American Reacts to the Super Long Nullarbor 14 Hour "Madness" Drive On Highway 1
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- čas přidán 10. 12. 2021
- original - - • The long road of the N...
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I laughed when you said: "Not a lot of trees." That's literally what 'Nullarbor' translates as - Null = nil/zero and Arbor = trees.
And it's from Latin, not Nunga
LOLn
One of the spooky things about stopping in the Nullabor is that, once you stop your car and get out and stand there for 15 mins or so, there's no wind noise or traffic noise or bird/animal noise.... you get atuned to the lack of noise and you become aware that you are the loudest thing in the environment and you end up being able to hear your own heartbeat.
It's called "No Mans Land" generally speaking.Wow,what a great insight.Thanks for sharing!
And millions of Ants Ants Ants Ants Ants and more 🐜
Try walking along it in the middle of the night. Drive stopped to help a family ion distress, towed him a couple of Kms to try to start his car, we decided to walk while he tried. Talk about spooky.
@@rogergibbs2937 Ohh man.My God.That would be a hair-raising experience for sure.That's isolation!
Musta been a different nullabor to the one ive done lol
A few interesting facts for you Ian and answers to some of your questions. The reason they could drive most of it in daylight for 14 hours was because that were heading west. They passed through 3 times zones, South Australian time, Central Western time (not official and only applies to 5 towns along the highway near the border) and Western Australian time. The Bunda Cliffs go for miles and are truly spectacular to see in person, they are part of the Great Australian Bight. That sea creature was a whale, the cliffs are a popular whale watching spot, the Nullarbor roadhouse has a big whale statue out front. Roadhouses are a sort of one stop place along our highways, apart from selling fuel they also usually have food, ice, toilets, showers and spare parts for cars and trucks. Sometimes they have a motel and camping area. Sometimes there is a town as well but often there is nothing else but the roadhouse for hundreds of kilometres. Null arbor is Latin for no trees. There are some areas of trees along there but most of it has none. There are landing strips on the highway for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Ideally you would take at least two days to cross the Nullarbor, there are a lot of interesting places to stop and look at. It is also home to the world’s longest golf course which goes the other way, west to east. This was only two thirds of the Eyre Highway, the rest of it is almost as sparsely populated but does pass through a few towns. If you drive it in summer be prepared for it to be really hot and dry.
I thought it hilarious when he said the “the name of the city, is Cocklebiddy.” There is no city there. It’s literally a service station with a motel and nothing else. 🤣
Who overcharge you and provide shitty rooms.
When I was a child we use to drive across the Nullabor to visit my sister for Christmas. We were in Melbourne and she lived in Kalgoolie. This was when it was mostly unsealed road. Two memories that stick was Dad breaking the axle on his E type Jag, and being stuck in Ceduna over the New Year waiting for the part. The second was driving towards a lovely green tree on the side of the road, only to watch all the leaves fly away! The leaves were budgies!
I’ve done the the trip when it was a dirt pot -holed track. That was the Great Australia Bight and people go whale watching there. Also caving.
Many caves along that part of the coast
"All the leaves flew away". My sister owns a cattle station with hubby & they have run-off water that's pumped from the Great Artesian Basin. The run-off forms a shallow lagoon & birds stop there. Over time they've developed a nesting area where galahs live one specific tree. There's about 200 hundred of these horrible squawking pains in the arse. The tree is a pepper tree so its leaves are quite small. The tree is basically galah coloured.
I currently live in rural Victoria our pain in the ass are silver crested cocktails they are very early risers and loud.
Cockatoos, dam word check
@@getaylor3915 Sulphur crested cockatoos maybe?
Haha thanks so much for watching this :) I think this is my first video that’s ever been reacted to 🤩
Hope you had a great time here in Australia!
@@gregdean8441 loved it so much i stayed :)
I had a mate break down in cocklebiddy a couple of years back while he starting his round aus trip towing a caravan. I loaded his father in laws 4wd onto a car trailer and drove from Bunbury to cocklebiddy non stop apart from getting fuel, when I got there we loaded his car on and I drove straight back again only stopping for fuel. Took me 27hrs, I was knackered after that haha
I’ve driven around most of Nevada and it is beautiful to drive around. I love the Amargosa Desert. But, coming from Australia, distances in the US are relatively short before you get to towns or significant changes in scenery. Here, driving 12 to 15 hours is something I have often done. For example, when visiting my brothers I normally drive 12 hours, stop and sleep, and then the next day I only have another 4 or 5 hour drive to get to their place relatively refreshed. There have been times when making a 3 day drive, when it is best to drive through the nights and sleep in the day because night driving can be less exhausting as there is nothing to see except what is lit up by the big driving lights, plus there is less traffic, and it is cooler. I once drove all the way from Cairns to Sydney and back again. I filled up 3 44 gallon drums of fuel in the back of the Land Cruiser, and simply refueled from my own drums on the side of the road. I took the inland route and it was so beautiful. It was the time of Halley’s comet and late at night in the country the stars are incredible, and the view of the comet was sensational.
Been across the Nullarbor a few times, but one time nearly killed me, literally. I forgot to make sure I had water with me and that particular crossing was extremely HOT. I barely made it back to civilisation, the extreme heat and extreme dehydration almost ended me. Never underestimate the Nullarbor that's for sure.
The Nulla has the worlds longest golf course!! Oh and those rock cliffs are called The Great Australian Bight!
You wouldn't have been without water, it's a very busy road and everyone helps each other out because they're all in the same boat!
@@cbisme6414......It wasn't busy 40yrs ago.
@@shoresaresandy Plus it also has the worlds longest straight section of railway line of 487 kms/ 302.6 miles.
@@cbisme6414 It's not really that busy, but yeah I think there would be enough people there now to give you a hand.
Fun interesting bit of trivia. Even though Nullabor sounds like an indigenous name. It's actually from Latin - Nul Abor meaning no tree. Lost part of Australia, when I was a wee lad we used to have a day called Arbor day at school where we students would symbolically plant trees
Yes, the indigenous name is thought to be Oondiri from the Spinifex and Wangai people and possibly means waterless.
