golfing the nullarbor - the longest links 2019
12 September 2019
Day 1
This 8 day tour, Perth to Adelaide, started at 8 a.m. We picked up the boys (Wayne, Wally, Rob and Tony) from their homes.
from Perth and headed out. Morning tea was at Cunderdin, one of the 4 towns in Australia to boast an Ettamogah Pub.
It was onto Southern Cross (named after the constellation that enabled gold prospectors to navigate to the area) for lunch and then into Kalgoorlie to pick up our Longest Links golf score cards, before heading out to Broad Arrow.
This now one building town consists of the Broad Arrow Tavern, which was built in 1896 and is considered an authentic outback pub known for its cold beer and its excellent ‘Broady’ burgers. Back in 1971 the pub featured in the long-forgotten movie, The Nickel Queen, which starred Googie Withers and radio announcer, John Laws.
The town was named Broad Arrow in 1897 because a gold prospector told his nephew, who was planning to follow him, that he would mark the route with a number of broad arrows.
A welcome beer and a famous ‘Broady Burger’ later, we saw the sun come down and retired back to Kalgoorlie for our first night on the road.
Day 2
Today was a full 18 holes to start at Kalgoorlie Golf Club, an incredibly picturesque course designed by Graham Marsh. This included two holes of the Nullarbor Links.
This manicured green course was a last reminder of city golfing before we met the rougher and more challenging courses of the Nullarbor Links.
We had one casual golfer amongst us, who was keen to play the holes of the Links but wanted to see and appreciate more of the stunning scenery and rich surrounds of the area. We took him on a town tour whilst the rest of the golfers were finishing the 18 holes.
In Boulder we were fortunate enough to view the unique and world famous Goatcher Curtain. This amazing stage backdrop, painted entirely on velvet, is believed to be the last surviving example of a technique of painting on silk and velvet in 2D to give a 3D effect.
From Kalgoorlie we pressed on and played the Nullarbor Links hole of Silver Lake. Folks agreed it was an interesting play! Then it was onto Norseman and holes 15 and 14.
We overnighted in Norseman at the unique Railway Motel; this restored iconic hostelry boasted a wood fire, beautiful heritage rooms and incredibly comfortable beds. Our wonderful host, Therese, was extremely welcoming and every effort was made to consider our comfort. Dinner was at the Norseman Hotel where the portions were more than adequate: one of our party thought he could consume an entire family pizza on his own (spoiler alert – he couldn’t get through more than half, even with help!).
Day 3
Up bright and early, our first hole of the day was at Fraser Range Station, playing Sheep’s Back.
(This man is a professional golfer so we couldn’t show you his face. Morning, Tony!)
Then onto Balladonia, where Skylab fell to the earth (the NL hole is named after this) for our second hole of the morning, before starting out on the 90 Mile Straight. This is one of the longest straight stretches of road in the world and the perfect place to have a longest drive competition. (Don’t worry; we could see a very long way for traffic hazards!)
Our next hole was at Caiguna but we paused to take in the famous Caiguna Blowhole before playing. It was actually just a hole on this day because no air was blowing out of it but it’s part of the vast underground limestone karst systems of the Nullarbor Plain.
From Caiguna to Cocklebiddy and our last hole for the day, Eagle’s Nest, bringing the total to a massive four for the day; this is a major achievement when you consider the distances between them!
Day 4
For a change, no golf this morning! Instead, we took a little off-road adventuring. We visited Pannikin Plains Cave, scene of an amazing story of survival after a group of cave divers got trapped beneath the surface.
and then took the rough sand track to Eyre Bird Observatory.
Established in 1877 as a Telegraph Station on the Intercolonial Telegraph Line , and named after explorer Edward John Eyre who passed through the area on his east-west journey of 1841, it was abandoned in 1930 and reincarnated and restored by Birds Australia as the most remote research facility in Australia.
We wandered around the buildings and visited the beach and surrounds, meeting local inhabitants along the way.
Afternoon saw us back on the Eyre Highway, playing Madura, Mundrabilla and Eucla Holes. There was a bit of an obstacle at Madura, as someone had parked a caravan right in the middle of the fairway but we persevered on. There are many additional hazards on this this course that you would never get in a more conventional setting but it adds to the fun of it all.
As our hole at Eucla was a little distance out in the bush, we decided to go and see a cave, reputedly only ‘five minutes away’, once we’d finished the play.
It was a little longer that but Weebubby Cave did not disappoint!
From Weebubby we headed back to the old shooting club (via a blowhole that had a strong upward moan coming from it)
and utilised the fire pit for a a glass of red and a bbq dinner around the campsite.
