Time to complete the Bucket List

Guess where we have been!

All will be revealed in the coming days. We hope you enjoy.

Copyright: Words and photo, Sue Barnard 2022

On touching down in Perth at the start of our trip I did say ‘I could live in Australia’. That could have been nearer the mark than expected.

The advice given to us by our travel agent when we were in Sydney was to leave on the next available flight or risk being stranded because international flights were soon to stop in an attempt to restrict the spread of the Coronavirus. Tasmania, our next destination, was already insisting travellers isolate for 14 days. Our visit there was for just five days, so not an appropriate onward journey. Sites in our final destination, Melbourne, were closing their doors too. This was especially disappointing as we were due to visit our friends in Australia, Diane and Eric, for the first time on their home ground.

Our trip was to be a one-time visit due to the distance, which is why we planned to cover so much ground. However, we enjoyed the country so much that we would like to go back, picking up in Sydney where we left off.

While being an English speaking nation and driving on the left side of the road had big benefits, it was the Australian culture and humour, coupled with such a diversity of sites across this huge continent that made the trip so enjoyable.

During our three weeks there we were also becoming accustomed to their art of shortening words. ‘Would you like some Chardy or Savvy b’, were examples when requesting a glass of wine. Or maybe one would like a bevo (bevvie to us in the UK). If we had ventured to the supermarket we might have been asking for an avo (avocado), a sanga (sandwich), or an OJ (orange juice).

If we had made it to Tassie (Tasmania) we will have had to call into a servo (service station), and made sure we didn’t get our rego (registration plate) noted by the traffic police as we drove around the island. After a night drinking we could have called in for a Maccas (McDonalds), or if it was a really heavy night what better than a dirty kebab? (Thanks for the crash course in shortening Adrian.)

What really threw me though was seeing a sign at a pub in Perth warning that ‘thongs’ could not be worn at the venue after 7pm. I thought that was very liberal until I found these were flip flop footwear in our version of the language and not very brief swimwear.

The only disappointing aspect we came across was buying some Aboriginal items that, although designed by indigenous people, were actually made in India or China. This was such a shame as tourist products can attract a higher price and it would have been good to see these particular items made in their country of origin.

Australia has certainly had its problems with the bush fires, compounded by media reports giving the impression there was not much left to see in the country. We found this to be far from the reality. Kangaroo Island, for example, although hit badly by the fires was still open for visitors to enjoy and learn more about the area and its animals.

In our three action-packed weeks we saw some wonderful and unique sites, met some nice and helpful people, and had many laughs. The virus has added to the tourism industry’s woes, but we hope to be some of the tourists to return to experience this great continent in the future.

And finally, on a lighter note…

Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2020

Our second day in Sydney dawned and, after the excitment of the bridge climb, we were taking a backstage tour of the famous and much photographed UNESCO World Heritage listed Sydney Opera House in the morning with a Harbour Story Cruise in the afternoon.

The backstage tour starts at 7am as many areas visited are restricted later in the day when the performers and technical crews are at work. Performances had been cancelled and the Opera House had recently been closed due to the Coronavirus situation but lucklily for us, the backstage tour was still going ahead.

We were told on many ocassions since getting to Sydney that there were far fewer tourists than normal and only four of us took the backstage tour with two others who started the tour leaving after five minutes due to feeling unwell. Rather worrying in light of the current situation that they considered joining the tour if they felt unwell, particularly as one was a health professional.

The Opera House is on Bennelong Point, a former tram depot in the 1950s, and has an interesting history. There were times when the whole project to build it looked doomed. Bennelong Point, which is named after an aboriginal man and has significance to the Gadigal people, was an island in Sydney Harbour and in the early 19th century was made into a peninsula.

The Opera House was designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon but was finally completed by an Australian architectural team headed up by Peter Hall and formally opened on 20 October 1973. Utzon won an international design competition in 1957 and the work commenced on 2 March 1959 with Utzon directing construction. The decision to build Utzon’s iconic design is often overshadowed by the circumstances that followed such as the time it took to complete the building, the spiralling cost and the resignation of Utzon before completion. Utzon has never returned to Australia to see the completed building.

The building comprises multiple venues and the roof structure, often referred to as “shells”, is made from precast concrete panels. The shells appear white from a distance but, up close, you can see that they have many tiles, apparently over 1 million, some white and other matt cream.

