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If it weren’t for a BACS service vehicle which had to be relocated from Perth to Melbourne, I may never have driven across the Nullarbor Plain. The trip started with a flight from Sydney to Perth where I caught up with service staff and visited customers. I then set off in the VW Caddy.
At first, for a Sydney driver such as myself, the 146 km dead straight road between Balladonia and Caiguna was a novelty, but after a while it became monotonous. Thankfully, I had an iPod containing 4000+ songs for company. That evening, I arrived in Caiguna and stayed overnight.
On Day 2, I approached the Nullarbor around midday. Temperatures hovered around 40C (a cool day). No vegetation grows more than half a metre because of the dry, rocky conditions. It was a dusty, uncontrolled environment – a far cry from the critical environments that BACS services!
Next stop was the Head of Bight. Spectacular cliffs to the east and west continued for 1,160 km with cliff faces up to 60 m high. Inland, as far the eye could see, the plain was devoid of trees. I couldn’t get over how the desert ends so abruptly and just plunges into the Southern Ocean.
No one ever mentions that when you reach Ceduna, arguably the end of the Nullarbor Plain, you are still 775 km away from Adelaide! Although the VW Caddy had been a smooth and comfortable ride, I was relieved to arrive in Adelaide on the fourth day. While there, I met with service staff, clients and suppliers.
After 2 days in Adelaide, I departed for Melbourne. The VW was happily claimed by Peter O’Meara, BACS Victorian Service Manager. I drove back to Sydney in Peter’s old Mitsubishi Lancer wagon that is ready for retirement. All up, I covered 4,000 km in 2 weeks on the quintessential Australian drive.
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