Driving the Nullarbor Alone: A Raw Perth to Sydney Outback Journey
Why I Decided to Cross the Nullarbor
In Feb 2024 my PTSD symptoms exploded. I had been renting a house in Port Douglas but when the owners returned from South Australia for the dry season to live I was given 3 weeks to leave and with no other rentals available, I bought a roof top tent. A kind neighbour let me store my belongings in her garage. One morning, just before starting work as a shuttle bus driver, I was woken by Council rangers in riot gear, banging on the side of my car, who told me to ‘leave the Douglas Shire’. I didn’t realise at the time but this had such a big impact on me internally. I thought I was pretty tough, robust, safe. But this was my first home in Australia and having left Sydney and the corporate life to come back here I was devastated internally to be told to leave.
In some kind of internal shock, I drove south, not knowing what the future held. I sold most of my possessions as it was logistically impossible to keep travelling with them or to store them. But the hardest thing was leaving behind my dog in foster care. I cried more on that drive south than I’d done in the rest of my life. To put that out in public is hard, but it's growth for me as an old school man, to be honest, human, vulnerable, and to show weakness.
After staying with a good friend, Ilan for while in Sydney, my desire to travel combined with ptsd flight were in overdrive. I couldn’t sit still. I decided to sell my Landcruiser with roof top tent and buy and deck out a van to live in temporarily. It made sense to me if I couldnt stop moving to have a mobile roof.
On the east coast of Australia it was very hard to find the van I wanted - a long wheel base Mercedes Sprinter - as van life had taken off and everyone wanted one of these - so when I saw one advertised in Perth - some 4000 kilometres on the other side of Australia (similar distance as Lisbon to Moscow!) - the Nullarbor plan plan came together pretty quick!
Planning a Perth to Sydney Road Trip
The legendary Nullarbor is one of the those places that Australia has a reputation for like the Kimberly and Uluhuru. It’s a one of a kind destination and you can read, hear and talk about it as much as you want but until you experience it first hand you’ll not quite understand it. The sheer scale of the place toys with the imagination and the psyche. It’s vast. The skies roll into the future, into places that are beyond imagination but yet somehow you can feel, get a sense of.
Dangers of Driving the Nullarbor
The Nullarbor is a real serious place and I think this is best illustrated by the number of travellers that get caught out by Google Maps underestimation of the journey. You hear it all the time on Facebook and other online forums.
For example, plotting a journey from Perth to Sydney, Google Maps might tell you that you can drive it in x hours - but it doesn’t tell you that some roads are totally unsuitable for 2 wheel drive cars, some outback roads are almost un-driveable between dawn and dusk because of the number of animals on them (see below!).
Nullarbor Wildlife and Road Hazards
The experienced travellers among you might be thinking, yeah we can get round that - well - when a 50 kilo kangaroo hits your car at 80kmh - the chance of major vehicle damage is high. The problem is, there isn’t one kangaroo - there are thousands. And goats. And cows. And others. And you won’t be driving at 80! AND - if you’re on a motorbike this turns from a vehicle damage or write off to a potential fatality. You need to be smart. This is remote country, where distances between fuel stops can be many hours and in summer, walking between them is not an option. At one stage I thought I was drivng through old Macdonald's farm. The road was literally full of animals and I can't lie it isn't pleasant seeing a road train come past.
But this is quite literally the only downside as far as I’m concerned. You just need to drive to the road conditions and understand this is not downtown LA or rural England, this is outback Australia. You don’t know what you are doing and if you don’t follow what you are advised you are going to be taking major risks.
I booked my flight ticket from Sydney to Perth one way and stayed in Perth one night before picking up the van from a dealer, after doing the necessary pre purchase checks. I had done most before booking my ticket, of course. The rest, was that bit of risk. What’s the point of being alive otherwise. The plan was to sleep in the back of the van with a camping mattress and sleeping bag for 6-8 days it would take me to drive back to Sydney while checking the place out in my own time. I had taken my trusty MSR Pocket Rocket screw on stove which I have had for over 20 years with me and a pan and just had to buy food and a gas canister in Perth. What could go wrong?
