A whole lot of nothing - the Nullarbor Plain

@JudyEv (340043)

Rockingham, Australia

May 18, 2023 7:36am CST

My husband and his brother recently drove across Western Australia (WA) into South Australia (SA), providing support to a great-nephew who is riding his bike to raise money for a cancer charity. The only ‘real’ road from WA to the east is the Eyre Highway. On the way home, they detoured and climbed a small hill where Vince took the photo I’ve used here. You can see how flat and sparsely vegetated the Nullarbor Plain is. It is also sparsely populated with roadhouses appearing every several hundred kilometres and nothing in between. The last major town of any consequence in WA is Norseman then it’s 2,699 kms to Melbourne, his ultimate destination in Victoria.

18 people like this

20 responses

@wolfgirl569 (106323)

• Marion, Ohio

18 May 23

That looks very lonely

5 people like this

show previous comments

@wolfgirl569 (106323)

• Marion, Ohio

18 May 23

@JudyEv I always liked my quiet area. But that would be too much

2 people like this

@JudyEv (340043)

• Rockingham, Australia

18 May 23

It does, doesn't it? You could be the only one for miles and miles.

3 people like this

Show more comments

@popciclecold (38723)

• United States

18 May 23

Would hate to have my car quit there.

4 people like this

@JudyEv (340043)

• Rockingham, Australia

18 May 23

So true. It's not a good idea to get stuck out here but before the road was sealed, lots of people broke down on the rough road.

2 people like this

@popciclecold (38723)

• United States

20 May 23

1 person likes this

@GardenGerty (160677)

• United States

18 May 23

It's a Big Empty.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (340043)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 May 23

That's a good term for it and exactly what it is - Big Empty.

1 person likes this

@moffittjc (121590)

• Gainesville, Florida

18 May 23

I see so much development potential….shopping malls, housing developments, business districts, etc. Developers wouldn’t even have to clear the land or cut down trees. Haha

3 people like this

show previous comments

@moffittjc (121590)

• Gainesville, Florida

19 May 23

@JudyEv Build a power plant, pump water from deep under ground, and you have your basic infrastructure to create growth. “Build it and they will come.”

2 people like this

@JudyEv (340043)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 May 23

No, they'd just have to provide hundreds of miles of water pipes, electrical cables, employment opportunities, etc.

Maybe one day they'll find minerals under the surface and the whole area will open up.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (340043)

• Rockingham, Australia

21 May 23

@moffittjc And what employment could they find? Maybe there are minerals underground somewhere but I think those possibilities have already been explored.

1 person likes this

Show more comments

@TheHorse (218891)

• Walnut Creek, California

19 May 23

It looks like Nevada except without distant mountains in the background.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (340043)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 May 23

It's pretty desolate country.

1 person likes this

@thislittlepennyearns (62529)

• Defuniak Springs, Florida

18 May 23

it might be sparse, but i still think it's pretty.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (340043)

• Rockingham, Australia

18 May 23

It has its own charm in a way.

1 person likes this

@thislittlepennyearns (62529)

• Defuniak Springs, Florida

18 May 23

@JudyEv Yes, very different than other places.

2 people like this

@AmbiePam (92775)

• United States

18 May 23

It looks a lot like Arizona. I wouldn’t want my air conditioner dying out.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (340043)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 May 23

It would be hot there in the middle of summer and very little shade too.

2 people like this

@snowy22315 (180770)

• United States

18 May 23

The middle of nowhere. By roadhouses do you mean motels, with services attached? What about gas aka petrol stations? I watched a movie about a lady who road a camel across Australia, but I don't remember the name.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (340043)

• Rockingham, Australia

18 May 23

Roadhouses = gas/petrol/service stations. Most have accommodation and often camping areas. Several ladies have taken camels across. I had a book about one but I don't remember the name now either.

1 person likes this

@rebelann (112879)

• El Paso, Texas

18 May 23

The similarity to our desert areas here in the southwestern USA is striking but here there isn't as much vegetation.

2 people like this

show previous comments

@rebelann (112879)

• El Paso, Texas

19 May 23

I've always heard that Australia has a whole different set of wildlife which has been proven just by the roos, koala and platypus you have, they don't exist naturally anywhere else.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (340043)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 May 23

@rebelann I think, as a continent, we've been cut off from every other land for a very long time.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (340043)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 May 23

The vegetation must be tough to survive the conditions. There are not cacti though.

