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South of Kalgoorlie is the twin-centred, nickel-mining town of KAMBALDA , on the shores of salty Lake LeFroy where you can windsurf during the wet season and land yacht during the dry. There's nothing here you haven't already seen in Kalgoorlie, so rejoin the Great Eastern Highway and continue south to Norseman, at the western end of the Eyre Highway . The highway is named after the explorer John Eyre, who crossed the southern edge of the continent in 1841, a gruelling five-month trek which cost his companion's life and would have cost his own but for some Aborigines, who helped him locate water. Eyre crawled into Albany on his last legs but set the route for future crossings, the laying down of the telegraph lines and, most recently, the highway. NORSEMAN was named after a prospector's horse which kicked up a large nugget in 1894 - a real case of lucky horseshoes; a bronze statue of the creature now stands proudly on the corner of Roberts and Ramsay streets. Arrivals from South Australia may be eager to pick up their "I crossed the Eyre Highway" certificate from the tourist office (daily 9am-5pm; tel 08/9039 1071) on Roberts Street. There are also public showers and a swimming pool next door in which to celebrate further this achievement. You can continue to celebrate with a meal and an overnight stay at the Norseman Eyre Motel (tel 08/9039 1130 or free call 1800 094 824, fax 9039 1547; $70-90) on Princep Street. More modest accommodation is available at the caravan park (on-site vans $35-50) next to the Great Western Motel , or there are budget rooms at Norseman Guest House & Backpackers Lodge (tel 08/9039 1541; under $20) nearby. If you've come from the east and are in a quandary about which route to take to Perth, the inland road, after a stop in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, is fast and fairly dull while the coast road can be made into a week-long scenic dawdle. For the best of both worlds, nip up to Kalgoorlie and then back down and west along the coast. Following the Eyre Highway, it's about 730km to the South Australian border and another 480km from there to Ceduna, where the bleak Nullarbor section ends. That still leaves 800km before you reach Adelaide - a solid, two-day drive of legendary monotony. Although the road has been sealed for over twenty years and the longest stretch without fuel is only around 200km, do not underestimate the rigours of the journey in your own vehicle. Carry reserves of fuel and water, take rests every two or three hours and beware of kangaroos and other beasts, especially between dusk and dawn. There are no banks between Norseman and Ceduna, and both towns have a quarantine checkpoint where a large range of prohibited animal and vegetable goods must be discarded. BALLADONIA , 193km from Norseman, is the first settlement on the way to the border, with the Balladonia Hotel (tel 08/9039 3453; $50-70) and adjacent caravan park your choice for an overnight stop. Then, 200km further, mostly along a 145-kilometre section of dead-straight road, you reach CAIGUNA , which has a motel and caravan park (tel 08/9039 3459; motel units $50-70, on-site vans $20-35), and then COCKLEBIDDY , another 66km further on (motel $50-70). On the coast near here, 16km east of town and 32km south of the highway along a 4WD track, are the remains of an old telegraph station that once linked WA with the rest of Australia and which today houses the Eyre Bird Observatory, where you can stay overnight if you book in advance (tel 08/9039 3450; $70-90, plus $30 for pick-up and return). Overlooking Twilight Cove on the Great Australian Bight, this is a great spot to break a Nullarbor crossing. The place to stay in MADURA , 92km east of Cocklebiddy, is the Madura Pass Oasis Motel (tel 08/9039 3464 or 13 1779; $70-90), while MUNDRABILLA , 116km further on, has a combined motel and campsite, the Mundrabilla Motor Hotel (tel 08/9039 3465; motel units $50-70, cabins $20-35). EUCLA , just 12km from the border, was re-established up on the escarpment after sand dunes exposed by overgrazing engulfed the original settlement by the sea. Only 4km away, the old telegraph and weather station are still visible above the sands, an eerie sight well worth a stroll. From Eucla National Park , the vertical cliffs can be seen extending east for hundreds of kilometres along the coast of South Australia. For accommodation, Eucla has a caravan park (on-site vans $20-35) and the Eucla Motor Hotel (tel 08/9039 3468; $50-70). Right on the border there's the Border Village (tel 08/9039 3474; $50-70).
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