What is the Nullarbor Plain?
The Nullarbor Plain is a vast, flat and almost treeless limestone plain across southern Western Australia and South Australia. It covers about 200,000 square kilometres.
Its name comes from Latin words meaning no tree. The plain was formed from an ancient seabed, and its limestone is riddled with caves, some of the longest underwater cave systems in the world.
The Eyre Highway crosses the Nullarbor, linking Perth and Adelaide. Along the way, the road includes a famous 146-kilometre stretch without a single bend. The Indian Pacific railway crosses it too, using the world's longest straight stretch of railway, about 478 kilometres.
Dramatic coastline
Where the plain meets the Great Australian Bight, the Bunda Cliffs drop up to about 120 metres into the Southern Ocean. Southern right whales gather near the Head of Bight each winter to give birth.
The road crossing is about 1,200 kilometres long between Norseman and Ceduna, with roadhouses offering fuel, food and rest stops along the way.
Did You Know?
Travellers can play the Nullarbor Links, a golf course with holes spread along 1,365 kilometres of highway.