An Aboriginal community on the Eyre Highway towards the beginning of the Nullarbor Plain. The plain commences about 75 km west of Yalata.

Where is it?: Eyre Peninsula. 671 km west of Port Augusta; 983 km north west Adelaide.

Head of the Bight whale lookout
For some unknown reason, Southern Right whales have chosen this spot for that purpose and travellers have the privilege of viewing mothers and children at close range. A small entry fee is charged for access to the whale viewing platform. As well as providing the opportunity to see at closr raqnge Southern Right Whales carving between May and September, the lookout affords views east to seemingly endless sand dunes, and west along the face of the Bunda cliffs which line the shore for 200 km right to the Western Australian border.

This fascinating place is situated not far from Nullarbor Roadhouse is the turn-off to the an ocean lookout at the head of the Great Australian Bight. A small entry fee is charged for access to the whale viewing platform. During the non whale watching season entry is by gold coin donation only.

Bunda Cliffs
These iconic cliffs line the shore of the Nullarbor Plain and head of the Gt Australian Bight on the South Australian side for 200 km right to the Western Australia border. They are around 70 metres in height and are the remains of an ancient ocean bed that was subject to geological uplifting millions of years ago. Something remarkable to ponder is the fact that as you drive across the Nullarbor you are in fact driving accross the floor of an ancient sea bed. On blue sky days, the sight of these cliffs are truly hypnotic and awe inspiring. Between June and October Southern Right whales breed and train their young in the shadow of the cliffs. A lookout allows travellers on the Nullarbor to stop and view these giant creatures from the clifftop above. At 790 km, the cliffs of the Great Australian Bight - Wylie Scarp, Baxter Cliffs, Hampton Tableland and Bunda Cliffs - form the longest cliff face in the world.

Koonalda Cave: 76 metres below the surface of the Nullarbor Plain, the cave, which features a chain of underground lakes, contains deposits from Aboriginal occupation and art (7 km north of Koonalda Station). The cave is one of hundreds of limestone caverns beneath the flat plain of the Nullarbor.

Fowlers Bay: formerly known as Yalata, Fowlers Bay is a small coastal town some 912 km north-west of Adelaide. Edward John Eyre set up base camp here in 1840 during his epic journeys across the Nullarbor Plain. By this time the area was well-known to American and French whaling ships. The adjacent pristine waters abound with a great variety of fish, which may be caught from the jetty, cliffs, beach or boat. The frequent sightings of whales (June - September), dolphins and sea lions make visting Fowlers Bay a special experience.

Yalata Homestead ruins: The present site of Yalata bears little relationship to the original Yalata station homestead which was located about 10 km from Fowlers Bay (there was a time when Fowlers Bay was actually called Yalata). It was built in 1880 by George Murray who, at the time, was working for the wool merchants Thomas Elder and Robert Barr Smith. The ruins can still be seen near the road about 10 km from Fowlers Bay.

Natural features: Yellabinna Regional Reserve; Nullarbor Regional Reserve; Fowlers Bay; Cape Adieu; Great Australian Bight Marine Park; Sinclair Island Conservation Park; Nullarbor National Park; Bunda Cliffs

Origin of name: of Aboriginal origin, it is said to mean 'shellfish' or 'oyster'. Though the name has been in use for the area for many years, the actual Yalata community only came into existence in 1952. It is of interest and perhaps no coincidence that there is a Yatala Reef (the letters 'l' and 't' are transposed) on the Great Australian Bight, to the south of Fowlers Bay not far from the original Yalata Homestead.

It is named after the schooner Yatala which delivered supplies to the west coast of South Australia in the late 1830's and early 1840's. In 1858, Capt. Bloomfield Douglas, Port Adelaide's Harbour Master, made a detailed survey of the West Coast of South Australia, naming the reef after the survey vessel.

Brief history: in the 1950s, the Ooldea Aboriginal community was moved to Yalata from the Maralinga desert area to the north prior to the commencement of nuclear testing there by the British. In 1984, the SA government officially handed back some 76 420 sq. km of semi-desert to the community. The Yalata Aboriginal Reserve runs on either side of the Eyre Highway from Nullarbor to the Nundroo Roadhouse and includes about 100 km of the coastline of the Great Australian Bight.