The Eyre Highway from Perth to Adelaide is one of Australia’s great road journeys, covering roughly 2,900 km through the vast Nullarbor Plain. It is remote, often startlingly empty, and full of the sort of roadside details that make a long drive memorable: enormous road trains, historic roadhouses, unusual time zones, whale-filled coastline and an 18-hole golf course spread across 1,300 km.

This crossing took 3.5 days, beginning in Perth and finishing in Adelaide after 2,933 km. It is a brilliant adventure, but it is not a route to rush. The distances are serious, fuel costs rise dramatically in the middle of nowhere, and arriving after dark means missing much of what makes the trip worthwhile.

The Eyre Highway and the 90 Mile Straight

The Eyre Highway runs across southern Australia, linking Western Australia with South Australia. Its reputation as one of the world’s loneliest roads is well deserved. Long stretches have almost no towns, only occasional roadhouses, little elevation change and very little traffic.

The headline stop is the 90 Mile Straight, Australia’s longest straight road. Despite the name, it measures 146.6 km, or just over 90 miles. It took about 89 minutes to drive from one end to the other, with only a handful of vehicles passed along the way.

It is not entirely featureless. Trees and scrub line parts of the road, and the landscape is more varied than the common image of a completely bare plain suggests. Yet the overwhelming impression is of distance. The highway simply disappears into the horizon.

For anyone undertaking this route, keep an eye out for warning signs. Camels, kangaroos, wombats and cattle can all be hazards, particularly around dawn, dusk and at night. This trip encountered three dingoes, nearly hit a fox and rabbit, but saw no camels despite the signs.

From Perth to Norseman: The First Major Leg

The first substantial day covered around 650 km from Perth to Kalgoorlie, before continuing toward Norseman. Fuel for that opening stretch cost about AU$140, and the car returned roughly 26 mpg, or 9.0 L per 100 km, including some city driving.

Norseman is a worthwhile early stop rather than merely the gateway to the Nullarbor. The town has strong camel history, visible in the camel sculptures at the roundabout and the mural on the Woodland Centre. It also has a striking reminder of its mining history: a 40 m-high tailings dump sitting close to town. The dump contains around 4 million tonnes of mining waste and, according to local records, may still contain undetected gold.

A stop at Norseman Lookout provides a calm place for breakfast before the long push east. On a chilly morning, a simple meal of granola, yoghurt, mountain bread, Vegemite and cheese is perfectly adequate. Out here, food does not need to be elaborate. The scenery and the scale of the journey provide enough entertainment.

Roadhouses, Fuel Prices and Life on the Highway

Roadhouses are the backbone of a Nullarbor crossing. They provide fuel, food, accommodation, basic supplies and, sometimes, unexpected stories. Their prices reflect the logistics of getting supplies into one of Australia’s most isolated regions.

At Balladonia, unleaded fuel was AU$2.83 per litre. At Caiguna, Ultimate 98 was AU$2.89 per litre. At Nullarbor Roadhouse, 95 cost AU$3.04 per litre. The highest price on the trip was AU$3.40 per litre at Border Village, while Adelaide offered the lowest fill at AU$2.17 per litre.

That is the practical reality of this drive: fill up when fuel is available and do not expect city prices. The total fuel bill for the 2,933 km journey was AU$687.

Balladonia also reveals the industrial side of the Eyre Highway. Massive mining equipment moves along this route, including underground drilling machinery worth millions of dollars. The road is not just a scenic expedition route. It is a working artery for freight, mining and remote communities.

Emergency Airstrips on the Road

Some sections of the Eyre Highway double as emergency airstrips for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Road markings identify the runway area, and there are turning spaces at either side for aircraft operations. It is a remarkable reminder of how remote this part of Australia really is.

Road trains are another constant feature. Overtaking requires patience, clear communication and a long unobstructed view. A brief radio conversation with an Australia Post driver illustrated the distance involved in freight work: nearly 7,000 km in a week, travelling from Melbourne to Perth and then back through Adelaide.

One oversized-load driver described the work as less of a career and more of a lifestyle. A 600-horsepower truck, an 18-speed manual gearbox, a bed, fridge, microwave and air fryer can become a home for months at a time.

Caiguna, the 45-Minute Time Zone and the WA-SA Border

Caiguna sits only 400 m from the end of the 90 Mile Straight. It has basic accommodation, fuel, food and an electric vehicle charger. The charger had previously run on cooking oil, then diesel, with solar panels and battery storage expected to take over.

The area also introduces one of the strangest quirks of the crossing: the Central Western Time Zone. Instead of moving directly from Western Australia time to South Australia time, clocks advance by 45 minutes through this section. That places the local time 45 minutes ahead of Western Australia and 45 minutes behind South Australia.

