Imagine a highway that doesn’t bend, climb, or turn. That’s Eyre Highway, which crosses the Nullarbor Plain in Western Australia. The highway is a thousand miles long, running from Norseman to Port Augusta in South Australia. It has a 145.6 km stretch that has no bends or stops (and little scenery) between the towns of Balladonia and Caiguna known as the "90 Mile Straight.”
Eyre Highway can be best described as a long and lonely road. While in the East you still find some towns like Kimba, Wudinna and Ceduna, the western three quarters is almost devoid of life. This section lies almost entirely on the Nullarbor Plain. The typical view is that of a straight highway and practically unchanging flat saltbush-covered terrain, although some parts are located on ridges. Spread throughout the length of the highway at approximately 200 km to 300 km apart are roadhouses providing basic services such as fuel, food, refreshments, accommodation and repairs, but not all are open 24 hours. Because of its remoteness, some sections of the Highway serve as emergency airstrips for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. These airstrips are signposted and have runway "piano keys" painted on the road, and turnaround bays for small aircraft.
Read the history and geography of Eyre Highway, and see plenty of pictures, at Amusing Planet. -via the Presurfer
(Image credit: Flickr user Chris Fithall)