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We visited all of the venues, the Concert Hall, the Joan Sutherland Theatre, Drama Theatre, Playhouse, Studio and Utzon Room, which are different sizes and used for different types of events. The Concert Hall was designed for orchestras and is home to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. It contains the 10,000 pipes Grand Organ and now also hosts other events such as comedy and the likes of Ed Sheeran. The Joan Sutherland Theatre is home to Opera Australia and the Australian Ballet.

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As the Opera House was closed for performances there were no sets on the stages but we did get to stand on each stage and get the performers’ view. There were a miriad of lifts, trap doors, lighting rigs, revolving stages some which were still used and other that had been built as part of the original design but not ever employed. In addition there were rehearsal rooms many with a Grand Piano.

We understood from our guide that the original intention of Utzon was for the opera and ballet to be in what is now the Concert Hall and the orchestral concerts to be in the Joan Sutherland Theatre but the acoustics worked better with opera in the Joan Sutherland and orchestral in the Concert Hall so Utzon original idea was changed.

It was a very interesting visit and definitely worth doing with the final section of the visit being a very nice breakfast in the Green Room.

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Unfortunately that was our last holiday event as we had been advised by our travel agent the night before to get the first flight home. It was evident that Sydney was closing down as businesses and restaurant closed, people worked from home and Tasmania, our next stop, was requiring all new non-essential persons entering the state to self isolate.

A real shame as we were looking forward to the Sydney Harbour Story Cruise and the Blue Mountains, and then Tasmania and Melbourne in coming days, but it does give us a strong reason to return to Australia, a country we liked a lot.

Copyright: Words and photos John Cruse 2020

John’s view

When we were planning our holiday to Australia, one event on my list to complete the bucket list, was to literally walk over the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We have seen so many programmes with celebrities doing it (most recently an old documentary with Clive James), I thought that it had to be done.

It was pre-booked from the UK so Sue had the whole holiday to nervously contemplate the event.

Our hotel, the Harbour Rocks Hotel, was an old converted warehouse and as the name suggests, was situated in the Rocks area of Sydney which is between the Bridge and Circular Quay/Sydney Opera House. Very handy for the bridge climb as we were only 5 minutes walk to the climb centre on Cumberland Street.

There are various options for the climb, the Summit (3.5 hours), Summit Express (2.5 hours) and Sampler (1.5 hours). There are even Mandarin and Japanese climbs with guides who speak the appropriate languages.

We decided not to make it more difficult than necessary and chose the English speaking Summit (3.5 hours) climb rather than the Mandarin or Japanese versions. The safety briefing in Mandarin would have been a nightmare for Sue although I am sure I would have got by.

The safety briefing is very thorough and, after removing all of our clothes, we were kitted out in climb suit and safety harness. Every accessory was fixed to us: sunglasses, hat, even a handkerchief, but nothing else could be taken due to safety reasons, so no cameras or mobiles.

Our guide, Mitch, told us that it was the perfect weather day for the climb, perfect visibility, sunny and warm with no wind. They did still climb when it was windy but stopped just short of gale force.

The climb is along walkways that have been put in to allow maintenance and when one gets on top of the bridge, there are hand rails on both sides and steps so extremely safe. The only tricky bit is the four flights of stairs one has to climb to get from the road level to the top level of the arch. They are reminiscent of stair on ships and very steep.

The bridge does expand and contract with the temperature but you would not notice it when you climb although you do hear the trains rumbling over the bridge and the sound of the cars.

The views were spectacular, Opera House, Harbour, Sydney CBD, etc but as we were not allowed cameras or mobile phones, or in fact anything that could fall off, we could only admire the views and not record them for posterity. We did make some photos stops and Mitch obliged by taking some photos and a video that we could purchase (surprising that) after the climb.

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I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would recommend it although Sue was not so keen as she will explain.

Sue’s view

Never have I been so terrified. I had had assurances that climbing the bridge would not be scary. I had climbed the O2 in London and that was fine. I was not in any doubt that the safety aspect would be second to none and it was. 

When we headed off our group of seven was asked if anyone was nervous. I immediately put both hands up. Why was it that nobody else did? ‘You’ll be fine’, assured Mitch our guide (who also carried out repairs on the bridge). ‘I’ve managed to get people up to the top that were in tears’…. Well, I wouldn’t be going that far!