@@treadingtheboards2875 that is really cool to know & makes sense. Tks for that
Just like Perth 😁
I've traveled around plenty of Australia and found the savannah hwy starting in Cairns Queensland and continues to Broome Western Australia (3700klm) a long haul covering the 3 states in northern Australia. The most tedious by far was about 6 hrs of the grasslands in Qld, saw 1 oncoming car and a Japanese tourist riding a bicycle 4 hrs into the trip. It's hard to fathom what the hell anyone is doing on a stretch like that, what you notice fairly quickly along the grasslands is no signs of life birds included and not one tree.
I've done that trip Solo ... it was Epic!
I met a Hong Kong guy who rode his bike from Brisbane - Sydney - Melbourne - Adelaide - Perth. It was too hot to ride between Adelaide to Perth during the day so he rode during the night and slept during the day in his tent.
Australia has the distinction of being an island ,a country and a continent. Awesome channel IAN and family. Love from Queensland.
You asked about experiences with the Nullarbor when I was eight (I am 57 Now). My family went from Perth To Sydney to see my uncle back then. The Nullarbor was a dirt road my mum was driving dad was getting a bit off shut-eye, there were four kids, and gran in the Hr Holden wagon towing a campervan mum hit a bulldust hole (a deep pit covered by dust from the plans) the car went out of control when the road was dirt it had a 2-meter high wall made of the graded sand from the road we hit the wall the car flew into the air we went so high we brought down the telephone cable that runs alongside the Nullarbor. We landed in the dirt in one peace. We had to wait for 4 hours for someone to come along and help us out of our bogged car. We all lived and had a great story to tell.
National Lampoons vacation 😂😂
Perth to Sydney,wow
Esperance on the coast of WA is absolutely stunning. I volunteered at a school there for two weeks a year from end of 2016 to 2020, so I saw the beaches and coastline multiple times but they never got old, so awe-inspiring. West Beach, Twilight Beach and the Rotary Lookout are particular standouts
Ah the beaches. Squeak squeak squeak. :P
When people use the saying "God's Country", with Esperance & the south coast region through Hopetoun, Bremer Bay & to Albany, it's true!
I used to walk my dogs around the rotary lookout track at sunrise every morning. Awesome way to start the day
I grew up in Esperance, I genuinely thought all the beaches in the world looked like that... I didn't understand just how special it really was to be able to just ride my bike to those beautiful beaches.
I went to Esperance at the latter part of 1994 and I have lived over most of the lower part of Western Australia and never felt at home anywhere, I hopped off the bus in Esperance and in my heart I felt that I had found my home I literally fell in love with the place best beaches in the world crystal clear blue water it truly is God's own country. Esperance means hope in French. Esperanto is called the language of hope from my understanding. Sorry but I love Esperance so I can talk about it for hour's.
The Nullarbor is an experience in itself, the drone shots of the Great Australian Bite coastline is breath taking. The highway runs very close in places. I rode with a mate from Sydney to Perth on Harleys a few years back and it took us 6 days to cross. (4100klms) It becomes risky to drive after sunset due to the danger of Camels, Roo's, or even the odd eagle feasting on road kill to collide with. It's long flat and nothing but saltbush and red desert and the awe of the size of this magnificent continent.
I love the crossing from Norseman to Ceduna. Hundreds of people cycle across each year. To spend a week or more riding across camping out on the Nullarbor Plain is a fantastic experience.
5:20
That, is a whale. A popular area for Southern Right Whale.
9:40 Cocklebiddy is not a city, it is basically an Area, with a Roadhouse. I had to pull in to Cocklebiddy Road house after i hit a roo going Perth to Melbourne:)
It is essentially a small community built around the Roadhouse.
Speed limit is 110kph. Straightest section is 146 Kilometers, 90 miles, no bends.
I did that road in 2007. One hell of a trip from Country Victoria to Perth and around the coast to Esperance and back to Victoria. Crazy thing was I turned up in Esperance (2840km / 1775m) from home, checked into the caravan park and an hour later got a knock on the window. My local policeman from home who lived 7 doors up from me was also on holiday, had checked in, seen my name on the sign in sheet and came looking for me hahaha. Oddly enough we had left at different times from home but our paths crossed on the other side of the damn country haha
Crazy dude haha!
Small world sometimes
It is a small world indeed mate :) .
i have another one for ya mate , many many years ago we bought a new old house in the north of melbourne , a little while down the track i bought a cool new sexy old model V8 falcon ,
my neighbors later told me the owner of the very house we now lived in was in fact also the owner of that very same car , so basically the car came home :) .
What are the odds of that ?
@@mikldude9376 haha that’s awesome
He chased you across the country for a parking fine.
Nullabor - null = zero, abor = trees. Nullabor = zero trees
We drove our VW Kombi van (well my Dad did) across in the 1970's when it was a dirt road. My uncle was with us in his car towing a caravan. His van actually lost an entire wheel on the trip and the fire extinguisher in the van hit the floor and went off, covering everything with foam. We ended up having to camp overnight on the side of the road while waiting for repairs.
There wasn't much traffic but each car and truck that was going past stopped to see if they could help us in any way.
Great adventure for us kids.
A second generation Truckie once told me that advice her father gave her was for every break, one of the best things to do is get out of the car/truck and walk around a few times to get the blood pumping and oxygen flowing and help you be more awake and active for the long trips, and to also have a Harmonica to play while doing it. He used to do the long hauls across the NT and WA for the most part so he was used to the really long hauls.
Nullarbor means 'no trees' in Latin, also the road follows the Great Australian Bight which is cliffs for much of the distance. I did the drive a few years ago there are no mountain ranges in the area because there is no continental plates pushing from the south. Australia is heading north a few cm a year.
I literally just realised what 'nullarbor' means while watching. I've lived here my whole life and never realised!
Hi Ian. I recently heard about the "Nullabour Links". It's an 18 hole golf course across the Nullabour. Each hole is 66klms apart and apparently helps with easing the boredom on this long stretch.
There is 19 holes if you stop at the pub at the end called the watering hole
Mum and Dad have done it many times over the years but they actually have a certificate that says, "Congratulations on surviving the Nullabor!" from back when it was still a dirt track. We moved a truckload of our house furniture from Perth to Brisbane via the Nullabor in December of '85, I would have been 7 and my sister 5, I swear they got sick of us asking how much longer, Dad actually handed me the map within the first few hours of leaving Perth and basically showed me our route then said figure it out from there. Awesome experience and the view of the Great Australian Bite is just fantastic!