Day 1: Perth to Forestania (Off-Road Reality)
I left much later than I'd hoped on day one because I had to collect the van from the dealer and sort out all the paperwork before I left. It was my first time driving in Perth and I wasn't quite prepared how quickly I would leave the city and get out into the remote outback. It only took about 30 minutes to leave Perth city and then the roads got increasingly remote.
I had opted for my usual work the route out as I drove plan. This led me to a pretty crazy route given that I was in a two wheel drive van. I know now for sure that if I’d had any rain, I probably would've got stuck. I decided not to take the route south all the way down to Esperance because that would add at least another day to my drive, although I would've loved to see that beautiful area. Instead I drove straight across to Norseman. I didn't want to use Route 94 as that went too far North for me.
Having looked at the map half way I knew there was a risk in the roads being too rough for the van but I knew that at that time of year it would be dry and I had confidence in my own ability. If I got stuck I would have sufficient food and water and would be able to see out a few days if I had to. To be honest I like adding a sprinkle of risk. It adds an element of excitement to the journey but I would not advise someone who doesn't have the ability to get themselves out of the likely situations that can arise and they do! And to do that in summer would be crazy.
The first long section of route 40 through from Perth to Hyden was beautiful but perfectly fine for the two wheel drive van and there was no problems whatsoever. But that could have been very different in heavy rain. From there on the road through to Norseman is red dirt with significant corrugations and is only suitable for a two wheel drive vehicle in the very best of conditions.
The road is to Forestania is one of the most remote roads I've driven on in my life. I saw maybe one other vehicle for the whole duration. It is absolutely beautiful and at the first sign that the Sun was starting to come down I took the first opportunity to pull over and prepare some dinner walking around taking a number of videos in absolute awe of the sunset.
This day was a totally unexpected highlight of the trip. Not only had I not expected it to be the most remote part of the whole trip (mainly due to my choice of route) but I had not anticipated the road (again thanks to my style of last minute planning). Did I tell you I have ADHD.
I woke up at the next morning and had a quick breakfast before driving through the remainder of the dirt road to Norseman and fuel in the van before continuing my journey.
Day 2: Forestania to Yalata (Entering the Nullarbor)
As I drove down route one through the Fraser range and Balladonia towards Caiguna the anticipation was building of of the Nullarbor just as the skyline were extending into the distance almost too far to see out of the windscreen jaw dropping distraction. Clouds in the sky seem to open up swathes of blue light that light up the vast scrub paddocks that push out beyond where the eye can see. It is simply mesmerising.
This section of road include the ’90 Mile Straight’ between Caiguna and Balladonia - the longest straight stretch of road in Australia, without a single bend, often used as emergency landing strip for the flying doctor
I’ve heard this section called monotonous but to me it’s stunning. Put your vehicle in cruise control and prepare for full mesmerisation of the senses.
Fuel Stops on the Nullarbor – What You Need to Know
It’s worth repeating the often written mantra about filling up on the Nullarbor. Fill up at every servo you come to. This really isnt the place to sit on a fuel price app and work out how to save 20 dollars by making it to the next gas station! For sure there are some servos that are expensive but think where they are and how much it costs them to get goods and staff to where they are. More on this below when I tell you how I very nearly ran out even though I stopped at each servo!
As route 1 comes round to Eucla it reaches the ocean and it’s here that somehow I felt like I was at the Nullarbor proper. But actually, if anything, it was a bit of an anti-climax. This is where the road started having far more traffic and there was more people obviously from the other side from Adelaide and South Australia. This is the start of the Nullarbor Wilderness Protection Area. But that’s just me - I like ‘wilderness’ and not so much caravans and lots of people and traffic.
But this is a stunning ocean road for sure and as far as camping goes I can’t think of many cliff top camping locations more scenic than some of spots along this road, including Newmans Rocks, Bunda Cliff, Whitewell Tank and Koonalda Homestead.
Nullarbor Scrub and wildlife
It’s impossible not to notice driving through the Nullarbor that the plain is dominated by very specific types of flora, mostly chenopod vegetation with fairly low level saltbush and bluebush species as well as native grasses where fires have removed the chenopod. Of course the environment has built up an extreme tolerance to salt coming from the ocean.
