Wednesday 10 September (WA)
Fraser Range Station to Cocklebiddy

Directions for the day:
We enter the coastal plain today. From Fraser Range Station we continue heading east on the Eyre Highway. About 100km east of Norseman, the road passes through undulating country as it climbs the Fraser Range. After that, we enter the Nullarbor Plain at its western boundary.

Probably the most noteworthy feature of this stretch of the Eyre Highway is the 'Ninety Mile Straight', which starts about 30km south-east of Balladonia and travels in a straight line all the way to Caiguna. At 146.6km, it is one of the longest straight stretches of road in the world. From memory, it isn't all that flat - it may be straight, but it's also undulating. But, if we have the famous tailwind, the Bradfords should fly today.
Note: There is no fuel between Balladonia and Caiguna (182km).

Balladonia
Elevation 151m
Climate in September
Max 22°C
Min 6°C
Note: I have not included rainfall or rain days from Fraser Range station to Fowlers Bay, as average rainfall is meaningless in this and and semi-arid region.

Some history
Balladonia has a population often. The settlement shot to fame in 1979 when parts of the US Skylab space station plummeted to earth here after disintegrating upon re­entry to the atmosphere.
Just beyond Balladonia lies a formation known as Afghan Rocks. They form a small water catchment and were named after a camel driver who was shot by thirsty travellers whilst bathing in the only unpolluted pool of water. His grave lies nearby. Beyond this lies old Balladonia Homestead, a lovely stone place built in 1889 and is now an art gallery depicting the history of the Eyre Highway and the region.

Caiguna also has a population often. Apparently the roadhouse here is a favourite amongst truckies, and it's not unusual for the roadhouse to be completely obscured by big rigs, tankers and pantechnicons. Wait And See will fit in just fine here! Caiguna was an oasis during the 1995 floods when the Nullarbor briefly became a seabed again, stranding hundreds of travellers until the vast waters subsided some days later.

Cocklebiddy is an even tinier settlement, with a population of nine.

Things to see

• About 50km east of the Fraser Range Station is Newman Rocks, a large area of rocky outcrops and granite sheets. This is a water catchment area and a well known picnic spot. .
• At Balladonia the road passes through undulating country of the Fraser Range. This is one of the world's oldest landscapes, and supports and desert woodland. Claypans are numerous. Also to see are stone fences built in the 1800s.
• The Afghan rocks at Balladonia
• The Balladonia Telegraph Station, was constructed in 1898 as a repeater station on the inland telegraph line between Eucla and Norseman. It consists of a single-storey limestone building with a corrugated iron hipped roof Balladonia is associated with the telegraph men and their families, who worked and lived on the line between 1898 and 1927, and is indicative of the isolation and inhospitable conditions they endured. It is a significant landmark in the remote regional landscape of Balladonia.
• Five kilometres west of Caiguna on the right is an unusual blowhole and about 20km to the south of that, a memorial cairn to John Baxter, the overseer on Eyre's expedition who was murdered by Aborigines for food. The cliffs along this part of the Bight are named after him. At Caiguna we pass into another time zone, so we turn our watches forward by 45minutes.

• At Cocklebiddy we can drive south for 36km for views of the escarpment and the Southern Ocean. The immediate waters off the coastline are the Great Australian Bight. See notes below.

• About 17km east of Cocklebiddy is the turnoff to the Eyre Bird Observatory. Situated at the old Eyre telegraph station built in 1879, the Observatory offers accommodation (bookings essential) and the chance to see some of the diverse, and in many cases rare, birdlife of the Bight. It also houses a small museum. The Observatory is accessible via a track that runs for about 32km over the sand dunes. The last 12km are 4WD only, and since we don't have four-wheel drive, we can phone the Observatory on (08) 9039 3450 and they will pick us up from a lookout about halfway down the track. I doubt we will have time for this side trip, though.