When I was 12, my family drove from Mackay Queensland on an inland route to Adelaide, South Australia. Dad had modified his one tonne work truck into “camper” myself and my little brother and sister sat in the back of the truck. I remember us kids hanging our legs out the back . This was during the summer school holidays, so it was so hot. That was back in 1974 and you could travel in the back of Ute. We were made of tough stuff back then.
The "edge" is the Great Australian Bight.....and the sea creature was a whale, either southern right or humpback....bit hard to tell from the footage. Ive done the Nullarbor 8 times by car, once by bus and Ive flown across several times as well.....Im from Western Australia and my husband is Victorian, it leads to a lot of going back and forth. Quickest we've ever done the trip from Perth to Melbourne was 2 and a half days........
Part of what the video doesnt explain is that its an 8 hour drive from Perth to Esperance, you dont have to go to Esperance to get to the highway across though, its called the Eyre Highway NOT the Nullarbor, the Nullarbor is a single stretch of the highway.....Norseman is the official start of it and the largest town (its still tiny) close to the WA/SA border. At the border there is a quarantine station where you get quizzed about what your carrying and where you've been, WA is extremely isolated which protects it from a lot of agricultural diseases and pest species.
ETA: Ive never heard Cocklebiddy being called a city......its a roadhouse and not much else.
You're right - it was a Southern Right whale.
@@jimcottee9187 The Head of the Bight is a calving area for Southern Rights.
Some parts of the Nullarbor are used as a landing strip for the Flying Doctor Service. So when you pass through those areas you have to keep an eye on what's above you as well as what's in front of you.
I saw that on an episode of outback truckers, there are markings on the road were the plane can safely land
I road across the bottom of Queensland from Brisbane to Birdsville. There were a number 'tar' sections which were provided to allow the Royal Flying Doctor Service to land.
I've also done the trip across from Sydney to Perth, the first time in a little Datsun 1600 with no aircon.! After scraping past a giant wombat after dark at 110 kph, I figured it was best to stop for the night. Have also driven a rental car from Darwin down to Canberra, when a pilot's strike stopped all Xmas flights. With 2 drivers it took 2.5 days. It's a big country.
There's also a very large underground cavern system under the Nullarbor that people have dived in. Not completely charted yet as far as I'm aware.
around 30 yrs ago i hitched across from adelaide and spent the night on the edge of the road about an hour past ceduna around 10 mtrs off the edge in the long grass as further in so many ants nets would bit you until you were nuts, as the trucks came past the rush of air would suck all your loose items down the road.(learning error whilst hitchhiking) also not far from the beginning of the nullarbor was a light post where even if you climbed to the top people had autographed it all over.
i should add it is amazing to chase the sun set for hours and also have the moon behind you for equally as long
Man that's a story bro.Thats some kind of an achievement.That would of been a crazy experience.Especially at night!
Been there, done that 8 times. It starts in SA more or less at Ceduna and the first time we did it (1969), there was 320 miles of gravel road and pretty darned rough in some places. At the border or SA and WA the road changed to bitumen and I had to get a short video of one of the blokes who travelled with me kissing the bitumen because we were so glad to see it. We went to WA from Cairns for a 16ft skiff Australian sailing championship and the trip was done in a new VE Valiant. 3904 miles from Cairns and we completed the trip in 4 days. We only had two overnight stops on that long haul and one of them was just 500 miles from Perth. Cairns to Glen Innes (NSW) was the first leg, second leg was Glen Innes to Norseman, these a short trip to Perth. Was a great adventure for the 4 or us in my car, but the owner of the boat and his wife, two kids and another of the crew towed the boat behind a Holden HR Panel van. One bench seat for 3, the others in the back. What a trip. The 136 km straight stretch is something, no bends, just a few ups and downs. One amazing thing was that we didn't see one LIVE kangaroo on the trip to Perth. I think, if my memory is correct the round trip ended up being 12,500 miles in a tad iver 5 weeks. That car did almost 94,000 miles in 4 years.
My friend and I did a pretty scenic version of the Nullarbor a couple of years ago. Started in Adelaide and detoured to see the whale nursery (spent three hours there it’s amazing). We slept in swags and took pretty much every detour possible. Slept on those cliffs in swags and woke up at 4am in a storm with lightning smashing into the ground so close my hair was standing on end. Saw some cool boulders, stayed in a roadhouse for a night and ended up having a rowdy night drinking with the kitchen and bar staff in our room.
Got home to Esperance and my husband proposed to me the next day. Was a pretty cool week.
Seems you passed the Test. We drove from Buffalo to Key West, stayed a week and met Marrying Sam. back in 92. Cheers from Adelaide.
I went across with parents in 1977, I was 13. It was a rough dirt road. Took 8 hours to do 640 kilometres (400 miles ). Long day on rough roads.
My grand father drove across in 1926 when it was no more than a track. Took several days to cross.
For real?
Give a shout-out for the make and model of those vehicles.Sounds like they are unbreakable.Not the mention the humans in them.That's amazing!
Where did you leave from?
I did it with my parents in 1970, yes unsealed road. I can remember the rabbit catchers driving along with their Utes loaded with dead rabbits.
My family did the trip from Narrogin WA to Rockhampton Qld in 1974 in our Holden Premier. We crossed the Nullarbor Plain Xmas Day, the day that Darwin was wiped out by Cyclone Tracey. It was hot, no air conditioning, couldn't wind the windows down because of red dust, no music, 3 cranky kids testing their parents. Remember the Aborigines at Yalata trying to sell boomerangs literally through your car window while moving (very slowly because the road was so pot holed and corrugated). When we reached Ceduna people were asking if we had heard the news. Thought they were talking about the poor family towing a caravan that had collapsed due to the roughness of the road. Turns out they meant Darwin. Heard mention of Cocklebiddy. We call it Cocklebloodybiddy because you couldn't get soap to lather as water was so salty. Plus the accommodation was a bit iffy. Great memories.
