Norseman to Border Village drive: Distance, time & fuel stops

The best stops on a Norseman to Border Village road trip are Balladonia and Eucla. The distance from Norseman to Border Village is 721km, which makes for a driving time of around 7h20m.

This guide is aimed at travellers planning a Norseman to Border Village road trip itinerary through Western Australia into South Australia, probably as part of a longer road trip from Perth to Sydney or Perth to Uluru.

To look for the best Norseman accommodation, book here. For Border Village accommodation, book here.

To work out the best stops on a Norseman to Border Village road trip, read on…

Norseman to Border Village distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Norseman to Border Village is 721km. That makes for a driving time of around seven hours and 20 minutes.

The best stops to add to a Norseman to Border Village road trip itinerary are Balladonia and Eucla.

Things to do in Norseman include admiring the views from the Beacon Hill and Lake Cowan lookouts, and having a bizarre picnic amongst Phoenix Park’s old mining equipment.

Norseman accommodation possibilities include the motel-like Great Western Travel Village and the affordable Acclaim Gateway Tourist Park.

Road trip essentials that many travellers forget

Search on the web, and you’ll find ludicrously long lists of equipment to take on a road trip. Australia Travel Questions isn’t going to do that to you. But it is worth buying the following road trip items before setting off. Click through for a good range of options.

Charging cables – yes, you’ll probably need a spare at some point.
Car charger adaptor – in case your rental car has the old-fashioned cigarette lighter rather than a USB.
Multi USB charger – for those hotel rooms that don’t have enough power sockets.
Fold-up chairs – to make anywhere a picnic spot.
A really good water bottle – go for a bigger one than usual to last the longer drives.
Packing cubes – save space but, more importantly, avoid unpacking everything every night.

Norseman to Border Village road trip: Norseman to Balladonia

Norseman is also where the Eyre Highway starts. It stretches all the way to Port Augusta in South Australia and it is one of the loneliest roads on earth.

The first section isn’t quite as bleak as the Nullarbor’s reputation suggests. It heads through relatively sparse woodland towards Balladonia. 190km from Norseman, this is the first fuel stop. It’s also the best one, as there’s a mini-museum on site telling the hugely entertaining tale of what happened when the Skylab space station crashed here in 1979.

Norseman to Border Village drive: Balladonia to Border Village

Soon after Balladonia, you embark upon the longest straight road in Australia. 90 Mile Straight stretches 146.6km towards Caiguna without deviation.

Caiguna, 164km from Balladonia, is the next fuel stop. That’s followed 83km later by Cocklebiddy, gateway to the huge Cocklebiddy Cave.

The Norseman to Eucla road trip gets punishingly boring from here. In terms of Nullarbor fuel stops, it’s 91km from Cocklebiddy to Madura, then 116km from Madura to Mundrabilla.

From Mundrabilla to Eucla, it’s a relatively merciful 66km.

Eucla is the last stop on the Western Australian leg of the Nullarbor, and it’s the most interesting here. A trail through the almost-Saharan sand dunes takes you to the ruins of the old telegraph station that once connected the continent, and the Eucla Jetty. This is one of the few places along the Nullarbor drive where you can see the ocean.

The Eucla Motel is one of the best accommodation options on the Nullarbor, and it has a swimming pool. Although it’s only 12km to another good option, Border Village in South Australia. This is one of the best accommodation options on the Nullarbor drive, and one of the few you can book via online booking sites.