Cycling Nullarbor Plain: A Complete Guide For Cycle Tourists

We cycled across Nullarbor Plain during Australia’s winter. We left Norseman on the 16th of July and arrived at Ceduna on the 23rd of July.

It was one of the best cycling experiences we’ve ever had, and we’ve cycled through 27 countries. The daily cycling can feel long, but looking back at Nullarbor Plain is amazing.

This article details everything you need to know about cycling the Nullarbor, including food, places to stay, top tips and our exact route mileage day-to-day.

If you’ve got more questions, drop a comment, and we’ll happily reply!

Where is Nullarbor Plain?

Nullarbor Plain is a section between Norseman and Ceduna. ‘Nullarbor Plain’ often refers to the entire route between these two towns.

The distance between Norseman and Ceduna is 1,200 kilometres (745 miles.)

Fun fact: when we put our hotel in Ceduna into Google Maps from Norseman, the sat nav said, “In 750 miles, turn right.”

What is it like cycling across Nullarbor Plain?

I saw Nullarbor Plain referred to as ‘Nullarbor Boring’, but we disagreed. Don’t get me wrong, it can be boring, at times, when travelling by bike, but overall, it’s pretty cool!

Nullarbor Plain was greener than we imagined. it was a fantastic experience, and we saw some beautiful wildlife like Wedge-Tailed Eagles, and other cyclists travelling at the same time as us even saw whales! We did go to the lookout points but weren’t as lucky.

If you ask us, Nullarbor Plain is the sort of place where you need to get some distance before you can fully appreciate your accomplishment.

When you’re in the moment cycling across Nullarbor, there are moments of deep appreciation for where you are and what you’re doing.

There are moments when the flat, dusty lands with their tenacious shrubbery and stunning skies are sights to soak in and enjoy.

But, for the most part, you are bored when you’re on that bike pedalling for eight to twelve hours per day.

You can’t stop because it just delays the inevitable. If the sun is up, you might as well just ride. The scenery during a full day doesn’t change a great deal. It’s one long, flat road that’s a copy and paste of the road just behind it. Sometimes, you’ll have sight of a tree in the distance for a mile or more.

But, when you finish something like this, you look back with different eyes. You see it for the amazing challenge that it was; you look back at the photos and remember the moments a little differently from when you were there. it’s more gnarly than you realised, so much cooler than it felt.

The people across that stretch are lovely. Many families and retired couples are on holiday and travelling, so really nice people surround you in their absolute best (who isn’t in a good mood on holiday!)

The two Brits on pushbikes are a sight for many, and we’re greeted kindly, 'You’ve done well; we passed you at whatever o’clock!'

You need time for your brain actually to understand what it’s done.

From a distance of now two entire months and 3,070 miles away, I can honestly say cycling Nullarbor was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done.

I will probably never do that again, but would I do it again if the opportunity came up?

Probably.

While crossing Nullarbor Plain we met Louisa and Tobi who were travelling in the opposite direction. Louisa and Tobi covered the journey on their YouTube and capture the experience really well, so take a look at their video.

What food should you take to cycle Nullarbor Plain?

Between Norseman and Ceduna (1200 miles), water stops and service stations/roadhouses are few and far between. We wanted to ride the distance in about five days, so that’s what we prepared for. In the end, it took us eight cycling days and nine days total.
Stew usually carries 1750ml of water, and I carry 1250ml.

We took:

• 14 litres of water
• 10 sachets of porridge
• 2 x tinned tuna
• 2 x tuna in a pouch
• 1 x sardines in a tin
• 1kg Spaghetti
• 500g cheese
• Bread
• Peanut butter

Plus a few other bits like eggs. bacon (first two days only), bars, biscuits, tea, coffee etc.

The above food would feed us for a week if it had to. It won’t have to, and our stomachs wouldn’t feel too great for it, but we’d rather have it and not need it.

We had to rejig things in the panniers to make room for water and have access to things like food instead of clothes.
We picked up reflective gear back in Esperance: two reflective jackets and a new light for my bike.

To be honest, if I were riding Nullarbor Plain again, I probably would take all of that, minus the porridge sachets.

The water turned out to be too much, but if ever we hadn’t made it to a roadhouse, we would’ve been glad to have it, and you always want to be prepared.

Remember: we did this in winter. You need to think about the time of year and the heat. At times it was quite hot (though always manageable) in July. So, be careful.