@@duckydoz9821 I travelled from Sydney to Perth in 1974 and stayed in Cocklebiddy and I remember it as a 3 room motel with a roadhouse. The noise of the trucks kept me awake for most of the night. The most notable thing about this location that I remember was the night sky.
Eyre Highway 1,675km (1,041mi), linking Western Australia and South Australia via the Nullarbor Plain. It's the longest straight stretch of road in Australia, 146.6 kilometres (91.1 mi) without any turn. For much of its length, it can be described as a long and lonely road. Eyre Highway is one of the longest straight roads in the world
Australia's Highway 1 is a network of highways that circumnavigate the country, joining all mainland state capitals. At a total length of approximately 14,500 km (9,000 mi) it is the longest national highway in the world
Actually the Nullabor is the longest straight stretch of road in the world.
@@gavinhall3669 There is some road in the middle east that is now the longest straight stretch.
Then maby we should build a straight road from Perth to Brisbane
@@gavinhall3669 wow I believe that after seeing the airreall video! Very straight long road!
That 90 mile stretch is the most boring stretch of rd in Aus, driven it a fair few times over the years and I gotta say I prefer driving across the Nullarbor over that hahaha
My Dad used to drive semi trailers and road trains from Port Augusta to Perth. He used to go back and forwards continually. He has no idea how many times he drove it. That was back in the 70s and 80s when the restrictions on truck driving were nothing like now. He was also the first person at a lot of single vehicle accidents or cars hitting kangaroos, camel, donkeys, or cows on these trips. He loved travelling the other direction towards Adelaide or Melbourne just to see some scenery and hills.
Been watching your videos for a while now and thoroughly enjoying them. In 2018 my wife and I were holidaying in your amazing country (we're from Melbourne) and I drove from St George, Utah to Lake Tahoe straight through the guts of Nevada via the Extraterrestrial Hwy. It was a huge day behind the wheel but we stopped regularly and met some super interesting people. Keep up the videos and good on you for becoming so immersed in all that is this fine country we call home.
P.S, we'd be happy to host you if and when you're able to visit Australia.
I drove a night crossing and tucked in behind a B-Double for a bullbar.
He did hit something and the front of my ute was spattered with bits.
Never worked out what it was. Could have been a hitchhiker for all I knew.
Wow dude.What an experience.It's on my bucket list for sure!
17:33 those islands make up torres strait, I believe most are part of australia. You may sometimes hear "aboriginals and torres strait islanders," the torres strait islanders are the people who lived in these islands. They are related to the people of new guinnea, with the same or similar culture, which is why they are grouped seperately from aboriginal australians
Great to see you enjoying the Nullarbor highway and all it has to offer. The worlds longest golf course is also located along the Nullarbor. It is over 850 miles long. If you can find it on CZcams I think you will be fascinated by its length and the manner in which you have to negotiate each hole. Keep the reactions coming mate. Cheers ! 🤠 🍻
the coolest thing that happened on the Nullarbor Plain (apart from the UFOs) was a cycle race that went across it (and most of Australia) in 2017 called the Indipac. There should be plenty of videos about it. A guy called Glucosenetwork made a film about it.
When I was 27 I drove from Adelaide to Perth in 32 hours only stopping for fuel and that's when I ate and got drinks as well. I also rode a motorbike in outback Queensland for 10 hours one day and only saw one other car going the opposite way. So yeah it can get lonely if your by yourself but I enjoy it actually.
A mate of mine rode he motorcycle from Sydney to Perth in under 50 hours
I have done the same straight thru trip, not even stopping to Change drivers
Really interesting video, can’t wait to do that trip!
The waving he talks about is actually a traditional thing here in Australia (& other places?). It’s an acknowledgment that you’re both there on that stretch of road, or a courtesy you receive if you are polite & let someone in while on busy roads. It comes naturally to a lot of us & it’s a great feeling, especially when you’re out the back of beyond 😅
Yes in Tasmania too most people wave to each other once you’re out of the city, my Sydney friends found that funny but enjoyed waving back. It happens in NSW too but more out in the country if not many on the road. In Sydney though people still finger tip if you give them a courtesy, and people will get annoyed if you don’t acknowledge a courtesy that way.
Well, it's meant as more than just an acknowledgement. It was always meant as a signal that "hey, I'm okay, no need to stop" this was when seeing another on a country road happened a lot less but also when cars were a lot less reliable.
When I was young, truckers use to put up their fingers, I thought they were being rude, but Dad said they were telling him how many trucks were behind them. After that I took note, and low and behold, 3 fingers became 2, became 1 and the last trucker gave an OK sign/0 or a backwards fist. I found a respect for truckers there and then.
Ah just saw this message. I'm glad you mentioned it and great reading why it's done.
And VW Bus drivers
Longest time in the car in a day we left Townsville in Nth QLD at 5.30am & drove south heading for Sydney NSW. Dad drove until 11pm that night. We had 2 breaks for meals. I can't remember exactly where we stopped for the night, it was somewhere around Coffs Harbour NSW. So roughly 1700km in a day. He was a truckie when he was younger & enjoyed long distance trips.
Great video Ian. I have driven 12 hours many times. The longest road trip was being on a bus from Melbourne to Mackay Far North Queensland during summer. It was during a plane strike. Took about 32 hours. It was the worst. My uncle was a interstate semi truck driver he used to cross the Nullarbor regularly. He had an experience with a flying orange object chasing him until he come across a petrol station.
First time I drove it with a mate, we had a Navman hooked as we needed for Perth, pulling out of Cedena and the Navman goes “please prepare to turn right in 1194km”.
We both look at each other and go, What?!?
Looks to be a Right Whale, judging by the V shaped spray.
“please prepare to turn right in 1194km”. lol
Southern right, as I couldn't see a dorsal fin either.
It's to make sure you're in the correct lane for the turn. You wouldn't want someone cutting you off.
If you want desolation and remoteness, drive from Port Augusta, known as the 'crossroads of Australia' as it is the intersection of three major highways, to Darwin in the Northern Territory, passing thru some of the most extreme remoteness and endless desolation in Australia, with Alice Springs being the only major town between them. Truely beautiful. Greetings from Woomera in outback South Australia, Australia's secret weapons testing facility and the largest prohibited area in the world. Fun fact : It will take you 28 hrs of non stop travelling at 110 kph to drive from Port Augusta to Darwin, a distance of 2.728 kilometres via the Stuart Highway. 👍👍🇭🇲
Done that trip a few times when I lived in Karherine for a few years
Port Augusta is a good base camp to explore the region also.
