Nullarbor here we come

Hi Guys,

I've put some pics on Flicker of the first part of the trip.

Only problems so far:
My right hand nostril fell out. All 4 clips are broken.
My roundel is delaminating.
Fingers crossed (still)

Enjoying an Oak thickshake at Hexham.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9155531...9958/lightbox/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9155531...2084/lightbox/
Bradman Oval, Bowral.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9155531...4870/lightbox/
Mount Panorama.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9155531...7275/lightbox/
Parkes Radio Telescope.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9155531...8626/lightbox/
A DC3 in a park.

More to come when I get a chance.

Mt panorama pic FTW!

What do you mean your right hand nostril fell out? You mean your kidney grille? How did it just fall out? Whilst driving or what? So is there a big gaping hole there now?

Yes - the kidney grille.

I parked in Ballarat and noticed that the grille was just hanging out of the bonnet - nothing holding it in place at all.
So now there is just a big hole there - she looks like a Bogan's BMW!

Strange.. Wonder if something hit it whilst at speed?

Cool photos!

Funny how road trips have that effect on cars. That's why car manufacturers do all those kms in testing I suppose.

Driving back to Sydney from Melbourne in my 99 740iL the side indicator repeater fell out of the front quarter panel as the clip managed to break. The plastic protective strip on the rear offside door also started lifted from the door

Guys - I made it!

Actually, the Nullarbor was the easiest part of the whole trip.
I know a 320 isn't exactly quick, but it was so effortless to just drop down to third and get around the road trains.
1200km in 14 hours - stopped a few times to see the head of the bight etc...
The road across the Nullarbor is very good - no bumps or potholes.

I've added some more pics to flicker

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9155531...ream/lightbox/
She hits 100,000kms

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9155531...ream/lightbox/
Onto the Eyre highway for the first time

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9155531...ream/lightbox/
The Nullarbor in all its glory!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9155531...ream/lightbox/
The great Australia bight

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9155531...ream/lightbox/
Border Village. Only 700km to Norseman.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9155531...ream/lightbox/
My car parked in the middle of the desert.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9155531...ream/lightbox/
90 mile straight

The car is filthy. Need to find a good detailer.
Only thing to be mindful of is bugs in the radiator.
Mine isn't too bad, and there aren't that many bugs on the Nullarbor itself, but something to think about.
I saw quite a few cars with green shade cloth over their radiator intakes.
But then most people didn't bother.

Saw a Holden Special station wagon on the Nullarbor. Also an old Citroen.

No BMWs!

Really loving the pics! Please keep them coming. Yes, a BMW would be a rarity in the outback for sure! Which leads me on to ask - how is premium fuel availability out there in the sticks??

There was only one time when I had to lower myself to putting 95 ULP in the car.

There are some fairly large roadhouses along the way, which have one or two pumps with Ultimate 98.
However I paid $2.02 per litre for it at Border Town.

Lol at Iron Knob

Congrats on making it back in one piece I'm sure it was a great road trip.

You should do a little write-up on it, I doublt I'd be doing it in one of mine any time soon but you never know. Would be good to hear about what's worth seeing and things to look out for or whatever. Interesting locals? Anyone react to seeing a beige bimmer in the outback?

I remember Wheels mag (I think) taking a 7 series to an event in the red dust outback somewhere, raised a few eyebrows

Nice DC3

That 90 mile straight must have been so tempting to drop the hammer and open the taps on your Beemer... Did you?

How was your fuel consumption out on the open highway?

I loved Parkes, you just don't realise how big the dish is until you get there. Our car was the only euro out west too when we went Sounds like you had a great trip!

Originally Posted by Alpine

That 90 mile straight must have been so tempting to drop the hammer and open the taps on your Beemer... Did you?

How was your fuel consumption out on the open highway?

Tempting yes, but I believe in murphy's law when it comes to cops.

I got 8.5 l/km average for the whole trip. I didn't check it for the Nullarbor section but pretty much the same I imagine.
The Nullarbor undulates quite a bit, so whilst very straight it isn't flat.