The India Pacific Adelaide to Perth
As I was catching the shuttle bus outside my hostel to the station I got chatting to an Irish lad, Colin, who was also heading to the station too. Randomly it turned out our train seats were together. When we got onto the India Pacific train we also met Nicky a Scottish girl who was sitting next to us too. We were glad we were sat together as there was some proper weirdos on the train.
The journey took us 2 days. Our seats were like aeroplane seats that reclined but had a bit more leg room. We were in the red kangaroo section and we also had a lounge car and restaurant car that we could use. You could walk around too to stretch your legs.
The first night was a long one. Some of the passengers got absolutely hammered and there was a fight between an old guy who would not stop shouting and a younger lad. A big Hungarian bloke kept pulling the guys apart but they just kept going after each other. The fight lasted ages and even though someone hit the alarm the train staff took ages to get there by which time things had calmed down a bit. I felt sorry for the kids and old people - some of them were terrified. Eventually the night manager took the old bloke away. Next day the old guy was handed over to the police in the middle of the dessert - it would be interesting to know how he got home and how long it took.
We were woken up for breakfast next morning at 7 after not much sleep at all. I ended up sleeping with my head on the tray table - not the most comfortable!!
I'd expected a bit of variety in the scenary but it was all pretty much the same most of the way - dessert scrub..
We did see Eagles and a couple of Kangaroos. Our stop that morning was in Cook a ghost town in the middle of the Nullabor Plain - one of the world's most isolated townships. It was a very strange place and there were even a small group of people living there who depended on supplies from the train to survive.
That day we also travelled along the world’s longest length of straight railway track, 478 kilometres through the stark and desolate Nullarbor Plain.
Following an afternoon of reading and cards we arrived at Kalgoorlie that evening. I had originally wanted to spend a couple of days in this gold mining town but decided just to do a Whistle Stop tour.
In June 1893, prospectors Patrick (Paddy) Hannan, Tom Flanagan, and Dan O'Shea were travelling to Mt Youle when one of their horses cast a shoe. During the halt in their journey, the men noticed signs of gold in the area, and decided to stay put. On June 17, 1893, Hannan filed a Reward Claim, leading to hundreds of men swarming to the area in search of gold and Kalgoorlie was born. The mining of gold, along with other metals such as nickel, has been a major industry in Kalgoorlie ever since. The concentrated area of large gold mines surrounding the original Hannan find is often referred to as the Golden Mile, and is considered by some to be the richest square mile of earth on the planet.
It was a funny tour as we never really got off the coach as we cruised around the street of Kalgoolie and Boulder at walking pace.
We saw some of the 25 historical hotels and pubs in Kalgoorlie which are still operating today. We then headed to Boulder to see the floodlit Superpit. The mine is in operation 24 hours a day and produces up to 900,000 ounces of gold every year. Our final stop off on the way back to the train was at the ladies of the night on Hay Street.
The second night on the train was a bit quieter and I managed to get a bit more sleep.
We finally arrived in Perth at around 9 on Saturday morning and some guys were there from my hostel to pick me up.
The journey took us 2 days. Our seats were like aeroplane seats that reclined but had a bit more leg room. We were in the red kangaroo section and we also had a lounge car and restaurant car that we could use. You could walk around too to stretch your legs.
The first night was a long one. Some of the passengers got absolutely hammered and there was a fight between an old guy who would not stop shouting and a younger lad. A big Hungarian bloke kept pulling the guys apart but they just kept going after each other. The fight lasted ages and even though someone hit the alarm the train staff took ages to get there by which time things had calmed down a bit. I felt sorry for the kids and old people - some of them were terrified. Eventually the night manager took the old bloke away. Next day the old guy was handed over to the police in the middle of the dessert - it would be interesting to know how he got home and how long it took.
We were woken up for breakfast next morning at 7 after not much sleep at all. I ended up sleeping with my head on the tray table - not the most comfortable!!
I'd expected a bit of variety in the scenary but it was all pretty much the same most of the way - dessert scrub..
We did see Eagles and a couple of Kangaroos. Our stop that morning was in Cook a ghost town in the middle of the Nullabor Plain - one of the world's most isolated townships. It was a very strange place and there were even a small group of people living there who depended on supplies from the train to survive.
That day we also travelled along the world’s longest length of straight railway track, 478 kilometres through the stark and desolate Nullarbor Plain.
Following an afternoon of reading and cards we arrived at Kalgoorlie that evening. I had originally wanted to spend a couple of days in this gold mining town but decided just to do a Whistle Stop tour.
In June 1893, prospectors Patrick (Paddy) Hannan, Tom Flanagan, and Dan O'Shea were travelling to Mt Youle when one of their horses cast a shoe. During the halt in their journey, the men noticed signs of gold in the area, and decided to stay put. On June 17, 1893, Hannan filed a Reward Claim, leading to hundreds of men swarming to the area in search of gold and Kalgoorlie was born. The mining of gold, along with other metals such as nickel, has been a major industry in Kalgoorlie ever since. The concentrated area of large gold mines surrounding the original Hannan find is often referred to as the Golden Mile, and is considered by some to be the richest square mile of earth on the planet.
It was a funny tour as we never really got off the coach as we cruised around the street of Kalgoolie and Boulder at walking pace.
We saw some of the 25 historical hotels and pubs in Kalgoorlie which are still operating today. We then headed to Boulder to see the floodlit Superpit. The mine is in operation 24 hours a day and produces up to 900,000 ounces of gold every year. Our final stop off on the way back to the train was at the ladies of the night on Hay Street.
The second night on the train was a bit quieter and I managed to get a bit more sleep.
We finally arrived in Perth at around 9 on Saturday morning and some guys were there from my hostel to pick me up.
posted by Phil at 5:45 AM
2 Comments:
Kalgorlie sounds cool - but by the sound of it the train wasn't worth the money?
Jen
x
What are ladies of the night????
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