That's cool dude.
I did it on the Ghan from Darwin to Adelaide.That was an eye-opener.The length of our train was over a kilometre long.My sleeper was the first passenger carriage,about four from the front and I remember waking up at around 3am on the second night and looked out the window to see nothing but darkness except the length of the train on a bend all lit up as far back as the eyes can see.Wish I'd had captured the moment now.
But doing it by road would be another experience altogether.Pretty special I'd say!👍
@@Rastusmishka12 ,Before Covid locked the borders down, I did a very casual run from Pt August to Darwin, stopping at every township, spending 3 to 5days at each, learning history and exploring. Took several weeks to reach Darwin but the history lesson will never be forgotten. 👍👍🇭🇲
@@faronanderson2536 If you get the chance, do it bro, but take your time. Explore and absorb the history 👍👍🇭🇲
There is a section of the Nullarbor Plains that is so flat that there is no break on the horizon. No mountains in sight it is that flat that you can see the curvature of the earth for 360 degrees. It plays on the psyche and everyone in the vehicle gets fidgety for no apparent reason.. My trip we stopped the car and not talking got out. Each of us knew there was something off, before realising the enormity of it all. It hit me when I looked up and realised it was all sky. Also how insignificant we are, in the greater scheme of it all.. Temp was 55 centigrade that day.
The longest drive I've done was Brisbane to Melbourne ~1800km, left at 7am from Brisbane and arrived at Melbourne at 3am the next morning with 3 fuel stops.
@@shaundgb7367 Solo drive, I don't sleep much at the best of times and for some reason driving keeps me awake, so drove straight through then sat around talking for a couple of hours after I arrived at my brothers in Melbourne.
7:05 That incredibly flat landscape is actually a Karst plain. Sedimentary limestone deposit, like the mountains of southern China down into Malaysia, also northern Italy...Yeah, that far. But in SE Asia, because of all the rain., they're eroded into pinnacles with forest on the top, Think Pandora (Avatar) and surrounded by flat land where the rivers flow. In Australia, there's not enough rain to erode them, so they are flat and continuous.
Yes, if the Nullarbor got regular rain it would all dissolve into the sea!
@@Merrid67play Yeah the Nullarbor was formally a seabed that got raised up, which is why this is a thing.
The Coastline is continually eroding as the swell is coming straight off the southern ocean with no landmass between us and Antarctica so it’s constantly pounding the shoreline.
True but the actual cause of the Great Australian Bite was Antarctica breaking away from Australia.
@@xXSinForLifeXx yes you are also right. But I remember watching a doc a few years back that mentioned that that area of coastline used to be a couple of kms further out but has been slowly eroding over thousands of years. Bit like the Great Ocean Rd and the Twelve Apostles I guess.
Hi Ian. Love your reactions. Being a car nut, back in 2017, I drove from near Wilsons Prom (the most southern point of the mainland) to Alice Springs (2400km) in two days to pick up a barn find 1954 FJ Holden. I drove my 70 series V8 Landcruiser hooked to a tandem trailer and slept in the back overnight. The Saudis had to increase oil production to replenish supplies after that trip! Anyway, when I turned left onto the Stuart Hwy at Port Augusta the stupid Sat Nav announced the next turn instruction… “Veer left in 1,200km” and it gave the warning to “veer left” every 200km thereafter. Lol.
My fave part of the journey was when the highway descends down to a lower level and you travel beside a grassy cliff face for a few hours before ascending back up to the higher level. It's like the sea has receded back in that area.
I've made this drive several times as a kid and teenager. Each time going across was different. Once was after a bushfire with the big kangaroo having singed ears anither time after a flood and the kangaroo was surrounded by a lake like puddle. Favourite was when the clouds and sun were just right to create an amass of sun beams that looked like a religious painting.
We drove this with our 3 kids in 2019 as part of a "half lap" of Australia. This was definitely one of the tougher sections for them - so barren for so long. You definitely get excited when traffic comes the other way!! Esperance and Lucky Bay national Park were so so worth it at the end though! Glad we had booked a few nights there to be off the road for a bit of a refresh! Would definitely do it again.
That was a Humpback Whale that came up for air. When we lived in Adelaide we would visit Brisbane every year and we would drive the inland road. My dad made sure we left at 4am and drive over 1000kms the first day so about 13-14 hours and most of the scenery is like that, flat with nothing.
I did the drive from the capital of Perth to Melbourne which is around 3,400km. I did that SOLO in a $500 Hyundai Accent in around 40 hours (36hr straight drive no stops). All i had was a case of Mother (energy drink), 1 CD with 2x 1hour techno mixes on it i listened to over and over and over, and a blanket.
I ended up breaking my window handle in Adelaide and i wasnt able to wind up my window for about 7 hours in 0-5 degrees C weather until i could find a store to buy some tape to hold my window closed. (Had multiple layers on incuding a blanket to keep myself from freezing)
Good drive - would do it again - rate 9/10
The Nullarbor has the longest straight piece of road in the southern hemisphere of 146.6km, the bends at all.
I don't think this is correct. check out the road from Townsville Queensland to threeways roadhouse NT. 16.5 Hrs and 1540 Km. I have driven both.
@@ianbutler6583 there’s no section that goes for more than 40 to 50 k without a bend
@@Diesel-dog sorry beg to differ there are sections 400km without a bend.
I did it in 2010. Petrol was $1.80 per litre at the time. Can’t say I wanna go back and do it again. Due to the flooding I needed to get home before the roads were closed. I went from Ceduna to Dubbo in 10 hrs in a VZ commo wagon at an average speed of 160km/h.
I did it in 2019 and fuel was $2.18 a litre
Yes the islands are a part of Australia, the are inhabited by the Torrens straight islanders. They have an amazing natural culture on the islands where the young are taught by the elders on tides, safety, how to survive on the islands if marooned etc. There is much to admire in these remarkable people.