The cycling route across Nullarbor Plain

Although the route is pretty straightforward (there’s almost a pun there,) here’s our route with the stops and distances we travelled.

Our experience cycling Nullarbor Plain.

Cycle tours always look a bit different, don’t they? But here’s our day-by-day experience with the Strava route, a short summary and the roadhouse we stayed in.

Day 1: Norseman to Balladonia

On day one, we managed to go from Norseman to Balladonia, a solid 118 miles (190km).

We’re pretty darn chuffed with that, to be honest!

The day was largely uneventful but enjoyable! It's a good time to stick on an audiobook and just ride

for
eleven
hours
eight
minutes
straight

Day 2: Balladonia to Caiguna

This was a major milestone for us. I could not wait to arrive at this exact sign across Nullarbor Plain. The longest, straight road in Australia.

We cycled the lot, plus 20 miles, all in one day. The day before, we cycled 120 miles.

I’ll never forget it.

I feel on top of the world, having made it here. It’s just so cool. Cycling to Aus is beyond my wildest dreams, and I’m so grateful for everything that got me here.

It’s a shame about the graffiti sign. From following other cycle tourists like Ted Eliason @bikingthebluemarble on Insta (whom we can’t catch up with), I know this graffiti is a new addition.

I was gutted that the graffiti would ruin our picture, and I knew just who to contact about lifting it.

Stephen Cameron posted on his socials whenever he would clean the graffitied areas in Fort William where we lived, and Stew and I always saw and recognised it, especially the bus stop.

He would know what to do. So, I reached out, “I know this is a weird message to get off a stranger, but…”

It turns out he had driven around Aus on his honeymoon, and he was happy to help. The solution, he said, was acetone nail polish. Test a small area first, he warned.

I carried acetone nail polish remover all the way, but I hadn’t taken into account that the sign is massive!

Even Stew, at 6”4, would be unable to get rid of all the graffiti. We would’ve had to carry a step ladder.

I can say, though, that the corner that I did use it on lifted easily!

Across this section of Aus, my bike weighs at least 40kg, so I don’t fancy adding a step ladder to it, and when I got to my next stop, I was very happy to offload 250ml of nail varnish remover.

So, sadly, I didn’t clean the sign, but someone at Caiguna got a free bottle of nail polish remover.

These long days mean getting up before sunrise and cycling into sunset. It’s hard work when that alarm goes at 5:30, but the skies are something to marvel at out here! We ride with our head torch on or dangling from the handlebars, knowing that we will need them every day.

Day 3: Caiguna to Cocklebiddy

What a day.

We left Caiguna feeling pretty tired after the two previous big days. Ready and…rearing(?) for another day of long straight roads, sun and not much else.

We set out as the sun rose with the best of intentions, planning another big day.

The headwind was MEGA strong. So strong toward the end, we would take in turns to push the wind, Stew riding in front for ten minutes, then gladly rolling to the back as I pushed for the next ten. We did that for probably the final 90 minutes.

When it’s worth putting me at the front during a headwind, you know it’s strong. Usually, Stew just does all the hard work because it’s more efficient. #slipstreamqueen

We were barely moving at 6-9mph.

One thought came into our heads though: Louisa and Tobi, travelling in the opposite direction, must be having an absolute blast today.
Actually, considering Sylvia saw them only two days ago, today might be the day we cross paths! I’d been receiving a few DMs telling us about them.

After riding only 40 miles in nearly six hours total, we decided to call it at Cocklebiddy Roadhouse. To be honest, of all the days to suffer with such a bad wind, today was a good one. It’s not that often you can ride just 40 miles between roadhouses out there.

Look our for Wedge-Tailed Eagles at Cocklebiddy: You’ll see wild eagles on route, but at Cocklebiddy, they have two rescues.

On route, we saw three or four of the famous Wedge Tailed Eagle, the largest bird of prey in Aus. and the fourth largest in the world.
Absolutely incredible.

Sadly, our crappy phone pictures can’t do justice to them, so I won’t add the pictures here. They’re in the gallery, though. We saw the eagles and marvelled at them each time. You don’t get bored of the stunning birds and peculiar wildlife in Aus.

Across Nullarbor, those eagles were all we saw alive. Everything else, mostly kangaroos, was roadkill.