After a practise steep stair climb we headed off. I had seen images on line of several steep steps before an easier climb. What I had not bargained for was an extremely long walk along a narrow metal gantry with a thin handrail. Below was a huge drop, to where I do not know as I didn’t look down. All I could hear was the traffic on the bridge above bumping over expansion joints. This walk seemed to go on for around 10 minutes. I was about to quit but I couldn’t stop as others and our guide would get way ahead, and I would delay others behind. 

When we eventually stopped to admire the view (not me) and discuss the qualities of the engineering I told the guide I could not go on. 

‘Ah, don’t worry, I’ll bring you up front’. Well it was a ‘chicken’ sandwich with the guide ahead of me and John behind. I was terrified to go on, but terrified to return. In fact, other guides would have to come up to get me down and I would still have to walk that long plank of a walkway!

Thinking things could not get worse we headed for the metal stairs. These comprised level after level after level of about 20 vertical steps at a time, where climbers hung on to the narrow handrails either side. It was far steeper than climbing a ladder. 

Once at the top of this section we had reached the arching of the bridge. What great timing for yet another view of the whole harbour. I could not look. This stepped walk was more gradual but again went on endlessly. During this time we stopped for the customary photos, me trying to smile, knowing I will have to look at those photos in the future.

Having reached the top, what next but to walk across the width of the bridge with eight lanes of traffic and a train wizzing underneath. Time to admire the two national flags above us and have a video. Will this journey never end?

Then it was time to make our way down, slowly and with plenty of photo stops. The trouble was the nightmare had not ended. It was just as scary for me going down as it was going up.

The bridge climb was an experience I will never forget… or repeat. Thank goodness they did not offer a buy one get one free. It would be one offer I would refuse!

Copyright: Words John Cruse and Sue Barnard 2020

Today was the day. We lost our virginity… on the Great Barrier Reef.

If someone had said recently that we would go snorkelling I would not have believed them. For many, it’s a piece of cake having carried out this activity since they were children. But neither of us had snorkelled before let alone swam off a boat in the middle of the ocean.

What an introduction, no less than the Great Barrier Reef itself. While all the experienced swimmers set off as a group we were given private tuition with crew member Monique who assured me she had actually done this before (in fact thousands of times, being a diver herself).

We had two sessions during the trip. Before I had even got off the boat I was gagging at the thought of putting the mouthpiece in. Then, coerced into the water, with one hand I grasped the orange lifebuoy ring, while the other tightly gripped Monique’s hand. The calm water splashed around my face, and water was getting in my mask and up my nose. Monique sorted me out and suggested I put my face in the water. I thought ‘Are you kidding!’ I did as she said and was so surprised how everything became calm immediately.

We swam gently along and beautiful corals came into sight. I was particularly drawn to some golden corals which looked as if they were molten lava dripping over rocks. The whole experience was like floating over a beautiful garden.

Then we came upon a giant clam (which cleanses the water as it passes through itself). As Monique swam gently by, it closed its shell. Then a turtle passed slowly under us. Then a huge fish, which must have been 3 feet long with a depth of 18 inches, hung around us. Next we saw a one metre long sea cucumber, not green but cream with beautiful brown markings.

There were shoals of fish, some tiny and bright and almost see-through. Others were in singles or pairs. What also caught my eye were the brightest blue seastars and the abalone shells with their pearl interiors shining out like little jewels.

We have heard the reports of coral bleaching from the environmentalists over recent years, but were told that this part of the reef is healthy and thriving well. We saw masses of corals with no sign of bleaching.

By the end of the second session I was much more relaxed and even managing to adjust my water-filled mask from time to time to save myself from drowning, thanks to Moniques’ careful instruction.

But my ‘firsts’ were not to end there on this leg of our journey. Another first was my performance of the St Vitus dance.

The following day we took a trip to Cape Tribulation, including a cruise along the Daintree river. Cape Tribulation is a remote headland in northeast Queensland and was named by Captain James Cook, as his ship was damaged on the Great Barrier Reef in 1770 and marked the start of ‘all his troubles’.

The river trip was within the Daintree forest, considered to be the oldest continually surviving tropical rainforest in the world, dating back millions of years. As we meandered along the Daintree river we watched fruit bats fly and hang upside down, and saw a crocodile swimming nearby.

We then headed for a forest walk and towards the end, as our guide was pointing out one of many poisonous insects, I caught sight of a guy beside me jumping and hitting his legs. The next thing I knew I was copying with gay abandon. We had managed to tread on an Oecophylla smaragdina nest, otherwise known as green tree ants.