Day 5
From our overnight stay at Eucla we headed into view the Great Australian Bight.
Nullarbor Roadhouse was our next hole and this, like others, proved to be challenging. The terrain was rough and there was an airfield running right the way through (signs sternly advise us not to play if a plane was landing or taking off; hopefully pilots were advised to look out for golfers as well!)
Then we headed into the Head of the Bight.
On our way into the centre, a lady came out and excitedly told us “Whales! Whales! EVERYWHERE!”
Her excitement made us smile but she was right. We walked down the boardwalk and there were mothers and calves right below the cliffs. So many whales!
It was a wonderful site; one of the highlights of the trip. The cliffs were amazing as well.
Speaking of nature, can you spot the little dragon in this picture?
After our ‘whale’ of a time, we headed for our fourth last hole at Nundroo. Called ‘Wombat Hole’, it celebrates the Southern Hairy Nose Wombat. Sadly, we saw too many of these dead on the road, smashed by the big mining trucks thundering through 24 hours a day.
This is a wombat hole:
Our last hole of the day was at Penong, the windmill capital of Australia. There are many, many mills here which pump water from the Anjutabie water basin.
Tony teeing off with windmills in the background.
He actually had an excellent hole for this one, achieving a ‘ferret‘ and a ‘birdie‘, which we decided deserved to be called a ‘wombat’!
Onto Ceduna for the night and the chance for the boys to have the feast of seafood (three dozen oysters and champagne to start with!) that they had dreamed of all the way across the Nullarbor.
Day 6
Today we played the final two holes of the Nullarbor Links Tour at Ceduna, on the shores of Denial Bay. After the sand, trees and weeds of some of the previous holes (not to mention obstacles of dogs, planes and caravans on the fairway!), the grass fairways came as a welcome change.
Admittedly, the greens were oiled sand rather than fine turf but the boys did well.
Scores were totted up, a winner determined and we headed off to get our certificates. There wasn’t a lot of difference between the scores and everybody came in well under average. According to the lady in the visitor centre, the record number of strokes to play all 18 holes came in at 418!
From there it was onto Port Augusta and nine holes on a beautifully manicured course, with astounding views of the Flinders Ranges in the background.
Wally had played his 18 holes of the Links course and firmly declined any further golfing action so Barry took him sightseeing around Port Augusta. This picturesque town at the head of the Spencer Gulf is one of the ‘crossroads’ of Australia, with many major rail and road links intersecting.
Dinner was at a Chinese restaurant in town and Kitty produced a Nullarbor Links Golf quiz to see how much we all remembered of the trip. No surprise that quiz lover Wayne, organiser of the trip, came in first.
Day 7
Technically the end of the Nullarbor Links course was the final two holes at Ceduna but we had golf enthusiasts on board and they wanted to play more courses in the east.
Nine holes at Port Augusta the previous afternoon (our hotel was the very welcoming Standpipe, literally right next to the golf course; when one hole got close we waved an enticing beer at them!) and eighteen holes on the morning of the next day.
As mentioned before, one member of the group was golf satiated; we took him to the very interesting Wadlata Centre in Port Augusta instead and he happily whiled away the morning there.
After golf, culture and a quick lunch in Port Augusta (a box of Magnum icecreams and pies!), we headed for Adelaide. We got into the city just in time for peak hour traffic but managed to wend our way towards our final night’s accommodation in beautiful Glenelg, right by the sea. Our hotel, the Atlantic Tower Motor Inn, had sweeping views over the marina and the hills.
For our final dinner we chose to eat Italian cuisine. Amazing food but the restaurant was so popular that the noise overwhelmed the presentations we hoped to make. We made our way back to the lobby of the motel and established ourselves on the couches in the foyer: complete with glasses, wine and enthusiasm.
The presentation of the completed Nullarbor Links Certificates was made and the winner of the course was Rob: he received a voucher for a golf shop and special handmade presentation plate that everybody signed.
As mentioned before, the results were extremely close; we decided that everybody deserved a prize. They were all golfing oriented but some were more aligned to lesser enthusiasts (Wally!).
Your noble scribe isn’t sure what time the golf interaction ceased because a couple of glasses of wine was enough to make her extremely sleepy; suffice to say that it appeared everybody enjoyed themselves.
Day 8
Not held back at all by the night before, Wayne, Rob and Tony played 18 holes on the majestic Mt Osmond Golf Course.
After collecting them from the course there was just enough time for the ‘best pasty in Australia’ at Orange Spot Bakery for lunch, before finishing the tour and farewelling the camaraderie of the last eight days.
A fabulous trip with so much fun and laughter.
Thanks for coming, guys!