The sad part about busy roads in the outback is that these marvellous birds come to the roadside to feed on the dead ‘Roos; that’s how we saw our first one!

When the trucks are blasting through, the eagles make an attempt to fly away but end up in front of the vehicle, causing injuries. You know how a truck's wake can pull you in?

The two Cocklebiddy eagles were lucky to be rescued but can’t return to the wild.

They are happy there, though as Wedge Tailed Eagles mate for life.

Campaigns ask vehicles to use their horns as they approach the wildlife to give the birds time to move.

Day 4: Cocklebiddy to Mundrabilla

After a good rest at Cockbiddy, we were ready to ride 128 miles to Mundrabilla. The wind had done a 180, so we had a lovely tailer instead of the mega headwind! We knew this was coming because we checked Windy.app to see the wind forecast. It’s such a good app! If you’re not using it, get it!

Mundrabilla Roadhouse was actually really nice! Look at the size of the food.

We way overordered, not expecting the portions to be so huge! To be fair, Aussie food portions are BIG. I can only assume it’s close to American-sized portions.

Look at the type of stuff that gets trucked through Aus. it’s wild to see! We often see vehicles marked oversized carrying all sorts: massive farm machinery, fully constructed cabins, mining machinery, and what I think is pictured swimming pools?!

We got talking to the roadhouse staff, and I started to learn what life in the outback looks like.

People generally work in roadhouses for a short period of time, think students or travellers for a year or two.

It’s a social way of life, a lot of work since there’s nothing else to do and a lot of talking. Staff get to know the truckers and hear stories from the tourists.

The work isn’t paid amazingly, but it’s paid well, considering for $30, you get your food and room. Plus, you can’t spend money out there, so earnings are saved; that’s part of the appeal.

Food and supplies come in on a truck from either Norseman or Ceduna, depending on which side of the border you’re on. The IGA in Norseman supplies all the roadhouses on the Norseman side.

Mundrabilla was a pretty cheap roadhouse, and others were more expensive. With the supplier being the same across the way, you can see which roadhouses inflate the costs the most.

It’s a lot of mixed feelings out here. We love cycling, so getting just to ride a bike for a long time is always cool as fuck to us. But there are times when you think, “This is boring now,” but what’s boring today will be equally boring tomorrow, so you just press on.

Day 5: Mundrabilla to Border Village

After averaging almost 100 miles/160kms per day for four days on heavy bikes, I was – in every sense of the word – exhausted.
Despite a shorter day only two days ago, I just hadn’t recovered.

At night, bending my knees to sleep was quite painful, but gone(ish) by morning.

We took ibuprofen.

Getting out of bed in the morning was increasingly difficult.

On this day, it felt like my bike was refusing to roll. I was moving at 4-8mph.

I knew this day was a write-off when I looked at the gritty dirt of the hard shoulder and considered a twenty-minute lie-down.
Would that give me enough energy to put in good miles today?

It was a fleeting thought because I was just beat, and I knew it.

We got to a roadhouse but decided to push on for ten miles or so to Border Village Roadhouse, the most expensive roadhouse justified by their generator and filtering their own water, fair enough.

At this point, people travelling from Ceduna to Norseman (opposite direction to us) have to go through a stop, like border control, and throw away any fresh fruits and vegetables.

The biodiversity of Western Aus is different to South Aus. I found it interesting to discover that when western Aussies say certain animals aren’t “native”, they meant not native to Western Aus, not Aus generally.

To solve contamination and control the spreading of pests, diseases and weeds through the transportation of fruits, veggies, plants and seeds, fruits and veg are confiscated at the border. We will have our own check when we get to Ceduna.

Border Village offered up good grub and a bed for the night. Another recharge needed far too close to the last one for my liking, but sometimes you have to accept your limitations.

Day 6: Border Village to Nullarbor Roadhouse

Well, we made it officially to the Nullarbor.

A big day ahead, we set out before the sun was up and cycled until it went down that evening.

It was a truly wonderful day full of emotions.

In our mind, Nullarbor was a vast, dry desert, not even trees.

Null + Arbor = No Trees.

Just twenty of thirty miles in, the sun started to rise, and we found ourselves alongside the ocean.

To be honest, I hadn’t expected such beautiful views.

There was something about the skyline; it was cloudy in the distance, and behind us the orange tones of the sunrise were turning blue.

