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PLHeather Zubek tacklesA the world’sIN longest golf course and meets some larger-than-life characters along the way.

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ARY GAME OF GOLF ARY N cially opened in October 2009, the golf course course golf the 2009, October in opened cially " Of A few years ago, two friends, businessmen Alf businessmen friends, two ago, years few A roadand the drive huge a boring,”is saysAlf “It’s The Nullarbor Links is an 18-hole, par-72 golf course course golf par-72 TheNullarbor Links an18-hole, is kilometresHighway, Eyre the of 1,365 along situated participating ineach roadhouse townor hole withone )to from(South highway Ceduna the along buggy No required. is KalgoorlieAustralia). (Western world, inthe course golf longest the be to Reported Nullarborthetwo states Links across spreads only not but also across two time zones. and courses existing from holes seven incorporates of traversing the Nullarbor. “With our idea, people now now people idea, our “With Nullarbor. the traversing of get to stop and rest, as well as play a game of golf.” NO ORDI of the many fatalities from the deadly combination of of combination deadly the from fatalities many the of fatigue. and speed a over plan a devised Bongiorno, Bob and Caputo would that Roadhouse Balladonia the at red of bottle the along businesses help also but drivers slow only not . By the next morning the idea was set inmotion and the Nullarbor Links golf course was born.

ery chunk of space space of erychunk " isn’t that great from the back seat seat back the from great that isn’t

ash of light takes us all by surprise. What What surprise. by all us takes light of ash ! The The On the NullarborOnthe Plaineverything largerthan is well is continent the across travelled oft trek The happens next is literally out of this world. For a brief brief a For world. this of out literally is next happens glow. green eerie an with up lights sky the moment of the 4WD, but I’m doing my best to scan the road road the scan to best my doing I’m but 4WD, the of locals the and 10pm about It’s roos. oncoming for outside just road of stretch the that us warned had have We kangarooscrossing. for notorious is Norseman run to want don’t we and us of driveahead two-hour a distractions. any into It’s a meteor, apparently. If this urban an near fallen earth had towards plunging rock However, noticeable. been barely have would it centre, it night, the of middle the in Nullarbor, the on here out enters the earth’s atmosphere in a blaze of cosmic glory. The view life. The distances are vast, the space seems endless, endless, Theseems life. distances are vast,space the are people the and belief are beyond stories the extraordinary. indeed known for being miles of boredom, broken only by by only broken boredom, of miles being knownfor drivetrain.The road passing a from wind of rush the tired is force police The endured. be to something is Image: Tourism WA

flung SW48 far Image: South Australian Tourism Commission Image: Nullarbor Links Nullarbor Nullarbor coastline. the dramatic Links course; a sandy Nullarbor left: from Clockwise golf course; at the

Taking a swing

is the world’s the largest is the Nullarbor the Covering an area an Covering of 270,000km of limestone karst karst limestone FAST FACT landscape. 2 ,

admits he is more at home with his sports pistol than pistol than sports his he more atis home with admits golfers giving it a golfersgo, the non-golfers too.giving I think have non- of lots and course, the playing people of heaps meet and Ericof Donkin Kambalda, who travel the endless travellers as a ‘once is enough’ event, but not so for Marg country. the in hole 19th at every rights and bragging views breathtaking also and poisonousemus,curious butsnakes lizards hissing crows,It’s by ball-thieving characterised strong winds, per day,between each drive hole. a 100-kilometre with of average an playing involves It continent. reason for and across the experience main my the drive terrain. desert clubsyour rocky on the tees and fairways, especially if you don’t want to ruin playing – the use of bottle tops is recommended on the arti Many of the tees and greens are constructed from 11 newly created ones beside roadhouses and rest stops. communication to the heart of the Nullarbor. In its its In Nullarbor. the of heart the to communication initials reveal the story of the attempt to bring playground as well as the ruins of the old telegraph station. daughter, Amber, acts as our guide, showing us her ocean during the days of sandalwood farming. Rasa’s young played as a child among the pylons of the old jetty used Amber Motor Hotel, takes us to the beach where she reach Eucla, population 45. Rasa Patupis, owner of the the seat for and the day’svisitors golf score is forgotten with platforms provide a front-row and viewing boardwalks enjoying the calves their waters. with wooden Sturdy From June to October be whales southernseencan right Bight. alongedge the Great of Australian Australia isNundroo the perfect the dramatic spot for viewing the whistlestops of Penong and Nundroo. Just outside such towns Cedunaas and South Australian small in Our CROSSI a better because time they don’t it take too seriously.” his golf clubs. as we’re usually too busy cleaning the course.” clubs along for the ride. “We don’t get to play all the time her taking to admits who Tuesday,” Marg, says following go. they as compacting and cleaning mowing, Ceduna, regularly makes the return journey from Kalgoorlie to role as maintenance crew for the golf course. The duo stretch of the Nullarborevery eight Links weeks in their “We enjoy coming out here,” says Marg. “We get to “We just do general maintenance,” says Eric, who Crossing the Nullarbor Plain is considered by many The Nullarbor Links is a truly Australian gol Decades of vandalism in the form of travellers’ carved Crossing the border into , we soon “We leave early Friday morning and return the " ! " cial turf. A bit of ‘Aussie ingenuity’ is required when ip of a whale’s tail. rst day on the golf course includes holes playing N G T HE BORDER HE "

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heyday in the late 1800s more than 600 telegrams a day passed through this station. Today, the sands are destined to cover it entirely. In the 1960s Rasa’s father was a truckie regularly making trips across the Nullarbor. The telegraph station at Eucla was one of his swimming spots.

