Again it was time to get back on the road once again to begin the journey south along the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway to Norseman, and then onto the Eyre Highway eastward bound, towards home. We stopped at Norseman to refuel and also to look for the horse statue, after which the town was named. During the Museum of the Goldfields tour we did in Kalgoorlie, we learned the story of how the town came to be and why it is called Norseman. When gold was discovered in the region in 1892 a mining camp was set up and known as Dundas, but by 1894 it changed to Norseman, which was the name of a horse owned by prospector Laurie Sinclair who reputedly kicked at the ground, uncovering a large gold nugget which Sinclair later pegged and uncovered a substantial gold reef. Today the horse is honoured by a statue in the centre of town. |
Driving across the Nullarbor is often regarded an item on many folks' "Bucket List" and it generally takes around 3 days to cross, particularly with a caravan. For many others it is the most boring long stretch of road that they can't wait to get to the other side. Contrary to belief that 'there is not much to see' and 'there is just nothing but desert', it really does depend on one's perspective as to what they 'see' when they travel. Yes, a lot of the landscape is similar in patches, but it actually does vary significantly, with the most surprising feature, the variety of flora and the height of the trees in some areas. Some patches, trees were quite tall, way taller than the native mallee bush that the Roo's are familiar with at home. Some areas were just like the mallee scrub at 'home'.
When it was time to find a camp for the night, we found a spot called the Caiguna Blowhole Rest Area and decided to pull in there. A few people were already in camp and set up for the night and we found a spot a bit away from the highway and stepped out to set up and was immediately joined by a throng of blowflies! These were soon joined by bees as well as they sought water from our van's pipes. Needless to say, we did not sit outside for our evening meal tonight!
Apart from the flies, an interesting feature of the rest area is the Blowhole. There are numerous caves along the Nullarbor, with some of the larger ones having many kilometres of spacious passages and even lakes underground. Blowholes like the Caiguna Blowhole have been formed by weathering through to the underground cavities and the Nullarbor caves breathe more vigorously than caves in any other area in Australia. When the air pressure falls, the cave breathes out and when it rises, it breathes in. A very interesting phenomenon!