We were blessed with gentle waves and bright blue skies. I sat with that feeling that comes after long days in the saddle; the achievement of it all makes it so beautifully overwhelming. I can’t put it into words for you because you just have to do it to know.

We cycled past the Great Australian Bight. The water was bright, bright blue, postcard perfection.

There are also three lookout points; if you’re lucky, you’ll see whales! We went to two or three points hoping to see whales and even ate our lunch at one, but we weren’t fortunate enough to see them.

There is one area you have to pay to visit, but you are highly, highly likely to see whales.

Our loaded bikes captured attention here, and we met quite a few Aussies who were impressed with our bike touring stories.

Incredible, incredible views that I really did not expect to see along that stretch of road.

With the breaks to see whales, it was a long day.

Maybe it’s the fatigue of the last five days, the compounded efforts to get us by bike, from the UK to Aus, including the three-year hiatus, but I felt emosh!

This is the penultimate day, and there’s a sense that it’s almost over.

I thought about it all, but I really found it so so beautiful. I welled up a bit but carried on turning the pedals, soaking in the natural beauty for what it was.

Although Nullarbor is known as the desert and treeless plain, it was green along the whole way. There were hardy bushes/shrubbery, and I loved cycling along it.

It turns out we weren’t the only people shocked by its beauty, even locals were driving across expecting dry desert lands. As surprised as us by the greenery and the stunning ocean views.

I suppose we really did cycle that section at the best time of year. Back in Perth, when we had moulding camping mats from the rain, we were confused when locals assured us we picked the right time of year to cycle across Aus. But, with bright blue skies across Nullarbor, gorgeous greenery and perfect cycling weather, we totally knew what the locals meant.

That night, we stayed in Nullarbor Roadhouse. That’s the famous-ish looking one with ‘Nullarbor’ on the roof.

Day 7: Nullarbor Roadhouse to Nundroo

Our day seven was largely uneventful, to be honest!

We arrived in Nundroo pretty late, only to find that the campsite we planned to stay at was closed. Luckily, there was a motel as part of the garage there, so we managed to get a room for the night.

Day 8: Nundroo to Ceduna

The FINAL day of the Nullarbor Plain.

That stretch was tough. No one talks about how tough it is to cycle across Australia…and we were doing it in WINTER. Doing it in SUMMER is another level of badass.

I thought we’d whizz across Aus. The flat lands and the prevailing winds had me too confident. The truth is, the size of the country, the comparative smallish visa (3 months), the cold at night and the price of everything make Aus blimmin' tough.

Our final day to Ceduna was, at least, the final day. Every push of the pedal was one less and put Nullarbor Plain behind us. And when we got to Ceduna, we had four nights in a cabin to rest up.

It was a headwind day and pretty tough, some undulating hills which, though small, were a lot after everything we’d done the seven days previously.

The roads were pretty quiet, except for the monstrous dump trucks being transported. Absolutely huge things travel across Aus. You see all sorts, and you don’t become numb to it; it’s just another level of transportation you don’t see anywhere else in the world.

As we got into Ceduna, we had to do a little check at quarantine. The guy asked if we had any veg. I had half an onion, which I forgot to throw away. Turns out, onions could go through. Potatoes strictly forbidden.

We arrived in pitch-black darkness, but we made it.

In Ceduna, there’s a Burger King. The first sign of civilisation where there are people, there’s fast food. We went straight there, loaded up, and then off to our hotel, East West Motel Ceduna, which was a bargain at £40/night with breakfast, the best deal in the whole of Aus.

And just like that, Nullarbor Plain was done. We finally felt like we’d got some distance behind us. When we were in Perth, it felt like we were going nowhere fast.

We were roughly 1/3rd across Australia.

In Ceduna, we stayed at the BIG4 Ceduna Tourist Park. We had a cabin with a kitchen, bedroom, shower, etc., perfect for us. The supermarket is a 10-minute walk away. We spoke to a few people who didn't enjoy their Ceduna stay. We liked ours, so we recommend BIG4.

If you’re looking for a bargain motel with amazing prices, literally the best we found in Aus, try East West Motel Ceduna. We got a great deal there, including a little breakfast of cereals, toast, tea and coffee. To be fair, if not for already booking BIG4 we might’ve done multiple nights at East West Motel.

Your common cycling across Nullarbor Plain questions answered