Hi Ian. Just wanted to see you guys are OK??? Just watched some news on all the tornados over there. I am so very very sorry for all those people. I hope everything is OK in your neck of the woods, and your extended family too. Stay safe.
My thoughts also, better expressed than me.
@@johnd8892 Scary times hey. All the best to you too John.
All along this stretch there are several "free " camp spots that you can pull up at for a night or two, although some places are included in the National Parks and camping/stopping is limited.
I can't wait to do it again.
Done the drive once (both directions). Petrol was 88c a litre at the Nullabor Station and we couldn’t believe how expensive that was at the time. Yeah it was a while ago!!
In 1990 we drove from adelaide to mt isa and the most expensive petrol was 80cpl at marla and we thought the same. Alice was 60cpl (same as home- meningie).
they were happy days 88c a litre , now the central coast nsw, premium fuel is $2.02 c a litre
Nullarbor literally meaning no trees in Latin
And those cliffs are part of the Great Australian Bight. Lots of limestone which erodes pretty easily, hence stunning cliffs. The Nullarbor was many eons ago, the bottom of a shallow sea
Nice reaction Ian. Most Australians wouldn't have seen the Nullarbor plains. Null (no) Arbor (trees). Most just fly between the capitals. Adelaide to Perth is about a 3 and half hour flight. Tree height is related to soil depth and rainfall. It's very dry along this stretch and where you see the taller trees here (eucalyptus/gum tree forest) has a deepest soil. Best not not to drive at dusk or dawn through these areas as roos have a habit of testing out your driving skills. 49 dead roos on the roadside sums it up.
The cliffs are exposed to consistent southerly winds (can see how cold she was here) and erosion on the limestone cliffs creates this stark cliff face. This is mid spring so it's it's still relatively cool in the south. Getting hot now so it's not a drive to take lightly when it's around the 100F mark. Not the place to break down. These fuel prices are about average now ironically.
Never been to Esperance but the SW corner of WA is quite scenic. Small town like Denmark (yes that's it's name). National parks.
Unless you have a lot of time, this is 1 drive I wouldn't recommend. A safe 3 day drive. Spot on Ian re driving in a day. It's a long monotonous straight drive where you can easily nod off into a truck. Not surprisingly there's been quite a few accidents on the stretch over the years.
I've done the Nullarbor a few times. Back in the early 70s when it was still dirt was the first time. Rode it a couple of times by motorbike. 2018 was the latest, by campervan. I hope even managed the Indian-Pacific back when it was affordable (the railway being further north is much more barren).
Always an amazing experience and makes me wish I could spend more time. The wildlife is stunning for such a desolate environment
i did it in the late 60s on that old bulldust rd in a austin A40. was boring for a 7yr old.
@@danielponiatowski7368 I was driving in the 70s - dodging the potholes filled with bulldust (super fine dust about the same as baby powder) was the worst thing, sink into it like water you could break a wheel if you hit it too hard. The trip was rough for any vehicle and you can still see the remains of cars that didn't make it (although it has been cleaned up a lot in recent years)
Done this trip many times on the way to Western Australia on some Gold Prospecting trips.
Hey that’s me in the video! I’m from Aus FYI - Danny is from Michigan but we live in Australia.
Those cliffs are part of the southern Great Australian Bight which is like someone took a "bite" out of Australia - check the map :-) It's so flat because millions of years ago it was part of the ocean bed - an inland sea. Love these drone videos!
Yeah, when you start at 6 am and pull up at around 10 pm you know you've done a big day. Made it from Laverton to Lasseter's cave that day. It was in a 1976 Holden ute going across the Great Central HWY in 1999. 1300 + km of corrugated dirt road.
The way to do the Nullabour is on The Indian Pacific train, coast to coast, from Sydney to Perth, a truly epic trip of 3 days.
I'm booked to do this trip in March if WA ever decides to let the rest of the world back in. :-/
You don't get to see the ocean that way, and it's very expensive. They should have put the rail line near the ocean.
@@blackletter2591 It wasn't built as a scenic railway. It was built to connect the states and its main role today is for freight. With a route already 1693km, making it even longer by using a coastal route would have made it prohibitably expensive and not viable.
Really hoping your family are safe with the tornado , so very sad just before Christmas:-( , Aussies sending their love in such a hard time
love that in the drone footage you actually see a rfds 'runway on the road' the white lines marking the start/end of the runway with a spot for the plane to turn round.
I went across the Nullarbor with my parents and brothers in the mid 70s when there was a huge section that was dirt road full of a pot holes. Wouldn't see a car for an hour easy. It was 50 degrees Celsius outside. No Air-conditioning and brushfires and dead animals everywhere. Wet towels on the windows. Couple of sections on the bitumen Dad would be cruising along at 100mph in the old XA Ford Falcon.
I've driven Sydney to Perth. Esperance is the reward you get for doing this drive. Null Arbor. No Trees. Nullabor. Get it?
Been across easy more than 50 times since young, driven it many of times myself as a adult, and yes it's the only place I've ever opened it up a few times, watching the needle on the fuel gauge drop fast...doing it in style this time last year with my Mercedes E500...13-14 hrs is the max I can handle in one stint on my own, it's is scary and dangerous when pushing it on the nod.
So cool to see your reactions and listen to your comments about the Nullarbour, only because it's something I've grown up with 🙂👍
That sea creature at about the 6m30sec mark was a whale.....you also get white pointer sharks down in the Bight (Great Australian Bight). The dude with the glasses has to be American. Don't detect any Canadian accent. And our Garages are called Petrol Stations, because they sell liquid Petroleum, not Gas (propane) - but you can buy bottled gas at most of them. To put the size of Australia into perspective. I live in Queensland (715,309 square miles). Texas (268,596 sq miles in area) fits into Queensland more than 2 ½ times. Alaska is smaller too at 665,384 sq miles. That's just my state which is the second largest. West Aussie is 975,685 sq miles in area. So yeah, different rules when you talk distance here. Aussies are the masters of understatement. An Aussie might tell you he's just going up the road - when in actual fact he could be heading out for a 10 hour drive. Of course, I'm old and people have changed now. Maybe the young city folks don't have that same knack for understatement. I'm a country lass myself. When I was young we'd 'hop' in the car to go shopping.....6 hours away. It's all relative. Thanks so much for your vlog, I enjoy it immensely. It's always gratifying seeing how others see us - good, bad or indifferent.