When travelling in Australia one of the things that's important to me is to try and understand a little bit about what came before colonial settlers. It's almost impossible in a couple of days to gain any understanding of local indigenous culture in the area. But from what I understand, local indigenous groups in this area would've had to have made their living primarily through coastal resources as the landscape is so harsh. Mirning and Wangai aboriginal people and others would have relied on a deep, expert knowledge of the arid landscape.
Like most, I was relieved by the sight of the well know Nullarbor Roadhouse, where I stopped, refuelled, had lunched and a good break. The Roadhouse has 24 hour fuel, caravan facilities, a motel, shop and restaurant and is a great place to stop for families. Fuel is not cheap here and 15 minutes further up the road at Yalata there is another servo with much cheaper fuel. But if you are nearly empty I would not put money on it being open! (Latest I hear is that it is now 24 hour unmaned so always open for fuel).
That night I slept in the van at a gravel pit stop I found on the Wiki Camps app just outside of Yalata. It was an absolutely freezing night. I was fully clothed with a duvet and could barely sleep.
Day 3: Yalata to Broken Hill (Kangaroo Strike)
At about 3am I was awake so decided to hit the road. Oh what a mistake that was! I drove until first light and then BANG! I knew immediately because I’d seen the little fellas hoping. I should have stopped but somehow I figured I’d get lucky. It doesn’t work like that mate. Not when you have thousands of Ks to drive and when there are millions of roos. It’s not like I’m new to outback driving. I should have known better. But this is the down side to my way of living. Risk, means that sometimes things go wrong. On assessing the damage I knew that I was going to be lucky to make it back to Sydney. The Sprinter had no front protection so the roo had hit the front and clearly damaged the radiator and compressor. I was lucky it wasn’t worse.
That changed the trip. It was now about getting home. My mind set was no longer about enjoying the journey. All I could thinking about was the potential cost of a recovery in the middle of the Nularbor with no RACQ roadside assistance. It would be around the 5000AUD I estimated to get the vehicle back to Sydney, then the repair which ended up being almost that - at a non Mercedes body shop! But there was potentially worse to come…..
Despite the damage to the Sprinter the days drive was nothing short of amazing. Having come down from a bit of an anti-climax of the Nullarbor itself, the section through Eucla and Port Augusta was again jaw droppingly beautiful.
The saltbush country that characterises the Nullabor slowly faded as I headed away from the coast at Ceduna and that 60s sunset towards the desert country of the Gawler Ranges National Park on the road through to Port Augusta.
No less beautiful but somehow a different planet. I would have liked to have spent some time in Port Augusta but I just had time to get fuel and continue my journey, but the place left an impression on me. Looking out over the vast expanse of land towards the Ikara-Flinders Ranges I felt like I was in the Australia I had seen on tv as a kid.
That day was a mammoth drive as I was intent on making it back to Sydney the next day. Soon (or not so soon) I was out the other side of Port Augusta and climbing up and down the hills, with country changing again, it started to feel like I was changing state again, and for good reason.
After a long stretch on the A32 I crossed the border into NSW and the scrub changed again, this time more colour, but unmistakably still outback. This is still very remote country. I should have stopped when I got to the lovely Broken Hill. But instead I grabbed a bite to eat and made the decision to press on for another couple of hours without filling up for fuel, because I had not long since filled up. This was a bad mistake…BOLD..! The long straight section of road from Broken Hill on the A32 is Barron - very few places to stop and I was exhausted, dehydrated and hungry. I eventually found a place to pull in by a creek away from headlights on the main road, made myself some noodles and went to sleep.
Day 4: Broken Hill to Sydney (Running on Empty)
This last morning was a stressful drive! With the van in a bad state, me beyond tired - in a third dimension having crossed three states and all those mesmerising sky scapes still plummeting through my conscious like some instagram reel on drugs. I think because I’d driven the section from Perth to Norseman, then the Nullarbor and now I was in NSW - somehow I thought I was home and dry. Nothing to worry about. I had some fuel and there was a town not far off. But I totally misread the distance and made one critical mistake. I relied on one fuel station being open. So when I pulled in the servo at 6am to fill up and it was closed for the day I knew this moment was a journey defining one. But deep down I instantly knew that while it would take ten minutes to think about it there was only one decision I would make - the risky one.