These ants swarm. My trainers were covered in them and their first stop was my legs, before travelling as far as my neck. They bite and then spray formic acid into the wound. This feels like lots of painful pin pricks. As I jumped up and down trying to get rid of them I was assured they were not on the extensive list of highly poisonous insects and animals in Australia and if I squeezed the sac on their backs I would get a refreshing lemon taste from it – not easy when continuing to bash my legs to get rid of the pests.

These activities were carried out from Port Douglas. This was once a destination for the gold rush, and later farming. Now it’s a destination for holiday makers, a few shopkeepers and extensive sugar cane production.

Our next point of call is Hervey Bay, Fraser Island and Lady Elliott Island via Brisbane, more than 1,200 miles from our current destination. We move onward.

Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2020

Many will have heard of the Mexican wave, but our arrival on the small airstrip of Ayers Rock saw us experiencing the Ayers Rock wave. All people outside the aeroplane to assist with our arrival were waving their arms. Not to welcome us, but attempting to get rid of the flies. It seems that the flies are on holiday too. They only come out at a certain temperature and our arrival at 30 degrees centigrade was just right for them.

Just as well we bought our bug hats. All around this small but attractive resort guests have their faces masked from the little critters.

We were to spend four days in Uluru getting to know more about the Aboriginal history and way of life, and of course viewing the famous Ayres Rock. Lots of early mornings were scheduled, the earliest being 3am, so a 5am start on one of those days was a welcome lie in. All activities at Ayers Rock either start very early to ensure that they finish before the heat of midday (38 degrees centigrade and it’s now autumn in Australia) or, for outside dining, after dark when the billions of flies go to bed.

We were off to a good start on our first day, undertaking an 8 mile trek around the base of Ayres Rock. Since last October, this sacred place of the Aboriginal people has been off limits for any climbers. Until that time there was a precariously steep track for enthusiasts to climb to the top. There had been many casualties and deaths over the years, but the climb had been halted largely due to the wishes of the indigenous people.

Grandparents hand down these stories – encompassing moral messages as well as survival techniques – to their grandchildren, while their fathers are hunting and mothers are gathering. It was not until recent years that some of these stories were written down, but many are still only known amongst the Aboriginal people.

The rock has important spiritual significance for the Aboriginal people. Many sections we passed are considered ‘sensitive sites’ where photography is not permitted. At these points we listened to some of the stories handed down over the generations which form a basis of the Aboriginal oral histories. Many made reference to indentations in the rock, such as the face of a snake. These stories, referred to as Tjukurpa, record the creation of all living creatures and the landscape, as well as the appropriate way to relate to each other and aspects of the environment, such as directing tribal members to food sources, watering holes or ceremonial places.

Our full base walk circumnavigated the rock, taking some four hours with a few stops. I was keen that John kept up his exercise regime so I let him carry my ‘tucker’ bag with breakfast and lots of heavy water, in addition to his own as we both battled the heat and constant irritation of thousands of flies.

In the evening we were off for a Sound of Silence trip which involved watching the sun setting and a talk on astronomy while viewing the stars.

Later the silence was broken over a three-course dinner with wine, as we chatted to some entertaining Greek-Cypriot Australian women who had met many years ago at school and had decided to give their families a break, leaving them back in Sydney while they enjoyed the Ayres Rock experience. Lots of laughter and cultural exchanges followed between us.

The next day we were off to the Kings Canyon, a three hour drive away. We had the choice of climbing 500 uneven steps up the canyon to walk around the perimeter. We were warned this would be strenuous, carried out in high heat and with flies. Those intending to climb had (by regulation) to carry three litres of water. ‘That’ll be six litres then’, was John’s comment based on his experience assisting me on the hike the previous day, so we opted for the less arduous walk in the canyon valley.

A benefit of this was that we could book a 15 minute flight in a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter flying across the canyon, which was tremendous and meant that we saw much more of the sandstone top than had we hiked up. It was surprising how green the areas around the canyon were in this dry central part of Australia. From some of the green ‘rivers’ of vegetation we could identify where underground waters ran.

Our final morning added to the whole experience. Our 4am start enabled us to travel in an off-road monster up the dunes to watch the beautiful sunrise while eating bacon rolls.

