Wild West

Leaving behind the dotted white highway lines you see fleeing from your rearview mirror. Exchanging them for a plume of dust as you skate across the corrugations and weave your way through the moonscape potholes of the Tasmanian West Coast. Venturing from South to North on dirt roads and river crossing cable ferries in a region boasting wet weather for 300+ days a year, you experience a country nowhere else in Australia can offer you. Rugged, intimidating, and isolating—all tied to the wild west. When you’re in it, all you want to see is a patch of blue in the ever-heavy cloud that seems to shadow you wherever you go. In hindsight, the mud-flooded ground, the constant drops of rain on your windscreen, and the mountain tops erecting through that very same cloud is exactly what captivates you.

Demanding you experience equal inferiority to the Tasmanian West is the Eyre Highway from Ceduna to Norseman. Taking you through the Oondiri/Nullarbor Plain, whether you’re trucking the bitumen or out on the Bight, this extensive stretch gifts you desolate days and commune nights. On the 90-mile straight, you get clear skies and high heats topped with roadhouse beverages; As you watch your odometer roll and the horizon disappear, you’re reminded how beautifully large this country is.

Photos: Danielle Shepherd and Riley Laverty - Run the Mill

Written by: Riley Laverty - Run the Mill