Madura stands at the foot of a wall. The Hampton escarpment, an old sea cliff that marks the edge of the Nullarbor Plain, drops here by a hundred metres or so to the Roe Plains, and the Eyre Highway tumbles down it at Madura Pass, with a lookout where you can see the land stretch away to the south, flat as a table and glittering with salt bush. It is a rare moment of relief in the long, level crossing between Eucla and Norseman.
The name Madura comes from a station established in the 1870s, a vast pastoral lease famous for breeding horses. The Waler, the tough Australian cavalry horse, was raised here and shipped to British India for the army, and the ruins of the old homestead area are part of local history. Today Madura is a roadhouse, with fuel, a restaurant and basic accommodation, set at the foot of the pass in a sea of low scrub. There are no other services for long distances either side, and fuel is expensive, because everything has to travel a long way, so fill up here and carry a small reserve.
The Nullarbor, a name taken from the Latin for no trees, is a vast limestone plain, a former sea floor lifted and left bare, and below it lie the world's longest caves. The vegetation is low, chiefly saltbush and bluebush, and the sky is enormous. Wedge-tailed eagles circle above carcasses on the roadside, and dingoes sometimes trot along the verge. The air is dry and clear, and at night the stars are thick.
The road is mostly a single straight ribbon of asphalt, broken by gentle curves and long, gradual rises. Road trains rumble along it, wide and fast, and overtaking them needs careful judgement and a long clear view. Wind is variable, and dust storms and sudden rain can occur. The temperature swings by twenty degrees between noon and dawn, so dress in layers.
Take care at dusk and at night, when kangaroos are active and difficult to see, and avoid riding after dark if possible. Carry at least a few litres of water, tell someone your plan, and enjoy the extraordinary sense of space. Norseman, the end of the road, lies about seven hundred kilometres west.