OMG that is a LONG DRIVE, I've done it twice, once each way. Even broke down right in the middle, but Sydney to Perth is a REALLY long drive..
I thought it was a harddrive
@@heathergarnham9555 LOL not hard at all, there is a little peddle near your foot, you just press on that and wait.. :)
@@Darryl_Frost as long as you don't have a 3 1/2 inch floppy....
Done the trip 7 times now both ways and highly recommend to do if you ever come over, just don't drive after dusk as there are roos everywhere and you will clean one up and towing out there is expensive. There is a viewing spot just over the border in S.A from W.A where you can get the most incredible sunset views over the great Australian bight too. Last trip back east I took a week to do it, stopping at everything I could cram in to see and I could have spent weeks longer if I had more time, there is that much to see and do along the way!
Yeah worst mistake I made drove from Victoria stopped at a motel in Port Augusta then off the next day got to Ceduna around 10:30am had some food let the kids stretch their legs before getting into the Nullarbor left after 12am and got stuck driving it all night had a few camels on the road shit load of Roos was glad to come into Norseman without cleaning up anything
And it’s not. a pretty sight after a road train hits a camel at 100km/hr
As far as I am aware, there are no unrestricted roads in Australia, I believe the NT used to, but not anymore.
Who cares when you're in the middle of nowhere?
I'm an Australian, I've done the Nullarbor and been right up the middle a number, and you can go days with no phone reception at all so it's defiantly worth having a UHF Radio or a Sat phone but you'd expect to see only 4x4s and Caravans and you do see plenty of them but you also see a surprising amount of regular cars as well, the roads are quite busy to be fair so if you do get into trouble you'd have no issues getting help.
Especially during winter, all the southerners (Victoria and lower SA) all flock up north to warmer weather so you see plenty of people from those states.
One of my fond memories was meeting a Canadian who lived in Tasmania who was stayingat Erldunda, he was driving an EV I can't remember what make it was but it wasn't Tesla and it was the long range version of that car that was not available in Australia so it was imported from Japan, anyway he offered me to take it for a drive (Never driven an EV before then) so we drove onto the highway and he actually told me to floor it so naturally my foot was pressed to the firewall haha
16:25 I get what you mean Ian, it is amazing that landscape and how its a cliff and then just flat. Imagine being the captains sailing to Australia and seeing something like that..where do they dock their ships. They would have to find flat beaches and it just looks like there isn't any.
Done the trip 11 times from Wollongong NSW to Perth and vice versa. Though it's called the Nullarbor Crossing the highway only travels fairly briefly over the treeless plain. The Indian-pacific train travels right through the actual Nullarbor and is definitely worth seeing. Plenty of vids about this on CZcams.
The time I did the Indian-Pacific, it crossed the Nullarbor at night - Nothing to see but stars! Boring as ...
The actual Nullabor Plain is more north than the Eyre Highway. You only drive over about 16kms of it.
One of my brothers crossed the Nullabor on a bicycle, with a guitar on his back. About '73.
The reason that the Nullarbor Plain is so flat is that it is a limestone plateau that was laid down as the bed of an ancient sea, and got uplifted without tilting or buckling. The limestone is porous, so that any water that falls as rain drains down too deep for tree roots to reach it (even if trees could grow in exposed bedrock), and that is why the plain is so desolate. There's no surface water and no sand or gravel to hold an aquifer. No streams. No harbours. Even if there were enough rainfall that the climate didn't meet the official definition of a desert, there still wouldn't be any water available at the surface.
The are many (probably very many) large (probably very large) caves in the limestone that have been dissolved by the percolating water, but they are mostly flooded, and very little explored. As for those cliffs where the Nullarbor meets the Great Australian Bight: those are made by waves eroding the limestone at sea level and the upper layers falling in. They go on a lot further than any sane person would think possible.
And it's 14hrs 12mins, with no stops. Just a servo ever 3 or 4 hundred ks. I've driven across, further inland, and that was pretty awesome. I stopped for fuel at an Aboriginal community. The servo had bars and wire on the windows and doors, it was a very derelict looking and had a kind of dark vibe to the place. Drunk teenagers sitting around and stumbling around. Fighting and yelling. I'm a big bloke and can look after myself, but this was like 1am. I was just happy to be able to get fuel there because I was running on empty.
The reason they are able to drive that long is because they are constantly driving away from the rising sun. The day is very short driving the opposite way on the Nullarbor.
164c a litre is actually cheaper than the petrol in Melbourne right now.
When my family took the Nullabor as a kid the petrol was $1 compared to 58c back home, how times have changed.
I did it around 2019 and fuel was $2.18 a litre and a packet of cigarettes 20s at that where like $40
When me old dad drove across the Nullarbor (a dirt track back then) 60 years ago, when he stopped at a servo to get fuel, they gave him a shovel & said go dig it up, it’s in a 4 gallon drum under a marker flag.
I cycled the Nullarbor from Norseman to Ceduna over New Year 2005/2006, as part of an unsupported human-powered lap of the country.
Amusingly enough, it rained for 3 days from 30th December to 1 Jan and was pleasantly cool - it was probably one of the easiest ever bicycle crossings of the Nullarbor...
Once, many years ago, as a passenger with a couple of friends. Never, ever again. The coastline is freaky looking for sure, but not worth that horrific journey. I live in Vic and my sister and her family live in WA, so I have to make the trip often, I fly, always.
I drove from Perth to the South Australian border on New Years Eve 1983/84 by myself after my mates father had a heart attack and he flew home to Melbourne. It was good till the sun went down and the Roos came out. I was basically on the Nullarbor by myself except for the roadhouses as the truckies had parked up for New Year. I actually missed New Years Eve because of the way the time zones change out there. Bit scary stopping to have a wee in pitch black.
Aussie here! Love your reactions! 2 weeks ago just drove to see friends in (same state) Queensland. 16 hours each way. I did one way in a 14 hour then remaining 4 hours after a sleep in the car with my dogs roadworks happening. On the way home, did the 16 hours myself in one go. Left at 4am. Just stopped every 300km to walk the dogs.
