Nullarbor Plain ‘eerily’ quiet
Birchip truck driver Mick Foott has been driving trucks since he was 18 and has seen his fair share of sights while crossing the country.
But the grain farmer and truck driver said he had never seen Australian roads this quiet.
He is still regularly driving the Nullarbor Plain to deliver sheep at the Western Australian border during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr Foott said crossing the wide open plains on Australia’s most iconic stretch of road was now even more ‘eerie’ than usual.
He said he was lucky to see anyone other than service station operators – and the odd dingo.
“It was booming with activity just seven months ago,” he said.
“It’s shocking when you get past the populated towns – I’ve never seen it this bad. I pulled up at the Nullarbor Roadhouse and there wasn’t a car, nothing.
“The dingoes are having a great time. They’re just hanging around the roadhouse and no one chases them away.”
Mr Foott said border crossings were made relatively easy for truck drivers – depending on where they crossed.
“It depends what checkpoint you go through. I went through Broken Hill recently and they really give you a run down on what you’ve got to do. You keep to yourself as much as you can,” he said.
Mr Foott said he normally liked to stop to talk to everyone – from backpackers, caravaners and farmers along his journey.
“But now you can get out and have a sleep on the side of the road for half an hour and no one would even pass you,” he said.
Mr Foott said he was concerned about how towns along the Eyre Highway across the Nullarbor Plain were coping without holiday-makers travelling through.
“It’s really affecting the shops along the way. The Nullarbor Roadhouse is usually fully staffed, but I went in there the other day and I was the only customer,” he said.
“It’s whale watching season at the moment, and there’s usually people everywhere around this time of the year, but there’s just no one.”
Memorable crossings
Crossing the flat, almost treeless, arid and semi-arid plains – one wouldn’t expect to see much.
But Mr Foott has no shortage of stories and he regularly updates his social media with photos of what he stumbles across during his crossings.
“You see something different every trip. I remember last year it was really dry and a camel appeared,” he said.
“All of a sudden we’ve got another 20 camels walking straight up the middle of the road.”
A perk of being a farmer who travels the country is that Mr Foott also sees how crops are faring in different states.
He said he was always comparing crops as he travelled through Victoria, southern NSW and South Australia.
“You see they had rain at Kimber last week so you see what their crop yields might be – or you go through New South Wales and see they’re having a good year, for example,” he said.
“You can keep a good eye on what the grain market might do and that just gives you confidence in what you’re doing.”