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Published: August 2nd 2008
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Indian Pacific Train
Just in case the driver got lost
My last update had me in Byron Bay from here I went to Sydney and Melbourne but all this was achieved by overnight buses in three days before arriving in Adelaide to meet my friend Faraz. After spending such a long length of time on a bus it was refreshing to get out and stretch my legs before resting up on a couch instead of having to share a hostel. Much as I love hostel life I love being able to have my own time without someone talking to me who I have no interest in and is quite frankly irritating beyond belief (not mentioning names).
Adelaide is a modern town and apparently most of the buildings are very new. There are three universities in the town one is situated on north terrace which is next to the museum of art. The building has a number of impressive paintings which I spent a deceptively long time looking at for someone so uncultured. However, the modern art was just weird I tried to get the hidden meaning but I think it went over my head or was lost in translation. I also paid a visit to the Botanical gardens a really
pleasant walk ideal for couples or lonely backpacker looking for some fresh air. There is a tropical greenhouse which has a massive display of cactus or cacti outside and a green house which has giant lilies in which was pretty hot, so hot my glasses steamed up and I nearly walked into the pond. Plenty of birds and flowers to see. There are a large number of churches here pretty much one on every street. With the modernisation of the town many streets also have a bar or coffee shop on each street which is a refreshing break of a different sort. Staying with someone gives you the chance to go to places you might not normally go to. Faraz took me on a cruise around the hills around the town some magnificent views. Also worth a visit is the small village of Hahndorf this has a real German influence and does some great traditional dishes as well as the Ozzy classics. The next day we headed to Glenelg (might have spelt that wrong) beach town. The harbour and housing in this area is very swanky although the beach is not amazing it would still be a nice day out
if the weather held out but once again the weather plotted against me. After spending many a day doing nothing we hit the town and I hit the town hard staying out till 5am with people I had never met before. The town has loads of clubs and a real exciting and quirky nightlife well worth a bash.
I left Adelaide by train on the Indian Pacific. After a heart felt goodbye from Faraz (I think we should have hugged but we just shook hands like guys do). I caught the two day train to Perth. I slept in a seat rather than paying for one of the more expensive tickets to get a sleeper carriage. If you have money book the sleeper especially if your 6ft 3inches because you won’t be able to sleep on the seats. The landscape outside the train is varied to say the least but you will travel miles seeing the same shrubs before you see any changes. We visited the town of Cook which is now a ghost town. Many of the towns along the railway have since disappeared due to the privatisation of the tracks. We made random stops in the middle
of nowhere to drop people off at cattle ranches and isolated airfields. The last night we got to Kalgoorlie Boulder which is just after the Nullabor Plain. The city came about due to the gold rush which started in 18 something! by Paddy Hannan. We arrived at 7pm when most of the city was closing down for the night which was a shame as it would have been good to see the pits and museums here during the day. As I arrived late I was not able to do the tour, but after speaking to a couple of people on the train they said the tour was really worth while. The last night was just as hard going as the first but the morning views made up for it although my camera found it difficult to capture the views, and the contrast against the desert of the Nullabor Plain was amazing. There was near enough a rainforest that the train went through with a raging river that ran almost parallel with the track for most of the remainder of the journey.
On Saturday 2nd August I arrived in Perth. I was lucky to be picked up by my granddad's brother (David) who lives 200 kilometres south of Perth. He took me to visit all my nephews and an aunt twice removed.
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