The West Australian border has reopened after almost two years, prompting a wave of relief as an estimated 100 travellers from South Australia waited to cross over after midnight.
Domestic travellers and returning WA residents from interstate are required to be triple vaccinated against COVID-19, have a special pass and undertake a rapid antigen test upon arrival.
Some travellers on the Nullarbor have waited two years to make the journey.
WA's border with SA was open for a brief period late last year, but the restrictions were reinstated in December because of outbreaks in SA.
Nullarbor Roadhouse site manager Dorothy Williams is delighted to see more traffic.
"I'm really excited about it opening up again and seeing a lot more people coming through,” she said.
“And really excited for the people that [previously] haven't been able to get through as well.
"I think a lot more people will just decide to get out on the road again and see where it takes them."
"We're fully booked tonight which is really good; we're very excited and I hope everybody else is excited about coming across the Nullarbor and seeing us."
Daniel Brown is one of many who has been waiting for the border to open.
"I'm heading over tomorrow morning as early as I feel like waking up,” he said.
"I'm heading over for a job, and I've been gone for a couple of years and just feel like heading back — going to be home again."
"I tried to get a job; I think the job started the process of getting me over there in November, but it made it really difficult because we didn't know when borders were opening or if they were going to be closed permanently.”
"It meant at some point I might not even have a job if the border stayed shut and I couldn't get in."
Border Village manager Alan Byers says the business is booked out.
"A lot of people have arrived here thinking they're going to get accommodation and there is none,” he said.
"This is our sixth week here, so it's been a real baptism of fire in that time.
“My wife and I have never done anything like this before and, other than last week, every week's been full-on.”
Quiet few years
Mr Byers hopes that business will return to pre-COVID days.
"We think it'll get back to something like it was, pre-COVID. Now that Western Australia has had COVID now they'll keep the border open ... and the traffic between the border will even out,” he said.
Nullarbor roadhouse staff said trucks did help to maintain business.
"We do have a lot of trucks that come through and stay so we're really thankful that the trucks have been coming through and they've still been staying, even though it's not been the volume that we would have been used to before COVID," Ms Williams said.
“But we just take every day as it comes.
“A lot of them are taking the opportunity to travel around Australia and see the beautiful countryside and then we've got ones that have really just been waiting to see their new grandchildren, getting back to their own house into their own environment again."
