The Nullarbor in a jumper

Leaving Perth on the west coast of Australia and heading inland across the Nullarbor Desert was both exciting and daunting. The Nullarbor Desert is considered to be one of the most remote roads on earth. There are 1400 miles before the first signs of civilisation are reached and a further 800 before the next major city of Adelaide.
I set out, equipped with extra water supplies, some 'emergency food' and a mind prepared for some 50 degree blistering heat and the possibility of coming face to face with some of the indigenous people. In essence, I didn't know what to expect but had all sorts of expectations.
When I had been travelling down the West Coast, I had received warnings about Aboriginals who stood across the road, joining arms so as to force vehicles to stop prior to stripping them of their worldly possessions and feeding them 'to the lions'. I had seen the Aboriginals in the cities and villages and been approached by them with requests for 'smokes'. I had seen them staggering around drunk on alchohol (alchohol genetically has a poisonous effect on them). Despite what I had seen and heard, my view remained that those of them in the big cities, mixing with us Westerners had been led astray and lost their ways, whilst those living in the way that they did naturally, out in the bush, would behave totally differently.
After just a few miles on the road, I found it necessary to stop by the side of the road and don some extra clothing. I was cold! It was 9am in Australia, and for the first time, I needed MORE layers to keep me warm. This continued for the whole crossing of the Nullarbor, and somewhat took away from the challenge of the remote road. The road surface was excellent, albeit very straight. At one point, it was dead straight for 90 miles. The days were long but there was no point in cutting a day short and looking around as there was nothing to see. Anywhere! The evenings gave way to some of the most stunning sunsets over the barren landscapes. In the southern hemisphere, when the sun sets, the 'show' has only just begun. Within 5 minutes, the sky will have turned red and purple in one of the most eerily serene displays that can be seen. As expected, the terrain changed constantly, from forest to bush land to scrub, on to cliffs being pounded by the fierce seas and then to vast open brown fields that had been raped of their crop. The sheep and cows replaced the kangaroos and flies and the landscape became more and more manicured.
After a few weeks' break from riding, it was great to be back in the saddle with all of the time in the world to contemplate nothing and anything.
Continuing along the Great Australian Bight, a coastal region along the south of Australia, I arrived at some tiny seaside towns. Each of them looked pretty much the same with a pub (known here as a hotel), a pier, a caravan park and a smattering of shops. What they also had in common were slogan. Every town in Australia seems to have a slogan, be it at the 'gateway to the goldfields' or 'where the vines meet the ocean', no town can have a town status until it is famous for something. The vineyards of the Barossa Valley and Adelaide Hills were yet another change in landscape, this time calm and almost Tuscan in feel. The lines of vines in the fields played an interesting illusion as they flashed past.
Still on the subject of towns and places, the names themselves are also quite interesting. Whilst many come from England (e.g. Brighton and Hove), others are chosen based upon 'appropriateness'. There is a desert, which is quite big and has sand. They call it the Great Sandy Desert. There is also a mountain 'range' with snow on it. It's called the Big Snowy Mountain. I stayed in one seaside town called Coffin Bay, but did not dare to ask why and say no signs of a booming trade in undertakers. Of course, one of the most famously named of Australian places is a road the follows the coast of the sea and had great views. The Great Ocean Road really is outstanding. Not only is it an excellent driving road, but the views are unbelievable. The rough seas beat away at the cliffs and beaches relentlessly, leaving behind an array of rock formations. This, combined with both sharp sunlight and a hazy mist from the sea results in some of the best sights seen during this trip. Whilst I generally try to spend more time seeing sights with my own eyes than I do taking photographs, it is almost impossible along this stretch of road. The road is only 120-odd kilometres long, yet it takes hours to complete the journey. The reason is because I (and everyone else) never travel more than 500 metres before stopping at the next viewpoint and gawping at its beauty. Depending on how many times I stop, I could be in Melbourne in a couple of hours, or I could be there next week.