At the border itself, the direction of travel matters. Vehicles entering Western Australia from South Australia must stop at the quarantine checkpoint and declare fruit and vegetables. Travelling east from Western Australia into South Australia does not require a stop at that border station, although quarantine inspections can still occur farther into South Australia.

Koondala Homestead: An Unmarked Nullarbor Detour

About 88 km east of the border is an unmarked turnoff to Koondala Homestead. GPS coordinates are useful because there is no obvious sign from the main highway. From the turnoff, it is 14 km along an unsealed track across flat country.

The site includes the remains of an old roadhouse, once dispensing fuel in the 1970s, and an abandoned sheep-station homestead. Both structures are built from railway sleepers. The abandoned buildings, old fuel equipment and surrounding vehicles create one of the more unusual stops on the route.

Camping is possible, but facilities are extremely limited. There is only a long-drop toilet, and bringing toilet paper is essential. This is not a polished tourist attraction. It is a raw, atmospheric piece of Nullarbor history.

Nullarbor Roadhouse and the Treeless Plain

Several hundred kilometres into South Australia, the western end of the treeless plain appears. The Nullarbor Roadhouse is a classic stop, with fuel, a small motel, an EV charger and a wonderfully weathered old structure that captures the character of the highway.

Fuel began here in 1956, while the sealed Eyre Highway arrived in 1976. Before that, the route was gravel. The modern highway transformed the roadhouse’s role, but the place still feels wonderfully remote.

The roadhouse is also a place to encounter dingoes. They are impressive animals, but they are predators and should not be trusted or fed. Keeping a sensible distance is the right approach.

Playing the Nullarbor Links Golf Course

The Nullarbor Links is one of the most eccentric golf experiences anywhere in Australia. Its 18 holes stretch over approximately 1,300 km, from Kalgoorlie to Ceduna. Each participating stop has a hole, and a scorecard is stamped as the course progresses.

At Nullarbor Roadhouse, hole 5 is Dingo’s Den, a 538 m par 5. The tee is a mat, the fairway is distinctly rough and the course crosses an airstrip used for private charter flights. The green is no tournament surface, but that is entirely beside the point.

For around AU$70, the Nullarbor Links gives the drive a reason to stop every 100 km or so. It is a properly silly, enjoyable and memorable distraction from the endless road.

The Head of the Bight: Whales and the Great Australian Bight

The Head of the Bight is one of the great highlights of the entire route. A 600 m walk leads from the entry area to boardwalks and lookouts above the Great Australian Bight. Entry cost AU$20 per person during this visit.

The boardwalk offers views of southern right whales without disturbing them. Mothers and calves can be seen close to the coastline during the breeding season, with the whales surfacing, moving slowly and occasionally breaching offshore.

The coastline itself is extraordinary. Tall cliffs, teal water and wave-battered rock extend into the distance. With no major cities for roughly 1,000 km, this remains one of the most pristine stretches of coast in the country.

From Penong to Ceduna and Streaky Bay

Further east, Penong has a collection of windmills, including the largest windmill in Australia. It is a quick stop with plenty of visual appeal, though it is better experienced with more daylight than a late evening arrival allows.

Ceduna offers a more substantial town stop, including accommodation and a foreshore hotel serving locally caught King George Whiting. South of Ceduna, Streaky Bay makes a comfortable overnight base, though arriving after dark means missing much of the bay itself.

The final run toward Adelaide passes Kimba, where the silos have been transformed into large-scale public artwork, then continues through Port Augusta and into the city.

What the Perth to Adelaide Road Trip Cost

The complete trip covered 2,933 km and lasted 80 hours and 41 minutes from departure in Perth to arrival in Adelaide, including the 1.5-hour time difference. Four nights of accommodation cost about AU$1,200, while fuel totalled AU$687.

• Distance: 2,933 km
• Driving period: Thursday morning to Sunday afternoon
• Fuel economy: 29 mpg, or 8.1 L per 100 km
• Total fuel cost: AU$687
• Cheapest fuel: AU$2.17 per litre in Adelaide
• Most expensive fuel: AU$3.40 per litre at Border Village
• Accommodation: About AU$1,200 for 4 nights

What to Do Differently on a Nullarbor Crossing

The major lesson is simple: take longer. Completing nearly 3,000 km in 80 hours is possible, but it does not leave enough time to properly explore the stops along the way.

A longer itinerary would make it easier to arrive at accommodation before dark, spend time at the Head of the Bight, explore places such as Koondala Homestead without rushing, and enjoy more of the small towns beyond the highway.

The Perth to Adelaide road trip is absolutely worth doing. It is more than a drive across empty country. It is a journey through mining towns, freight corridors, strange time zones, vast plains, historic ruins, wildlife country and some of Australia’s finest coastline.