About Border Village
Border Village, sometimes known as BP Border Village, is a combination of a Western Australian agricultural checking point (fruit, vegetables, plants, seeds, soil, honey, birds and animals must be declared) and a very comprehensive service centre offering petrol and diesel (BP, of course) as well as Motel, Cabin (dormitory) and Caravan Accommodation, a restaurant, a takeaway service, full garage service and a desalination plant which provides fresh water. It is open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. The most valuable information for any visitors to the area is that the famed cliffs of the Great Australian Bight – the true highlight of the area – lie to the east of Border Village (sourced from the Aussie Towns website – click for more).
Accommodation
We pulled into the Boarder Village Roadhouse (which is right on the SA/WA border) and also a much cheaper option for both fuel & accommodation. It was a bit dusty but we managed, and the showers were fantastic! We just needed to find a flat spot where the power-box worked (so the air-con would work too – it was bloody hot mate!!)
There’s a massive concrete statue of a kangaroo out the front of the roadhouse holding a jar of Vegemite! Such a very Aussie thing and looks so different in the late afternoon light than it does on an overcast morning.
Border Village Roadhouse
NRL Grand Final
It was Sunday 1st October and we had arrived in time to watch the 2023 NRL Grand Final between the Penrith Panthers and the Brisbane Broncos. Our travelling friends were Bronco fans (especially Fran) so the eight of us settled into the roadhouse bar to watch it on the TV. It began well but ended badly for our mates as Penrith ran out winners.
Travelling west on the Nullarbor
Leaving early the next morning we immediately had to pull over as a grumpy traffic management person told us to do so in not uncertain terms (and language) to wait for a massive piece of machinery to pass, heading east.
Views over the Great Australian Bight
You just cannot cross the length of the Nullarbor without having a gander at the famous Australian Bight Cliffs. We pulled into Scenic Lookout No 1 (satellite map link) to check it out and were not disappointed at the breathtaking vista that is in front of you; it’s truly spectacular. We even got to see a mother whale and her calf, even though it was so late in the whale season.
Newmans Rock Freecamp for overnight stop
We found, what turned out to be, a fantastic campsite (on WikiCamps) called Newmans Rock.
It’s signposted on the Eyre Highway (satellite map link) and you can get about 1km off the highway, so it’s not too noisy. We did a “posse up” in circle with big intentions of having a fire in the middle but it was far too windy. The views over the plains were fantastic and the day ended up with a great sunset.
Good flat spaces
Summing up…
- Accommodation at Border Village Roadhouse
- Cost per night (as at 1 Oct 2023) – $30
- CP Location – Eyre Hwy, Nullarbor SA
- Did we have a good site? Found 4 of the best flat sites (had power only)
- Facilities – The roadhouse was great – good food etc
- Amenities – Very rustic (holes in the floor & wall BUT water was hot in the showers
- Our rating/score – 4/10
- Location:
- Was it a nice place to visit? Not really but we had to stop to watch the NRL GF
- Much to see & do? NO
- Our rating/score – 4/10
- Would we return? Only if we had to – but fuel was about 30c /litre cheaper than Eucla