Ceduna is generally regarded as the major eastern gateway to the Nullarbor crossing and is the place where many westbound travellers make their final major preparations. Located approximately 780 km west of Adelaide, Ceduna is substantially larger than the settlements you’ll encounter further west. It offers supermarkets, fuel stations, mechanical services, accommodation, caravan parks, restaurants, shops, medical services and other facilities.

Ceduna is also worth exploring in its own right. Sitting on the shores of Murat Bay, the town is known for fishing, oysters and its attractive coastal setting.

Travel Tip: If you’re travelling west, Ceduna is the last substantial town you’ll encounter for a very long time. This is the place to stock up rather than assuming you’ll find supermarket-style supplies further along the highway.

Approximately 71 km west of Ceduna, Penong is a small but fascinating community sitting near the eastern edge of the Nullarbor. Penong has traditionally relied heavily on windmills to pump groundwater, and the town has become famous for its collection of windmills. The Penong Windmill Museum is one of the town’s most popular attractions and includes an impressive collection of restored windmills. Despite its small size, Penong provides useful services for travellers including a roadhouse, shop, hotel and caravan park.

Lake MacDonnell is particularly famous for the striking colours created by its extremely saline water, while nearby Cactus Beach is internationally known among surfers. Penong makes a great final small-town stop before the landscape becomes noticeably more remote.

Continuing west brings travellers into Yalata Aboriginal lands. Yalata is an Aboriginal community rather than a conventional highway tourist town, and visitors should respect local access requirements and restrictions. The surrounding country has enormous cultural significance and is part of a landscape with thousands of years of Aboriginal history. Respect Country: Travellers should remain on authorised roads and respect signs identifying areas where public access is restricted.

Despite its name, Nullarbor isn’t really a town. The Nullarbor Roadhouse is a remote highway service centre that has become one of the best-known stops on the crossing. For travellers, its location makes it extremely important. Fuel, meals and accommodation are generally available, making the roadhouse a popular overnight or meal stop.

The Head of the Bight is one of the highlights of this section of the journey, particularly during southern right whale season.

Don’t Rush This Section: Some of the most spectacular scenery on the entire Nullarbor crossing is found between Nullarbor Roadhouse and the Western Australian border. Allow time to stop at the designated Bunda Cliffs lookouts.

As the name suggests, Border Village sits immediately beside the South Australia–Western Australia border. For thousands of travellers each year, stopping beside the famous border signs for a photograph has become part of the Nullarbor tradition. Border Village provides important traveller services including fuel, food and accommodation.  Western Australia Biosecurity: Certain fruit, vegetables, plants, honey and other agricultural products cannot simply be carried into Western Australia. Check current quarantine requirements before travelling and consume or dispose of prohibited items appropriately before reaching the checkpoint.

Just across the Western Australian border lies Eucla, arguably the most famous settlement actually situated on the Nullarbor. Although tiny by normal standards, Eucla has an extraordinary history. During the late 1800s, the settlement became an important telegraph station linking Western Australia with the rest of Australia. Today, one of Eucla’s most fascinating attractions is the remains of the Old Eucla Telegraph Station. Shifting sand dunes gradually encroached on the original settlement, and the ruins of the old telegraph station now sit partly surrounded by sand. The site creates one of the most unusual historic landscapes on the Nullarbor. Eucla also provides important traveller services and accommodation, while the nearby escarpment offers impressive views toward the Great Australian Bight.

Continuing west from Eucla brings travellers to Mundrabilla . Like many places on this journey, Mundrabilla is essentially a remote roadhouse settlement rather than a conventional town. Its importance comes from its location. After hours of travelling through sparsely populated country, Mundrabilla provides another opportunity to stop, rest and access traveller services. The surrounding landscape is particularly interesting because this part of the highway runs beneath the Hampton Tableland, with the escarpment rising prominently north of the road.

Madura is another small settlement centred around its roadhouse. One of the highlights is the nearby Madura Pass, where the Eyre Highway descends from the higher plateau toward the Roe Plains. The change in elevation provides a dramatic contrast to the seemingly endless flat country many travellers associate with the Nullarbor. A lookout near the pass provides extensive views across the plains. Madura makes a useful rest stop and an interesting break in the journey.

Next comes the wonderfully named Cocklebiddy.

Although little more than a roadhouse settlement today, the surrounding area is internationally important for its enormous underground cave systems. The limestone beneath the Nullarbor contains one of the world’s most extensive cave landscapes, including caves containing vast underground passages and lakes. Many of these caves are accessible only to experienced and appropriately authorised cave divers or researchers. Cocklebiddy is also close to the Eyre Bird Observatory region on the coast, an important location for bird research and conservation.

Did You Know? The seemingly featureless surface of the Nullarbor hides an extraordinary underground landscape of limestone caves, sinkholes and subterranean passages.

Caiguna is another essential roadhouse settlement and is best known as the eastern end of one of Australia’s most famous stretches of highway.

At the western end of the 90 Mile Straight region lies Balladonia.

Balladonia is another important fuel and rest stop, but it has an unusual claim to fame that has nothing to do with caravans or road trips. In 1979, NASA’s Skylab space station fell back to Earth, scattering debris across a huge area of Western Australia. Some of that debris landed around Balladonia. The event briefly put this tiny settlement into international headlines and remains one of the most colourful stories associated with the Nullarbor crossing. Balladonia’s museum includes information about Skylab as well as the history and natural environment of the region.

Eventually the long Nullarbor journey brings travellers to Norseman.

For eastbound travellers, Norseman represents the beginning of the Eyre Highway adventure. For westbound travellers, it marks the return to a substantial town after hundreds of kilometres of tiny settlements and isolated roadhouses. Norseman offers considerably more services than the highway settlements, including supermarkets, fuel, accommodation and other essential supplies. The town developed following the discovery of gold in the late 19th century and remains strongly associated with Western Australia’s mining history. From Norseman, travellers can continue north toward Kalgoorlie-Boulder or south toward Esperance.