I had the choice of either driving back to Broken Hill - the sensible option - but an hour and half back the way I had come. There I was guaranteed fuel at the 4 or more servos. OR - I could risk going forwards. At this point I had no signal on my mobile and had made the mistake of closing Google Maps on my phone so I was relying on my Hema 4 Wheel Drive Maps app which was calculating the distance to the next town using GPS. I needed to get to Wilcannia - where, according to Hema Maps there was one servo. But this was another tiny outback village… I could see on the digital dash of my vehicle that IF my Hema maps was right about the distance I had a margin or error of about 2 kilometres to when I would be empty - not to reserve - empty! Not good!
So, me being me, I risked it. I figured, worst case scenario I would have to walk 30k. Pretty crazy. I wouldn’t have done it in summer, but still. It was a very nervy hour or so. It felt like a week. Each 10 kilometres that went by it seemed like the margin was getting smaller. The road was very remote, no places to pull in either, so I was worried that if I did gas out that I would be in the middle of the road. For the last twenty minutes the van was beepy furiously as me, insisting that I stopped. I really hate modern vehicles for that! As I came into Wilcannia, the fuel light had been on for about 10ks and the van still beeping like I was at some new age rave. I rounded a corner and saw a servo in the distance, it was open! As I drove up to it the van made another noise and as I pulled into the servo it spluttered and cut out, right as I pulled alongside the pump.
That is true - exactly was it happened. I probably wouldn’t believe it if I read it. But, what I know for sure it I wont that lucky again. Something was looking out for me. And I’ve listened. The servo is a tiny one in Willcannia and I’ll never forget it - there was a customer having an argument with the cashier, the pies were horrible and fuel expensive, but I couldn’t care less. I had a tank of fuel and was headed home. Somehow the adventure had been re-invigorated - my risk approach justified. But I was still a long way out from Sydney.
The last stretch of any long journey is always the most dangerous and I was really aware of that. Because I had driven over 3000 kilometres in 3 days and was physically and mentally exhausted, and because I had driven through West Australia, South Australia and was now in the familiar New South Wales, it felt like it was all over. But I still in the outback, over 10 hours from Sydney. It was a long way home. I was beyond tired, there was no slumping on the wheel or danger of falling asleep - I was high on the journey I had almost completed. I had a sense of madness in me. I didn’t know what was next for me. I had an empty van and 5 boxes to my name. I was 50. Most of my friends were married, divorced, kids, multiple houses etc. Somehow I felt free, but my head was like a fog.
Lessons Learned from Crossing the Nullarbor
I could type out some generic list of travel tips for you like a blogger in their 20s who has just driven accross the Nullarbor and thinks that makes them a great explorer. Truth is I don't believe in all of that. Make it your journey. If you make it someone elses you wont remember it. Yeah, I would stop at every fuel station unless you like the idea of running out of fuel. I would also be very careful if driving between dusk and dawn in the outback. But other than that, get out there, go drive accross the Nullarbor and have some fun. Is it worth it? Yes. There's nowhere else like it on earth. It's a zoo!
Prologue
That’s the end of my Nullabor journey. It’s not a riding story, but it marks the start of my story sharing rides here. Here's why.
After a few days to recover at my good friend, Illan’s house, the project to deck out the van go under way. I had no real experience in doing this but could turn my hand to most things and had another very good mate - Morgs - a chippie who helped with the wood stuff. I did the electrics, basic pluming, had a bed sorted and before long the van wad good enough. It was a hard time - although I had a stable enough place to live in a very nice environment at Illan’s house, my ptsd symptoms were going through the roof. Those around me probably thought I was mad but I was desperate to get out of Sydney and away from the non stop grind for money and I wanted to get back to the bush. It's the only place where I get true peace. I was fully aware I was in ptsd flight, but I had no control over it. So I left, and drove north in the van, retuning back to Far North Queensland.
And that's what this journey and this site is dedicated to - finding peace. I've returned north to Far North Queensland. I'm currently living in crisis accomodation in Cairns until mid-April 2026 and am planning to kick start my 2Wheel Driven motorbike adventures north as the wet season comes to an end. Watch this space.
This journey eventually led me back to Port Douglas and you can read Returning to Port Douglas: A Ride Back to Where it Started below - and watch the You Tube video.
Edward Phelps