Then it was off to hear some more storytelling and viewing of rock art dating back up to 7,000 years before heading to our next destination, Cairns and Port Douglas – hopefully without the flies.

Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2020

Few had heard of Kangaroo Island until the media reported the devastation caused by the bush fires which raged for weeks after Christmas. The fires destroyed 40% of the island’s vegetation, including the Flinders Chase National Park, a visitors’ centre, hotel and caravan park. Two resident males were killed trying to escape the fires by car, and thousands of animals perished, including kangaroos, koalas and sheep, plus insects and snakes.

Checking the situation before we left, we were advised that our tour could go ahead, as the remaining 60% of land offered good opportunities to learn more about the area. We took the opportunity, therefore, to hop over to Kangaroo Island and we were pleased we did.

We spent two days touring with our excellent guide Lio and four other travelling companions. During the first day we didn’t see any destruction, focusing on the east and central parts of the island.

We visited the beautiful and sandy Seal Bay where we watched mother seals looking after their young. The beach was not crowded with seals which enabled us to concentrate on just a few of these cute mammals.

Then it was on to koala I-spy. These little ones are hard to spot, staying up trees for most of their lives and sleeping 20 hours a day, but some actually sat and watched down on us which provided a few photo opportunities.

Koalas eat only eucalyptus leaves. There are many varieties on the island, but the koalas consume only five species with the lowest oil content. The leaves are poisonous to their system and it takes them huge energy and several days to digest. Hence their slow nature.

The fires have destroyed much of their habitat and subsequent food sources. This is causing issues for those involved in their care. Koalas would rather starve than eat the wrong species of eucalyptus. Consequently there are efforts to collect leaves from the trees in the east of the island to provide feed for remaining koalas in the fire-damaged areas.

The island also has high sand dunes, at Vivonne Bay in the south, which we climbed. Upon every step our feet sank into the fine hot sand, which made for a good workout.

On our second day we headed towards the destructed west side of the island. This 40% of the land mass is out of bounds for visitors currently due to safety reasons; even the roads have been destroyed, their tarmac melting in the heat. However, we were able to view the outskirts, with their burnt or bulldozed trees – emergency efforts to create fire breaks.

It was incredible seeing the charred remains close up. Within two months of the fires raging new growth is emerging from the trunks.

Our final visit was to a wildlife park where the staff are caring for animals injured or orphaned in the fire. Attempts are being made to put these back into their natural environment, but the orphans which had to be hand raised (and bottle fed every four hours) will not know how to fend for themselves in the wild so will need to remain in captivity.

At this venue we were able to go into the large enclosures of the kangaroos and wallabies, watching the little joeys run into their mother’s pouches. The pouches are nothing like the horizontal slits across the mother’s belly as shown in cartoon drawings. Instead they comprise a hole in the tummy surface which opens easily like a pair of elasticated curtains through which the very leggy joey speedily clambers in, swiftly turning around to pop its head out and view the outside world.

The kangaroos have four teats. The two lower ones feed the newborn ‘jellybeans’ (just five weeks gestation and looking like jellybeans) with full cream milk for the first 18 months of their lives. They then escalate to the two upper teats serving semi skimmed milk so that mum can go on to feed the next offspring. If she had six teats no doubt she would be serving cappuccino.

Kangaroo Island certainly has its problems, but for tourists the trip seemed unaffected. The island’s biggest issues currently are that some people have been scared off due to the negative publicity, but it is suffering a double whammy with flights being restricted into the country because of the C-virus.

It proved to be a wonderful and enlightening trip. We are so pleased we still had the opportunity to visit.

Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2020

PS Apologies for any duplicate postings recently. We rely on the wi-fi systems as we travel along which often throw up technical issues out of our control.

We stepped off the train in Adelaide at 7.30 in the morning to very unseasonal weather for this time of year. Having experienced some unseasonal weather in Perth, we were hoping for wall to wall sunshine in Adelaide. We were told it had been +30 degrees centigrade the week before but had changed and was cold in the mornings and only around 23 degrees as best.

Not the best start, but after dropping our bags at the hotel, we went on an orientation tour with the Adelaide tourist board. This was free and was a 90 minutes walk around the CBD (commercial business district) of Adelaide. It was helpful as we were given information on such things as the free buses that do a loop around Adelaide and the main sights.

We learned that the city was built using a grid system of roads. The centre vertical axis road was named after our King William IV, and still is today. Each road either side of this main street has a different name as nobody should ‘cross the king’. The town is named after the King’s wife Adelaide.

