How to ride across the Nullarbor

Riding a motorcycle across Australia’s Nullarbor Plain is one of those bucket-list trips that many of us dream about. And, after recently tackling it for the first time myself, I can confirm this epic journey lives up to the hype.

About halfway through the trip, the sheer weirdness that is the Nullarbor hits home. For me, the catalyst was the sign proclaiming, “Nullarbor Links Golf Course: Dingo’s Den”.

A golf course, out here – really? The scenery consists mostly of flatlands and saltbush, punctuated every couple of hundred kays by a roadhouse. In fact, the course consists of holes spread across a trail measuring well over 1000km and, in a way, it blends in perfectly with what else goes on out here.

For some of us, the Nullarbor crossing – essentially the ride from the west to the east, or vice versa – is one of those must-do trips.

It’s a bit of an undertaking, with the basic Perth to Melbourne route measuring some 3400km. Add in some side trips and a tour of the south-west corner of the country, as I did, and you’re soon up to 4000km.

The good news is you don’t need highly specialised equipment. A moderately comfortable motorcycle with a fuel range of over 200km (250 to be safe) should do the job.

One of the big questions is, do you tackle the return trip (now that’s a big undertaking) or just go one way? In this case, I decided the idea of doing the trip twice had little appeal and the solution was to ship a bike across to Perth from Melbourne and fly across to meet it.

This took a little coordination, as motorcycle shipping companies are booked well in advance and the job can take a couple of weeks. In the end, I went with Bikes Only, which charged $940 to collect my BMW K1200LT from home in Melbourne and deliver it to my motel in Perth a fortnight later.

The whole exercise went smoothly, with the bike showing up on the appointed day, in good shape.

As for the motorcycle itself, the K1200LT was BMW’s prime heavy tourer – a Gold Wing competitor – released in 1999.

This was a recent purchase. With relatively low miles (50,000km) and a budget to replace the clutch and rear main seal, it owed me around $13,000. Not bad for an outrageously comfortable land yacht, with luxuries such as cruise control, plus heated grips and seats.

Preparation consisted of a check of all the fluids and tyres.

As for packing, the trick was to carry riding gear that could cope with pretty much anything. We were travelling in November, before the peak of summer, and needed gear that could cope with temps from the teens through to the thirties with rain thrown in.

Call it over-cautious, but I also made room for a little spare fuel and of course some water.

With a tendency over the years to develop target fixation, where getting there as quickly as possible seemed more important than actually enjoying the trip, I deliberately planned this one with time to spare. So two weeks were set aside – about double what was strictly necessary.

Even that turned out to be only just adequate; you could easily stretch this trip out to a month.

A key consideration was getting a look at the south-west of Western Australia – Bunbury, Margaret River, Augusta and across to Albany via Denmark. There are places on that route that are like no other on the continent.

The prime example is the Caves Road, which stretches from Busselton to Augusta and runs west of the main highway. As the name suggests, there is a network of caves along the route, many of which are accessible. More engaging, however, are the secluded beaches and coves, along with some truly spectacular forests.

You’ll find some of the best riding roads in the entire trip in that south-west corner and the general tip is to follow the coast as closely as reasonably possible to make the most out it.

The outback section of the journey starts in earnest at Norseman and stretches to Ceduna, some 1200km east. This is where you get the sense of the whole Nullarbor (‘null’ as in ‘nil’, ‘arbor’ as in ‘trees’) experience. The forests give way to often flat and desolate scenery that seems to stretch on forever, until you meet sections that kiss the Great Australian Bight and you’re presented with a sparkling ocean.

It's on this stretch that roadhouses take on special significance in your life. Balladonia is a great example. It is the fuel stop, the motel, the bar, the restaurant and the museum – essentially an entire town wrapped up in one tiny site. Water is at a premium and when we went through it was being brought in by truck from Norseman.

Eucla is another example, though bigger and more sophisticated. Built on the site of an old telegraph station, it’s gradually transformed into a mini resort with some spectacular ocean views.

A consistent discovery through this trip is you really need to make the time to slip off the main road and explore the towns and sites along the way. Sure it burns up time, but you make all sorts of little weird and wonderful discoveries such as the homey little general store in Wirrulla or the outdoor windmill museum in Penong.

Keep in mind some of the more prominent possibilities that deserve an extra day tacked on to the schedule. A good example is the motor museum at Birdwood, north of Adelaide. It’s a really nice ride up through the hills, at the end of which you’ll encounter some pretty cool cars and a surprisingly substantial motorcycle collection.

Would I do the trip again? Yep, no question. But next time I’d add at least a week to explore some of the areas that deserved more attention. One day, hopefully soon…

1. Divert!

Allow yourself the luxury of coming to a screaming halt and diverting off the road when you see something intriguing. Many of the highlights of the trip are off the highway.

2. South-west corner

This is a must-see. Aside from the obvious places such as the Margaret River winery district, there is a wealth of highlights such as the Caves Road.

3. Mobile phone coverage

We normally use an Optus phone, but for this trip took a second handset with a prepaid card for Telstra. That turned out to be a smart move, as the latter was the only available service for approximately 1200km of the trip, and then only at population centres and roadhouses.

4. Take water

Any long trip like this brings up the spectre of dehydration, which has a way of sneaking up on you. Carrying sufficient water, either in bottles or a hydration bladder, is a smart move.

5. Pace yourself

You could in theory do the trip in under a week. However, all you’ll see is white lines. It makes sense to make available as much time as possible so you’re physically and mentally refreshed for each day’s ride.