A Lot of Nothing Sure is Something

A game time decision to leave Perth and I found myself embarking on a journey of well over 3,000 kilometers to Adelaide with 11 other adventurous travellers wanting to see one of the lesser-visited areas of Australia: The Nullarbor Plain (and around).

"Everyone" does the East Coast - Great Barrier Reef, Sydney, etc. They ride the tourist train from beach to beach surfing and drinking and interacting with the other backpackers with similar itineraries. While it all sounds great, I wanted to see something different...something uniquely Australian. I concluded that one of the most impressive things that I could see in Australia would be its vastness. It was.

To put this in perspective, Australia is approximately the size of the 48 contiguous United States. The States has a population of 300 million. Australia has a population of 20 million. That's a lot of empty land. In 8 days, I saw a mere sliver of it.

By day we drove (plenty), hiked through canyons and along the cliff-lined seaside, visited towns as small a population: 4, swam with dolphins and sought out roadside kitsch. Some of my personal highlights included:

Corrigin Dog Cemetery
In 1974 Strike died. His best friend/owner mourned the loss and decided to bury him on his farm just outside of Corrigin. As the canine friends of other neighbors passed, their owners were offered plots next to Strike's. Before long, the spot grew into a bonafide cemetery for man's best friends.

Lucky Bay
There is a beach in Cape Le Grand National Park (in the most Eastern part of Western Australia) called Lucky Bay. It's aqua waters and pure white sand are stunning. It has been named one of Australia's best beaches, but due to its remoteness (more than 8 hours from nowhere) it remains relatively un-visited. I was "lucky" to be among the few.

Flat Tire
When I think of the Australian outback, I think of getting stranded. So when our bus got a flat the excitement of the authenticity of the experience was almost too much to handle...didn't really seem to matter that we had just pulled out of a service station 200 meters away. One wouldn't know from the pictures.

Sky Lab
In 1979 the US Sky Lab flew apart in space and began to plummet towards earth. Mass hysteria struck in Australia. The debris was headed for the land down under, but where...Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane? Answer: Balladonia. The Americans tried to buy back all of the bits of our skylab, but thanks to one small town that was not willing to part with this relic of history for any price, I was able to see and touch a piece of skylab and have the beer cozy to prove it!

Nullarbor Nymph
In 1971, the bar maid and her loyal patrons got bored in the 30-person town of Eucla. Over a couple of beers they devised a plan that would become one of Australia's greatest hoaxes. With some tattered animal skins, a pack of friendly kangaroos and a camera, they sent waves around the world and ignited a search for the infamous Nullarbor Nymph, a woman of the wild said to live among the kangaroos in the outback. Reporters and photographers came from around the world in search of the nymph. None realized they were looking at the nymph every time they ordered a beer. The story put Eucla on the map and I couldn't resist buying the beer cozy.

Record-Breaking Shark
In 1990 fisherman in Streaky Bay set out to catch the world's largest shark...and they did. Inside the Streaky Bay Shell gas station one can read the articles on the 300kg killer and stand next to (or in) the life-size replica that is there today. Again, I couldn't resist the beer cozy to remember this site. (Pictured: Travel buddy Hiro from Japan)

Baird Bay
One can swim with the dolphins many places in Australia and the world, but *usually* the animals are coaxed/trained to interact with fish and regular feedings - not in Baird Bay. This "Ocean Eco Experience" was not only a highlight of the trip, but the highlight. The owner, Al, first started going to Baird Bay to fish. He soon fell in love with the curiosity the sea lions and dolphins displayed and began to swim with them. Today it is his business and I was lucky enough to sport a set of goggles and a mask and frolic in the waters with these creatures. I played fetch with sea lions and their shells and rubbed their bums as they flapped their flippers. When we headed out to find the dolphins, they were particularly playful. Six of them circled the group, weaving in and out, flipping and playing around. The more I/we flipped and dove, the more playful they became. Their speed was dizzying and thrilling at the same time. At one point I could look in every direction and see a dolphin. It made me a bit motion sick, but was worth it. Unfortunately there were no beer cozies to commemorate this exhilarating experience.