Mar 17-18: The Nullarbor!

Driving across the southern end of Australia, travellers invariably have to cross the Nullarbor Plains. Famous for having few trees and exceptionally straight roads, it makes for long and uninteresting driving. The driving isn't exactly tough - the hardest part is paying attention.

Doing the drive alone is particularily unsafe. I had prepared myself for the trip with a handful of audiobooks. I got a chance to listen to:

A Short History of Nearly Everything (kept me in it for 8 straight hours),

A Brief History of Time (worst reader ever),

the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (always good for a laugh) and

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED).

I found the last one so interesting that over the course of my three day crossing, I listened to the hour and a half episode 6 times.

There were two highlights of the trip worth noting.

First, I met John and Leony, a South African couple who live near Perth who were returning from a motorcycle tour of Tasmania. I planned to meet up with them later as I toured through to Perth. Second, while stopping in the bush to see a man about a horse, I came across a shingleback (or pine cone) lizard.