Cactus Beach, The Nullarbor and Esperance

We headed north, leaving SA's Eyre Peninsula, making our way towards the Nullarbor Plain. We had a very uneventful stop at Ceduna for a night, where we stocked up on toys from the Opp Shop for Pia (we knew we'd need as many distractions as possible to get us across the Nullarbor with an 18 month old toddler!).
After leaving Ceduna we made a relatively short journey west to Cactus Beach. Cactus is a remote beach on the edge of the Great Australian Bight with a very basic camping area with toilets and cold (salty) showers. Its claim to fame is that it has a few amazing surf breaks - it is seen as a bit of a surfing Mecca for ageing hippy surfers. Justin had a relatively brief surf there as she was spooked by the stories of the several shark attacks that had occurred in the area. We stayed there a couple of nights, but the dust and the strong winds eventually got the better of us. The kids enjoyed the Blue Lake, where they could run down huge sand dunes directly into the water. They also liked e quirky owner with his dog named Cherry (or Dodgy), who would visit each evening to collect the amp fees. It is a really beautiful spot, but probably best if you are a hard core surfer who is prepared to live pretty roughly.
Upon leaning Cactus, we all took a deep breath as we took on the long drive across the Nullarbor. The first day was a drive of about 9 hours (with stops), which took us to a hot dusty roadhouse camp ground at Madura. Thankfully there was a pool to help kill the last couple of hours of the day. Another day of driving followed, taking us to the best stop on the Nullarbor, Fraser Range Station (100km east of Norseman). We really enjoyed this sheep station, although it was o the Nullarbor, it was surrounde by spectacular scenery, with wildlife everywhere. We did a walk to the top of the mountain overlooking the homestead and saw many kangaroos and emus. A great camp kitchen, clean amenities, and lots of things to keep us occupied.
The final day of driving was only about 3 hours down to Esperance, but felt like it took forever ( we were all well and truly tired of being in the car). We're now really enjoying being back to civilization , and on a spectacular coast. So far we have done some swimming and fishing, and some maintenance jobs. As you'll see below, the girls were visited by a big seal while we were fishing tonight. After Isla fed him some of our bait, he decided he would chase everyone up the beach looking for more. He was eventually scared off by the very loud squeals, and headed back into the water. We also saw some dolphins, and the girls think they may also have seen a mermaid. Unfortunately no fish were caught. Water is quite warm and beaches are white and powdery.
A couple more days here before heading off to Cape Le Grand National Park. Stay tuned.

Photos below are: a roadside bakery where you put your money in the honesty box (north Eyre Peninsula), the sand dunes into the water at Cactus, our camp at Cactus, the long road ahead on the Nullarbor, a view from the road across to the Great Australian Bight, signpost at the SA/WA border, our car and camper being quarantine checked at the border, at Balladonia (with famous space junk from the70's space station in the background), Pia fascinated by the cat at Fraser Range, the hike up the mountain at Fraser Range sheep station, Isla talking to the seal on the beach at Esperance, the seal coming out of the water as it starts to chase the girls up the beach.