“When he was at the train station in Adelaide TourismImages: WA he picked up The Australian newspaper,” Rasa says. “He read that Eucla was under tender to be developed because the governor at the time came through and wasn’t happy with the lack of facilities for travellers.” So Rasa’s father moved to Eucla and built the motel and restaurant that Rasa, her partner Paul and daughter Amber run today. Despite living in a small, isolated community, Rasa doesn’t feel there are any challenges. “It’s what you make of it,” she says. “You have to be really organised to ensure the infrastructure is sorted, but it’s a wonderful lifestyle. We go "shing and sur"ng as a family and we meet up with other families along the highway.”

STRAIGHT ON TO BALLADONIA The Nullarbor begins to open up to us now as we travel for 500 kilometres, playing golf through Mundrabilla, Madura and Cocklebiddy. The drive seems endless while the straightest stretch of road in the world disappears into the horizon, until we turn into Balladonia. Balladonia is a small roadhouse community with a population of about 20. It was made famous in 1979 when debris from NASA’s Skylab space station landed nearby. In the small museum located within the roadhouse are exhibits related to the area’s historical Afghan cameleers, the Red X car race and the Skylab incident. Balladonia’s Nullarbor Links hole is appropriately called Skylab, an easy par 3 across corrugated terrain with a huge red bullseye This image and above: near the green – for the golfers or NASA Mission Sand dunes at Eucla; Eucla’s Control, I’m not quite sure. old telegraph station.

SW50 farflung Image: TourismImage: Australia One of the most impressive golf holes in Australia must surely be Nullarbor Links’ number 13 (aka Sheep’s Back) at Fraser Range Station, 91 kilometres west of Balladonia. It’s a simple par 3 nestled among a range of granite hills, with a scattering of sheep and a family of emus that watches on with interest. Fraser Range Station has a general store and Above: The long, flat stretch of accommodation and is managed by Allan and Maria road that crosses Round-up Evans. Having managed a cattle station east of the Nullarbor. Kalgoorlie, Allan is used to life on an isolated station, but luckily for him there’s no more being knocked about STAY Amber Motor Hotel by cattle or arduous fencing jobs to attend to. Eyre Highway, Eucla Allan and Maria’s days are "lled with cleaning rooms, 08 9039 3468 ordering supplies, taking bookings and ensuring guests Fraser Range Station are happy. Allan also takes guided tours of the property. Eyre Highway, halfway between Balladonia and Norseman “The place is full of history,” he says. “I take a tour 08 9039 3210, www.fraserrangestation.com.au down to the old dam wall, which was constructed by convict labourers in the late 1800s. The Sunset Tour is EAT & DRINK also interesting, as the colours of the area at that time Amber Motor Hotel Restaurant of the day are quite something.” Eyre Highway, Eucla Driving into the historical goldmining town of 08 9039 3468 Norseman, we are greeted by tin camels and a bronze Balladonia Hotel Motel Restaurant statue of the horse after which the town was named. Eyre Highway, Balladonia The quiet, wide streets and sun-faded wooden cottages 08 9039 3453, www.balladoniahotelmotel.com.au belie the fact that the area was the second richest gold"eld in Western Australia. EXPLORE We play the two holes at Norseman Golf Club, carefully Nullarbor Links golf course avoiding the ants’ nests and the greenkeeper who drives his www.nullarborlinks.com tractor around the fairways in a blaze of red dust. South Australian Whale Centre Even though we have yet to play the Nullarbor Links See southern right whales from June to October. www.sawhalecentre.com holes in Kambalda and Kalgoorlie, we’ve come to the end of our journey across the Nullarbor Plain – the plain Balladonia Museum Balladonia Hotel Motel complex of"cially ends in Norseman, according to the certi"cate Eyre Highway, Balladonia and bumper stickers we buy from the Norseman Visitors 08 9039 3453, www.balladoniahotelmotel.com.au Centre. We’ve crossed one of the most isolated places on earth, yet the area buzzes with road trains, campervans, MORE INFO golfers and even solitary cyclists – all part of a community www.australia.com/explore/itineraries/crossing-nullarbor.aspx of travellers making the Nullarbor Plain extraordinary.

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