Riding the Old Nullarbor Highway by Adventure Motorcycle
February 2021
The Old Eyre (Nullarbor) Highway
Crossing the Nullarbor Plain has been a right of passage for Australians for a long time. Of course it has got easier over time but it is still a long long drive.
Western Australia eventually opened their state border in 2021 following the Covid 19 pandemic. I took the opportunity to head west soon after. While I was staying in Elliston, I met another motorcycle traveller from Whyalla. He mentioned that he knew someone that had crossed the Nullarbour via the Old Eyre Highway, by motorcycle. This sounded intriguing and I quickly did some homework.
The original dirt Eyre Highway was abandoned in the 1970’s when a sealed bitumen highway was built to the south. It has since just been left to nature, but you can still access it. You can “view larger map” and select the Old Eyre Highway route.
The new highway covers some wonderful country, yes it is a treeless plain, but it is also very beautiful through the main stretch and the access to the coastal locations is very special. I wouldn’t say that the Old Highway is more appealing from a scenic perspective. But the Old Highway does have a historic and remote sense of adventure though. It will give a glimpse back to the harsh realities of crossing the Nullarbor (even if your vehicle technology has progressed somewhat).
Be aware that this is a trip into remote Australia. It may not be that far from the new highway but it is remote enough to get in some serious trouble if something goes wrong. It might just take some rain or heat, and your circumstances can change considerably. You need to be properly prepared and experienced to safely complete the trip.
I basically saw nobody on the trip, just a quick flash of another vehicle at a crossroad as it seemed to be heading north to a station. Nobody on the Old Highway…. One day I will write about what preparation I have done for these situations. In the meantime there is some background at the start of this story – Hiking the Heysen Trail.
I did the trip from east to west in two days. And there is a point about halfway, where the Old Eyre Highway goes to the Nullarbor Roadhouse so you can get food, water and fuel there. Also be aware that the old highway runs near the Yalata Aboriginal Community. Access to the community is restricted. To the best of my knowledge the old highway runs north of the community but please do your own research to make sure you comply.
The point where the old highway veers away from the new. The old highway actually still runs alongside the new for a while before this.
At times the highway is still quite clear. I guess the road surface was so compacted, it takes a long time for the vegetation to come back.
The only way to say it, is that there is a lot of rubbish left along the old highway. Of course it is from around the 1960’s and 70’s so it is interesting rubbish, but it is still humans leaving their crap behind again e.g. cars, steel beer cans, tyres.
You can see how the road would tear through tyres, especially before steel belted radials were widely available.
The trees are starting to win in places.
My parents had a black one of these when I was a baby.
It is a long way from help if you need it. Be prepared.
Going through a locust plague.
I called into the Nullabor Roadhouse and had a hamburger as an early dinner which made things easy. My campsite for the night, a little way off the old highway. I did get woken about 4:30am by an approaching thunderstorm. It gave me the spooks, out there in the open and I ended up breaking camp early and riding away from it okay.
Soon after leaving my camp I came across a pack of about ten dingoes. From memory it was just a coincidence that I stopped for a break just where they were. It actually became a little scary with them dotted around me and I made a careful exit. I have seen dingoes in the Simpson Desert suffering from malnutrition and struggling. Not these ones, conditions must have been good, they were in prime condition and looking very much on top of their game. And they were not scared of me.
Koonalda Homestead is a little way off the old highway. It is abandoned now but once was a stop over along the highway.
Having breakfast on the verandah. The ride to the border is fairly straightforward from here and more of the same. The old highway comes out right at the West Australia border crossing.