Our Trip Around Australia: Coffin Bay, Nullarbor and the Tiger Woods wannabe!

Arrived in Coffin Bay in the afternoon and decided two nights would be long enough to have a look around. We walked around the bay and found a spot along a jetty to dip our feet into the clear, warm sea, pointed out starfish and shoals of small of fish to each other. That night we treated ourselves to a lovely fish and chip dinner.

On our only full day in the bay we had booked a boat cruise with Coffin Bay Explorer. We venture out on a small boat with nine other people and Daz (our Captain). The tour took us along the National Park, where we got up close to a pod of dolphins, spotted two seals resting on the rocks, a string ray gliding through the water, sea urchins and cuttlefish. Daz also owns an Oyster farm, which he took us too. He grabbed a bag of oysters out of the water and opened up a few for us to sample, I was straight in there for a taste and they were delicious!!!!!. On the way back to the main land we came across another pod of dolphins that started jumping out the wake of the boat and then hitch a ride on the bow wave of the boat. Katrina and I were at the very front of the boat with our legs hanging over and could almost touch them with our feet.

The following day we set out for Ceduna, leaving Coffin Bay behind us although we both agreed we would happily come back. Once there I registered to play the Nullarbor Links Golf Course (the longest golf course in the world). After searching the whole town from top to bottom for some second-hand golf clubs I only managed to obtain 2 irons (6 & PW). With clubs in hand we headed for the starting holes (no.1 & 18) at the Ceduna golf course. As I’m not a golfer and out of practice, Katrina was very patient with me as my first few attempts ended up out of bounds. Katrina said she could hear me swearing from behind the trees and scrub as I search in vain to retrieve my golf balls. This was to become a common theme at each hole, so much so that Katrina decided to start giving me “do-overs” and any score over 8 we would stop counting (which happened a lot!).

Setting off early to start our journey across the Nullarbor and try reaching golf holes 3 & 4. In between holes we decided to stop at the Head of the Bite, which is known for whale watching, Unfortunately we were out of season and there were none to be seen. However as I had been looking for camels all day, I thought it would be funny to point out at sea and shout “Camel!!!” not realising that there was a couple standing behind us who looked very confused at this statement. Katrina sighed at my dad joke shortly afterwards as I said “ I hope they didn’t get the ‘hump’ with me”

At one of the road houses we came across the below tractor which we soon discovered was one of eighteen travelling from Perth to Tasmania and I thought we were going slow!!. On finally completing the 6th hole and driving 481km to the SA/WA border we called it a day, mainly because we had bananas and honey to polish off (as no fresh fruit or honey allowed across the border) before heading into Western Australia the next day.

We arose at what we expected to be 6.30am only to discover a few hours later that the time difference meant we were actually up at 4.30am!!!! Grrr. That day we drove 426km, completed 5 holes and managed to get at least halfway across the 90 mile straight road (small part of the Nullarbor). Before pulling up alongside the road for the night and witnessing the below sunset.

Day 3, we reached Kalgoorlie and knocked off another 5 holes along the way in the pouring rain. Due to severe weather and flood watch warning I was unable to complete the course until the rain had passed which meant spending two nights in town either getting drenched or being manhandled by the locals in the pub (see my Facebook status for more info)

Once the rain had passed we set off to the Kalgoorlie golf course to play the last two holes. Up until now the holes I’ve played have been in varies conditions i.e no grass or unusual obstructions such as crows that steal your ball, wombat holes, airplane runways and the odd passing Emu or Kangaroo. However this golf course turned out to be normal, with proper manicured grass (not dirt or artificial grass) with normal water and sand hazards. I even hired a full set of clubs in hope that it would some how help me get at least one hole on par!. My eyes lit up when I gazed upon ‘Big Bertha’ as I’ve nicknamed her (see pic below). All attempts at making par failed bur overall enjoyed the whole experience and even went to the driving range to hit a bucket of balls with my favourite lady ‘Big Bertha’ not Katrina! ( ONLY KIDDING)...MAYBE!