gone completely in the future. So, we took an opportunity to visit it while we could still see something.
Eventually a new Eucla town was rebuilt 4km away on a higher ground. Eucla old telegraph station is a few kilometres away from Eucla town and easily accessible.
Modern Eucla
Nowadays Eucla is a small settlement that mostly serves the government and border security workers. It is also a major stop for anyone travelling west to east or vice versa. It has a caravan park, motel, restaurant and museum. An interesting fact is that Eucla has its own time zone. It is 45 minutes ahead of Perth, the latter being 2.5 hours behind South Australia. It makes it all quite confusing when you travel. 😊
Road trains on the Nullarbor
Australian road trains are huge and long indeed. Especially this one – carrying a hundred of cows (so it looked like). The truck hardly even fits into the picture frame 😊. You will see many road trains when you travel across the Nullarbor.
Middle of Nullarbor – WA-SA border
The border between Western Australia and South Australia is a must stop if you travel east to west. The reason for that is compulsory quarantine check. You are not allowed to bring fresh fruits and vegetables into the state because of fruit fly disease.
However, if you travel west to east, you do not need to stop. There is a quarantine stop in South Australia but it is at the end of the Nullarbor at Ceduna. It is worth checking what you can and cannot bring into each state, because the rules are different for each state.
If you travel east to west, make sure you stop at the WA-SA border sign for another photo opportunity. The sign is right after the quarantine point on the WA side.
The nail that marks the border – something you might not know!
While the border between other states, e.g. between NSW and Victoria is very fluid and defined by the river, the border between WA and SA is very specific. At least in some places, where there is a road entry. The border on the WA side is marked by a nail! We were privileged to be escorted and shown the exact location of the particular nail. It is on the side of the road, right at the quarantine point. If you are curious, next time you travel across Nullarbor, ask the quarantine personnel to show it to you. The lady worker was very happy to share that information with us.
Eastern side of Nullarbor
Big Kangaroo at the Border Village
Once you cross the border and are on the South Australian side, you will arrive at the Border Village. Here, you can see a giant kangaroo statue. It is another iconic site and so uniquely Australia. The kangaroo, called Rooey, is holding Vegemite 😊. The statue is 5 meters tall.
Bunda Cliffs
Bunda Cliffs are the best attraction on the Nullarbor, in our opinion. We would be willing to drive across the Nullarbor just to see them. These majestic limestone cliffs are up to 105 meters high. They are literally marking the end of the continent on the southern side, as they drop abruptly in the Southern Ocean. Bunda Cliffs are stretching for over 120 km along the shore of the Great Australian Bight. They are quite fragile and unstable, eroding rapidly.
Camping near Nullarbor cliffs
As much as it seems like really cool to camp at the edge of Nullarbor cliffs, we didn’t do it. It is quite dangerous to camp or even drive too close to the edge of the cliffs. Being constantly eroded, they might collapse at any minute. It is also illegal nowadays for that same reason. Instead, we camped along the Eyre Highway, at one of the free rest stops, approximately 1.5 km from the cliffs. These rest stops have no amenities, although some do have picnic tables though. But it is quiet and peaceful and even occasional road trains didn’t bother us at all.
The best thing was the beautiful sunset that we could view from our camp.
Nullarbor Roadhouse
Nullarbor Roadhouse is a popular rest stop for anyone travelling across the Nullarbor.
We found Nullabor Roadhouse fuel quite reasonable during our visits in December 2024 and January 2025. This is notable because there is no such thing as cheap on Nullarbor. Not only that, Nullarbor Roadhouse is like an attraction in itself. It has unique signs, information boards, describing the history of Nullarbor and the old roadhouse building. We didn’t stay at the caravan park. Neither did we buy any meals at the restaurant. All of this is available there. But we did take showers there (for a small fee), which felt like heaven after days of not washing. Definitely a must stop on the Nullarbor, no matter what your requirements are.
Lake MacDonnell
We love pink lakes. But Lake MacDonnell is not just a pink lake. As you drive along the road, this pink lake is on one side. A green-blue lake is on the other side. This contrast is very picturesque. Many people don’t mind the detour when travelling across Nullarbor just to get this photo opportunity. Lake MacDonnell is 15km south of Penong on the way to Point Sinclair in South Australia.
Ceduna – end of Nullarbor
Ceduna marks the end of the Nullarbor. It has a quarantine stop, where you must stop to be checked. All fresh fruits and vegetables (except for a couple of items) must be disposed.
Ceduna is also a place to fill up fuel and grocery. The fresh produce is still expensive there, but at least you can get some variety. There is information centre, different types of accommodation and restaurants. We were happy to find a cafe that served gluten free fish and chips there. After travelling for a few weeks, it was a delight to treat ourselves :).
In conclusion
They say that you are not a true Aussie, unless you traveled across Nullarbor. After living in Australia for more than 20 years, we finally travelled across Nullarbor in 2024-2025. We did it twice – travelling eastward and then back westward. Will we do it again? Absolutely! We still have unfinished business and a few places to see on the Nullarbor. We hold dear memories of our trip to NSW and back to WA. No doubt, we’ll do it again.