6 months ago, I moved states and it was a 35 hour drive (length of time on google maps didn’t include that I was towing a trailer). So was longer drive. I did the drive in 3.5 days. Last bit was difficult as it was 250km on unsealed road, just after floods and was 4wd access only. No petrol station either. I made my (now) home town on “empty” and won’t do that road again in a hurry!!! But planning to go back and visit friends soo. Just trying to clear 5 days to allow 2 days each way driving and 1 day to day “hi” and hopefully have a BBQ!
One thing I’ve learned. Make sure you don’t rely entirely on google maps (phone signal won’t work in the Aussie outback. Download a map of sealed and unsealed roads before leaving, and make sure you plan drive and head to main towns (via sealed roads). Helpful to have a couple of Jerry cans filled with petrol too. Oh and check road conditions in the wet season or after flooding. Sometimes even sealed roads are closed or will only allow 4wd access only. So plan for detours. I’d also suggest if driving in outback to have a car with bullbar. I hit a couple of Roos. They can REALLY damage your car!
I was part of a trip from Perth to Melbourne where there were two families. Our family of 5 was in Ford Cortina 440 (the Lotus Cortina shape). The family we travelled with, also 5, have a VW Combi. I really don't recall much of the trip but we were happy to get into the VW as there was more room in there. The trip was in the mid to late 1960s. The trip back was made to Port Augusta where The car was put into the train. The next time I did this trip was part of the RAC coach trip from Perth to Adelaide for the 1986 F1 race there. It took 36 hours to go from Perth to the Barossa Valley. As they did not get the numbers for the trip there were a number of pensioners on the tour for the Barossa Valley winery tours and some shopping in Adelaide. One of them wasn't well so we got dropped off in the middle of the Nullabor while the coach wen't off for the nearest hospital. I don't recall how long we were waiting, it may have been an hour or two.
Australia was once an inland sea, so those edges of those cliffs you saw are hardened by the ocean, when it once lapped at that level.
14 hours Adelaide to Cunnamulla Nth west NSW, 6:05 am - 9:10 pm approx 14 hours actual driving.
Didn’t hit a thing, but had heavy braking on multiple occasions.
Mostly avoiding ’roos’
What?? Australia was an inland sea? So what was around it, in your plan? The cliffs are not….oh what the heck, whatever you want to think. 🤣🤣🤣
@@katehobbs2008 Well Australia did indeed have an inland sea right around that spot.
The cliffs are from Antarctica breaking away from Australia 50 million years ago tho.
@@katehobbs2008 look it up, why do you think lake eyre exists.?? Why do you think some of the oldest dinosaurs have been found in and around the centre.
Prolly best you research it before you start flapping your gums.
@@heathstott as a geologist of many years experience, I think I can flap my gums.
I've driven Syd to Bris a couple of times (35+ years ago). Back then it was about 13 hrs (with a few stops). That's more than enough for me. Took a day to recover.
Melbourne to Noosa 18 hrs.
@@davidbarlow6860 Legend, how many 'uppers'? ;-)
@@johnwhear9600 two crazy drivers , and before speed cameras.
One of my longest drives was from Sale in Victoria to Brisbane in a truck by myself over two days. Went via Cooma to Goulburn and stopped to sleep in Raymond Terrace.
@@davidbarlow6860 I can say from experience that you were sitting on 130/140, and stopping only for fuel and to change drivers. I did Mt Eliza (SE Melbourne) to Graceville (SW Brisbane) in 16 hours 15 minutes with two drivers, so in the same ballpark. (Also before cameras. Got "flashed" once by a cop, but not stopped)
I've driven across the Nulla several times. The longest I've driven is 23hrs straight. I drove 11,000 ks in 10 days once, 14 to 16 hours a day.
Growing up, my family ran a petrol station not too far from Ceduna (where the vlog begins) and I'm glad you mentioned the dangers of falling asleep while driving; this can be a dangerous drive for those not used to driving long distances or have a unreliable car. As the vloggers mentioned you can go hours without seeing another car and having an accident or breaking down during summer can be very dangerous - please alway makes sure to take extra water with you if you are attempting this drive. The reason the Nullabor is so flat is that it was once an ocean floor and there are plenty of spots where you can look for rocks with fossilised sea shells in the middle of the desert :) . Those are Southern Right Whales, they use this spot as a nursery as they migrate. Peak time to stop there is between June and october where sometimes up to 100 whales can be seen in the bay. The crazy cliffs are called "The Great Australian Bight" (which we all joke is because it looks like a huge mouth took a big bite out of Australia lol) but was caused by Australia and Antarctica sperating over 50 million years ago. Sorry for the long comment, I really enjoyed this video. All the footage of those flat plains took me back to my childhood.
It's all National Park the whole way, $1.65 is what I pay in the city. Went East to West against a strong wind and it upped my fuel usage by a quarter. Torres Strait Islands are part of Straya, they have their own Aborigines. You can get to Papua by dingy.
The fuel prices on the Nullarbor were at least 20% more than city prices. Partly the caprice audience, partly the transport costs.
Sydney to Perth by coach, 55 hours...cannot imagine driving in a straight line for hour after hour. Must be hard work for anyone driving solo. Lots of curious little places along the way. I remember a place called Kimba, like a little oasis in the middle of nowhere!
Kimba is such a funny place eh!
Whale- and the drive is beautiful in spring when all the Australian wildflowers are blooming!
I did notice they did drive over the landing strip lines on the highway. These marking are located at intervals so that the Royal Flying Doctor Service can land on the road in an emergency. In an emergency any cars that are around highlight the start of the landing area. Sometimes at night, still to this day, they use toilet rolls dipped in diesel and lit to highlight the edge of the road. The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) still provides vital medical assistance to those in remote areas. You will find plenty of videos showing their great work.
I've done this drive a couple of times and will never forget the Wedge Tail Eagles, they'd be eating road kill and wouldn't even move when you drove past. They were huge.
Hey Ian time to check out Esperance I haven't been there myself but I sent it link earlier from Kendall and Glen in Esperance worth checking out the beautiful beaches and rock formation.