Would you like flies with that?

We had expected to be bored witless driving across the Nullarbor but the subtle changes in the landscape kept things interesting enough, and at a steady 120 kph the long straight roads flew by. At Eucla, the Bunda Cliffs turn abruptly inland to become the southern boundary of the Hampton Tableland allowing the vast, flat Roe Plain to open up between the cliffs and the coast. You drop down on to the Roe Plain at Eucla and follow the base of the cliff until climbing back up onto the tableland at Madura Pass.

Roe Plain from Madura Pass

On the far side of the Nullabor are WA's Goldfields, centred on the sprawling town of Kalgoorlie, home to the "Big Pit".  No photo could capture its scale so I didn't even try, so you will have to trust me that it is bigger than a VERY big thing.

The stuff they dig out of the ground is not all that glisters around here. There is a species of mallee with the most beautiful golden branches. Mallee is thinking that just maybe she might keep her name after all.

The girls with a golden mallee

Camping in the mulga scrubland near Meekatharra reminds you that humans, like other animals, are just life support systems for flies. Out here, the flies are the lords. We give them food and drink, we carry them round, and when we poo or die we nurture their young. They are obviously well pleased with our effort because because they come out in swarms to greet us.

We picked up some tourist brochures in Leonora that assured us that the Mt Magnet area was dotted with geological attractions, including London Bridge near the town of Sandstone so we decided to take the long route to Meekatharra. London Bridge failed to live up to the advance publicity. It turned out to be an erosional arch carved out of one the weathered basalt 'break always' that rise about 10 m above the surrounding plain in this region. Nice enough, but not the sort of thing we'd normally drive for half a day to look at. 

London Bridge near Sandstone

Still I don't blame the good citizens of Sandstone, I'd probably talk it up too if that was all I had. And in their defence, they did build a great little water park that was welcome relief for the kids and gave us all our first 'showers' in ages.

Jaz at Sandstone water park

It seems that designated campsites are increasingly being afflicted by the curse of the Glampers. People who arrive at remote campsites like the one Lake Mason Conservation Reserve with huge camper trailers or off-road caravans. These are adorned with televisions, satellite dishes, air conditioners, and more lights than most small towns. All of which take power, so no sooner do they stop than out come the generators to disturb the evening tranquility with their incessant drone. And the Glampers themselves? They seem to retreat so quickly into their camper van cocoons that you wonder whether they could have had an equivalent experience camped in their backyards. All of which is only hardening our resolve to camp off the track.

We'll see you when the dust settles.