The guide also threw in a bit of history of Adelaide advising that it was not a city founded on convict labour from England but populated, after its foundation by the British, by Lutherans escaping religious persecution in Europe.

When the British were looking to found the new British colony of South Australia in the mid 1830s, a Captain William Light was appointed Surveyor General of South Australia and was responsible for the positioning of Adelaide. One reason for its location spanning the River Torrens is the Adelaide hills to the north which ensured rainfall and the location not being prone to drought.

It is is small but nice city and we were particularly impressed by the suburbs north of the River Torrens with their pleasant housing, restaurants and quite clean streets. There is an interesting museum, botanical garden and the Adelaide Fringe was on which we understood to be popular.

After our first day exploring Adelaide we left early the next morning for the much publicised (due to the recent fires) Kangaroo Island and we will cover this in a separate post.

After spending two days at Kangaroo Island we spent our last day in Adelaide visiting the famous wine making region of the Barossa Valley which is north of the city on the other side of the Adelaide hills. The day consisted of visiting a dam, a typical Barossa Valley town and four wineries.

The Barossa Reservoir dam was not spectacular compared to today’s standards but was completed in 1902 and has surprising acoustic properties. Sounds at one end of the dam can be heard at the other end due to its curved shape with the sound waves reflecting off the wall as they travel 140 metres. A bit like the whispering gallery at St Paul’s Cathedral.

The wine tasting was very enjoyable with roughly five wines being tasted at each winery.

At the second winery we had a very nice cheese board lunch to complement the wines. The only disappointing factor with visiting smaller wineries is that they often do not sell abroad and the cost of shipping would make the wines uneconomical. That said, it was still a nice day and a chance to see the countryside whilst enjoying one of Australia’s biggest exports.

Tomorrow we leave for a very early flight to Ayers Rock.

I didn’t think, when I awoke on Sunday morning that I would find myself interested in rail gauges, but that was to be. We had embarked on a 48 hour journey, travelling across two thirds of Australia from Perth to Adelaide on the Indian Pacific railway.

By 1917 it was possible to travel by train from the Indian Ocean at Perth to the Pacific Ocean at Sydney. Problem was that a mix of rail track gauges had been created to suit different trains – anything from 9” wide to 5’4”. This necessitated passengers changing from one train to another up to six times across the full journey.

It was not until 1969 that a standard gauge rail system (at 5’4” wide) was created across the full width of the country that enabled passengers to complete the journey on just one train.

While the development of the railway may have been welcomed by many, it was not the case for all. In 1882 Aboriginal people around the area of Ooldea, on the east side of the Nullarbor plain, considered the arriving steam train was a great white snake carrying wicked spirits. Today, some might consider that still to be true having viewed the contents of the bar area.

Our journey took us through some towns with interesting names such as Koolyanobbing, six hours by train from Perth; Tarcoola, Kingoonya and Wirraminna. Many of these small settlements support farming communities. A lot of the land we travel through is given over to sheep farming and hay production. Other locations, such as Cook (between Perth and Adelaide) comprise just four residents who provide accommodation for train drivers changing shifts and staying between 8 and 30 hours.

The Indian Pacific crawls at a snail’s pace compared to our high speed trains, but having 31 coaches going at a faster pace might see the rear carriages shooting off the rails, just like kids when they run around the playground hands linked in a long chain.

We saw our first kangaroos (at a distance) an hour into our journey, and after four hours we saw a low flying helicopter. These are used to round up sheep across huge swathes of land. We passed several small sites with airstrips which also double up for the Flying Doctors who provide vital emergency support to rural communities and, indeed, train occupants in this vast outback. One train driver had to be taken off by the Flying Doctor after he was bitten by a poisonous spider. Luckily, this was not on our train.

At certain points along the route we were given the opportunity to stretch our legs. This included a visit to Australia’s second biggest pit, the Super Pit in Kalgoorlie, which mines gold. The trouble was that we arrived at 10pm so a lot of the views were in darkness, but we did get the opportunity to jump on a digger or two, which were huge. The rest of the community were either employed to entertain us or were in bed, apart from a few young guys going to a local bar for a few bevvies.