2 people like this

Show more comments

@DaddyEvil (137259)

• United States

18 May 23

I'm sorry but I wouldn't call that a pretty landscape. I need more green than that to feel comfortable.

2 people like this

show previous comments

@DaddyEvil (137259)

• United States

19 May 23

@JudyEv Yeah... I wouldn't want to live there.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (340043)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 May 23

It's not pretty - just pretty barren and inhospitable.

2 people like this

Show more comments

@Fleura (30399)

• United Kingdom

18 May 23

I would be nervous driving or cycling across there. You certainly wouldn't want to get lost - every direction looks the same!

2 people like this

@JudyEv (340043)

• Rockingham, Australia

18 May 23

I don't think the highway was too far away. They just went down a bit of back track but then the road got too rough so they walked to the top of a rise. Here's the track.

3 people like this

@Fleura (30399)

• United Kingdom

18 May 23

@JudyEv There are actually quite a few trees just there, aren't there?

2 people like this

@JudyEv (340043)

• Rockingham, Australia

18 May 23

@Fleura Some places have a few trees. There is only one sealed road so while you stuck to that you couldn't get lost.

1 person likes this

@Ronrybs (19306)

• London, England

18 May 23

Is it a desert? That is one heck of a long pedal to Melbourne, for me and my bike!

2 people like this

@JudyEv (340043)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 May 23

I think technically it's desert but it's not bare sand, just has this tussocky grass over most of it. It's far enough in a car but on a bike?? Funnily enough, the lad doesn't look mad.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (340043)

• Rockingham, Australia

21 May 23

@Ronrybs We asked our niece's husband, an Egyptian living in Luxor, 'How long is your rainy period?' and he answered 'three hours'. He wasn't joking either.

Small children cry when it rains as they don't know what's happening.

1 person likes this

@Ronrybs (19306)

• London, England

19 May 23

@JudyEv I just read that to be a desert it must receive less than 10 inches of rain a year. A lot of places must qualify

2 people like this

Show more comments

Dr Souvik Chatterji

@sathviksouvik (19475)

•

19 May 23

your photo is too romantic. Excellent

2 people like this

@JudyEv (340043)

• Rockingham, Australia

21 May 23

Thanks. I'm glad you think so.

@LindaOHio (178701)

• United States

18 May 23

That's some barren looking territory! I hope Vince and his brother are having a safe trip.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (340043)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 May 23

They're home again and have had a good time although they're pleased to be home.

2 people like this

@LindaOHio (178701)

• United States

19 May 23

@JudyEv I'm glad they're home safe and sound.

2 people like this

@allknowing (136470)

• India

19 May 23

Rather than crowing where there are already crowds wonder why such places as this are not developed.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (340043)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 May 23

It's miles from anywhere. No water, no power, no roads, no employment opportunities and nothing will grow there.

1 person likes this

@Marilynda1225 (82799)

• United States

18 May 23

Wow that's really desolate but what a great picture that Vince took.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (340043)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 May 23

You can see a long way. I don't know how far to the horizon and I don't have time to go researching it at the moment.

But I'm sure it's quite some distance.

2 people like this

Lenore Plassman

@sallypup (61136)

• Centralia, Washington

18 May 23

If you are in that area you'd want to be sure to have plenty of water and food, just in case. I moved from sagebrush country to Green cause I was sick of trying to keep things watered.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (340043)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 May 23

I loved Donnybrook as water was never an issue.

2 people like this

@JESSY3236 (19949)

• United States

23 May 23

I bet it would be pretty at night with the stars. But yeah I wouldn't want to be stuck there.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (340043)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 May 23

There is only the one road across the south of Australia so it's quite busy.

1 person likes this

@Butterfingers (66583)

• India

18 May 23

No doubt Australia is so vast that they still have free places like that

2 people like this

@JudyEv (340043)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 May 23

There is nothing there to entice people, in particular no water.

2 people like this

@Beestring (14561)

• Hong Kong

18 May 23

I would be quite nervous driving across this lonely plain.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (340043)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 May 23

There would be quite a few vehicles on the highway. This is just off the highway a little. You can actually see a couple of vehicles just about 2/3 rds up the photo - little white specks.

1 person likes this