How do you prepare for a three-day train journey? I had no idea. I would be occupying an economy class chair, the type of which I'd already briefly encountered from Sydney to Melbourne, so I knew this could be a very, very long journey. With a stack of books, magazines and ear plugs I boarded the Indian Pacific. Quickly bored by the reading material, I soon checked out to see what the train had to offer, and was pleasantly surprised by how well-equipped it was; showers, a diner, bar and lounge area. I was tempted to sneak a look into the Gold Kangaroo carriage (first class), but this seemed to be strictly out-of-bounds for the likes of us, and I thought I may be beaten back by the rather abrupt guard. The reason I'd taken the train was to get a better appreciation of the scale of the country, and I certainly did. Leaving Adelaide we soon fell into the bush. Initially fairly tall trees, but as we got closer to the Nullabour Plain, the frequency and size of the vegetation decreased until we were left with rocks, and little else. Apparently there is an old guy living out in the Plain somewhere, and the train brings him food parcels as it travels past. Crazy! We made two scheduled stops along the way, Cook (about 18 hours in) and Kargoorlie (about 36 hours in). Kargoorlie was surprisingly large considering how remote it was from anything. The town is a fairly major gold-mining town. We had just enough time for a quick jar before moving on to Perth. The journey went surprisingly quickly, and as this was economy, there were a load of other backpackers to talk to. I'm glad I did it, but I think next time I'll fly!
My main reason for coming over to the west was to experience a different environment to the east. The west offers an interesting variety of landscapes, Perth (the remotest city in the world), a chance to escape the tourist traps in the east, and, of course, a great opportunity to sample of the finest wines in the world... Woohoo!
Monday 4 February 2008
Friday 4 January 2008
Australia: Melbourne to Adelaide
Traveling to Melbourne from Sydney by train wasn't quite the original plan, but due to my rubbish organisational skills in sorting out a hire car, was the only remaining option. Going in the sleeper cabins was probably the best decision of my life though, having seen the cruel reality of economy class.
Reaching Melbourne I checked into a hostel near the Southern Cross Station, and headed into town, looking forward to the cultural and culinary delights. The centre of Melbourne itself offers much in the way of shopping, but I was a little disappointed in the lack of cultural areas and bars. We did find a trendy bar down by the river, though, which had an outdoor BBQ. I headed down to the Moonlight Cinema one evening. an outdoor cinema down in the Botanic Gardens, where I watched 2001 A Space Odyssey. First time I'd seen the movie all the way through. I totally didn't get the ending, but I think that's mainly because I was too cold to think. The weather is totally erratic here. One evening can stay in the upper twenties all night, the next can drop about 15 degrees.
We took a trip over to Phillip Island to see the Little Penguins coming back from gathering fish after sunset. Just after 9pm, there were hundreds of penguins coming out from the sea and trawling up the beach and into their nesting areas up the beach.
The Great Ocean Road, which starts just after Geelong and runs along to Torquay, provides one of the best coastal roads in the country. We hired a car and over three days drove from Melbourne to Adelaide. The 12 Apostles was probably the most impressive, with a series of stacks just off the coast. I have to mention the YHA hostel we stayed at in Robe. This was the finest hostel so far. After this it was the long drive to Adelaide.
I stayed in Adelaide for a couple of days before visiting Kangaroo Island, just off the coast. With a island of that name, you would expect to see a raft of kangaroos, but I only got to see one. And it was dead. We did see the Remarkable Rocks though, naturally formed stone structures, which were very impressive.
The centre of Adelaide offered the same carbon-copy shops but little else, and it certainly isn't somewhere I could spend a long period of time. The next step is to prepare for the long train journey to Perth.
Reaching Melbourne I checked into a hostel near the Southern Cross Station, and headed into town, looking forward to the cultural and culinary delights. The centre of Melbourne itself offers much in the way of shopping, but I was a little disappointed in the lack of cultural areas and bars. We did find a trendy bar down by the river, though, which had an outdoor BBQ. I headed down to the Moonlight Cinema one evening. an outdoor cinema down in the Botanic Gardens, where I watched 2001 A Space Odyssey. First time I'd seen the movie all the way through. I totally didn't get the ending, but I think that's mainly because I was too cold to think. The weather is totally erratic here. One evening can stay in the upper twenties all night, the next can drop about 15 degrees.
We took a trip over to Phillip Island to see the Little Penguins coming back from gathering fish after sunset. Just after 9pm, there were hundreds of penguins coming out from the sea and trawling up the beach and into their nesting areas up the beach.
The Great Ocean Road, which starts just after Geelong and runs along to Torquay, provides one of the best coastal roads in the country. We hired a car and over three days drove from Melbourne to Adelaide. The 12 Apostles was probably the most impressive, with a series of stacks just off the coast. I have to mention the YHA hostel we stayed at in Robe. This was the finest hostel so far. After this it was the long drive to Adelaide.
I stayed in Adelaide for a couple of days before visiting Kangaroo Island, just off the coast. With a island of that name, you would expect to see a raft of kangaroos, but I only got to see one. And it was dead. We did see the Remarkable Rocks though, naturally formed stone structures, which were very impressive.The centre of Adelaide offered the same carbon-copy shops but little else, and it certainly isn't somewhere I could spend a long period of time. The next step is to prepare for the long train journey to Perth.
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