Day 8 - Indian-Pacific Train, Cook & Kalgoorlie

---

We're really getting an appreciation for how vast Australia is. As the train keeps trekking across this island continent, it's obvious to see why 95% of the population lives along coastal cities; the interior is dry, rocky and flat with little to no vegetation for as far as the eye can see for 100s of km in every direction. The steady rocking of the train while taking in this huge vastness is hypnotizing.

We're constantly eating it seems. Meals are served in two shifts; we're in the later shift. By the time we get back to our cabin from one meal, a couple hours later, the first shift is getting fed again. (Then again, snacking on junk food in between meals probably doesn't help the situation.)

Our first stop today around 1pm was Cook in South Australia. The town was created in 1917 when the railway was built. In its heyday, it had a population of over 300, complete with school and hospital. In the 1990s, when the railway was privatized, it became a ghost-town overnight. Today, it has a population of three! We stopped there to refuel. We had an hour to go wander around. The place looks like a movie set for some post-nuclear, apocalyptic epic. It's a little eerie.

At 7pm we stopped in the Western Australia town of Kalgoorlie. The town was formed in the 1890s during the gold rush. The Golden Mile mines are considered to be some of the richest in the world. The town has a population of about 30k. We took a quick stroll around town but since it was after dark there really wasn't much to see. It was 35-C/95-F when we pulled into Kalgoorlie, the hottest spot so far in our travels. This town, like all the others we've stopped at with the train, all have that wild-west feel to them.

Despite the great service, great food and daily stops, we're definitely looking forward to tomorrow's arrival in Perth. We've been watching movies and doing some casual reading but we're ready to start moving around again.

---

Photos

"Evacuation Point"
...that's what the signs read on both sides of this memorial rock in Cook. Like I said, very apocalyptic feel to it.

A dip in the pool?
What's left of the municipal pool in downtown Cook.

The Indian-Pacific and a beautiful Outback sunset.
We stopped to replenish our water supply in Kalgoorlie.