The potential of the area, where Kalgoorlie later became established, was discovered by chance. In 1893 prospector Paddy Hannah found a substantial amount of gold nuggets and this sparked the biggest gold rush in Australian history. It is still a gold mine today, in more ways than one. The pit is so large it can be seen from space.

We also found out there are feral camels, introduced to the country to transport food and equipment when the Super Pit was being developed. We have not seen any so far, but they did make a lovely curry at lunchtime! Truly.

Breakfast off the train the following morning gave us the chance to have a look at the entire length of our 31 carriage train when we disembarked at Rawlinna, which borders the largest sheep station in the Southern Hemisphere, comprising 80,000 sheep. Try counting them in your sleep.

Soon after, the landscape started to slowly change to semi-desert. Where once we saw trees and bushes, we now viewed a vast expanse of red coloured sand and low lying salt bushes – trees cannot survive in this calcium-rich ground which was once seabed.

We completed our journey in Adelaide, which we will use as a base for other trips in the surrounding regions.

Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2020

PS Apologies, wi fi problems meant that yesterday’s posting came across without photos.

I didn’t think, when I awoke on Sunday morning that I would find myself interested in rail gauges, but that was to be. We had embarked on a 48 hour journey, travelling across two thirds of Australia from Perth to Adelaide on the Indian Pacific railway.

By 1917 it was possible to travel by train from the Indian Ocean at Perth to the Pacific Ocean at Sydney. Problem was that a mix of rail track gauges had been created to suit different trains – anything from 9” wide to 5’4”. This necessitated passengers changing from one train to another up to six times across the full journey.

It was not until 1969 that a standard gauge rail system (at 5’4” wide) was created across the full width of the country that enabled passengers to complete the journey on just one train.

While the development of the railway may have been welcomed by many, it was not the case for all. In 1882 Aboriginal people around the area of Ooldea, on the east side of the Nullarbor plain, considered the arriving steam train was a great white snake carrying wicked spirits. Today, some might consider that still to be true having viewed the contents of the bar area.

Our journey took us through some towns with interesting names such as Koolyanobbing, six hours by train from Perth; Tarcoola, Kingoonya and Wirraminna. Many of these small settlements support farming communities. A lot of the land we travel through is given over to sheep farming and hay production. Other locations, such as Cook (between Perth and Adelaide) comprise just four residents who provide accommodation for train drivers changing shifts and staying between 8 and 30 hours.

The Indian Pacific crawls at a snail’s pace compared to our high speed trains, but having 31 coaches going at a faster pace might see the rear carriages shooting off the rails, just like kids when they run around the playground hands linked in a long chain.

We saw our first kangaroos (at a distance) an hour into our journey, and after four hours we saw a low flying helicopter. These are used to round up sheep across huge swathes of land. We passed several small sites with airstrips which also double up for the Flying Doctors who provide vital emergency support to rural communities and, indeed, train occupants in this vast outback. One train driver had to be taken off by the Flying Doctor after he was bitten by a poisonous spider. Luckily, this was not on our train.

At certain points along the route we were given the opportunity to stretch our legs. This included a visit to Australia’s second biggest pit, the Super Pit in Kalgoorlie, which mines gold. The trouble was that we arrived at 10pm so a lot of the views were in darkness, but we did get the opportunity to jump on a digger or two, which were huge. The rest of the community were either employed to entertain us or were in bed, apart from a few young guys going to a local bar for a few bevvies.

The potential of the area, where Kalgoorlie later became established, was discovered by chance. In 1893 prospector Paddy Hannah found a substantial amount of gold nuggets and this sparked the biggest gold rush in Australian history. It is still a gold mine today, in more ways than one. The pit is so large it can be seen from space.

We also found out there are feral camels, introduced to the country to transport food and equipment when the Super Pit was being developed. We have not seen any so far, but they did make a lovely curry at lunchtime! Truly.

Breakfast off the train the following morning gave us the chance to have a look at the entire length of our 31 carriage train when we disembarked at Rawlinna, which borders the largest sheep station in the Southern Hemisphere, comprising 80,000 sheep. Try counting them in your sleep.

Soon after, the landscape started to slowly change to semi-desert. Where once we saw trees and bushes, we now viewed a vast expanse of red coloured sand and low lying salt bushes – trees cannot survive in this calcium-rich ground which was once seabed.

We completed our journey in Adelaide, which we will use as a base for other trips in the surrounding regions.

Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2020

PS Apologies, wi fi problems meant that yesterday’s posting came across without photos.