Time to complete the Bucket List

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.

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.

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 boarders 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

I could live in Australia. I know we have only been here a few days but if Perth is anything to go by, things bode well. The city has just two million people. It has wide roads with limited rush hour traffic. There are few people on the trains, even at the busiest of times, and those trains are wide with lots of space for standing if necessary. What’s more the carriages are clean and notices state that if students are travelling with a discounted fare they should stand for adults so they can be seated. Added to this, the streets are litter free!

Of course, speaking the same language helps, but there is so much that is similar to the UK. This includes driving on the left side of the road, and many of the retailer names are familiar. But above all the people are friendly and polite.

What we didn’t expect, given all the problems Australia has had with bush fires, were storms for three days. Those rain droplets come down as stair rods of heavy globules. So on our first day we planned to be inside. Well ‘inside’ was an appropriate word as it happens, as we took ourselves off to jail in the nearby town of Fremantle. The jail was built by convicts to house convicts… from Britain. The country’s aim, according to the prison’s information boards, was ‘overseas nation building’, and in so doing (according to a quote from Charles Darwin) this would make men ‘outwardly honest… converting vagabonds, most useless in one country, into active citizens of another’.

More than 165,000 men, women and children were transported to Australia between 1788 and 1868. Construction of the prison, in which the men were to be detained, ran between 1851 and 1859.

Conditions were cruel and dire. There was enforced hard labour, frequent floggings, executions and solitary confinement – sometimes up to two years. The cells were small, many died of the cold or the heat, or of diseases such as rickets.

It is recognised today that many of the jails, town halls, museums, schools, churches, roads and bridges in Australia were built as the result of convict labour. Fremantle prison is now a World Heritage site.

As the rain continued to sheet down we were off the next day for a boat trip to Rottnest Island, famed for its quokkas – marsupials which look like a cross between a large mouse and tiny kangaroo. When they do move, which is not often seen, they hop around in a similar fashion to the kangaroo but with their front legs also on the ground.

There are estimated to be 12,000 of them, and Rottnest is their native homeland. While numbers may be large, actually finding them in their natural wild habitat is difficult as they hide under low lying bushes of a similar colour to themselves.

The best place to seek them out, sadly, is around the ferry port. This is the main town of just a few shops, restaurants and bars, and unfortunately the quokkas have picked up on human behaviour. However much is said to visitors about the perils of feeding the animals, this practise continues by the few. Quokkas cannot digest human food and it has been found to cut their normal 10 year lifespan by half. A sure sign of eating human’s food is mange, which some of the animals near the eating areas clearly had.

We were due to cycle around the island, but the pouring stair rods resulted in us being offered a coach ride instead. Of course, after days of rain it then stopped, but the coach ride worked out well as we could see some good views of the bays and sandy beaches around the whole island.

Rottness also has a golf course with 60 members, a third being women. Four competitions are held each year, but bear in mind that not all members will reside on the island throughout the year, so attendees will be fewer. We only saw two people on the whole course.

A discussion with the greenkeeper (the only employee, and a job highly sought after) revealed that, without a natural water supply, the course is fed from the island’s waste water – an offshoot from its popular tourism industry. What water there is on the island has an extremely high salt content and at one time was a source for salt production.

The island also has a bowling green, the best kept I had ever seen. However, closer inspection showed it was of artificial grass, but considered a good surface. This was used by tourists rather than club members.

The following day we were off to sip wine and beer under the guise of a boat trip up the Swan River. The sun had at last come out and it gave us a good opportunity to view the river at its best and to see a different side of Perth with large, luxurious, detached properties lining the banks in places. Once off the boat, tastings were plentiful. The first winery offered 15 samplings alone. This was followed by a brewery visit, which was a little more modest – just one small sample of beer. But the choice included some interesting mixes, such as lemon and lime cheesecake IPA brewed with lactose and vanilla bean. Tasty, but memorable only because of its name.

Finally we headed to a chocolate tasting. Again this was a more modest one truffle, but this was followed by chocolate liquors so sweet they will blow your head off. Great with ice cream though.

Alcohol and views around Perth were not the only things we gained on this trip. We met some lovely people, many of whom had British heritage, coming from the UK on the £10 Pom ticket in the 1970s. Their families seem to have chosen well from what we have so far experienced in the very nice area of Perth.

Tomorrow we are taking a three day trip by train from Perth to Adelaide via Kalgoorlie and Nullarbor. The Indian-Pacific train (from the Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean) does not have wi-fi so it may be a few days before you hear from us again.

Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2020.