Feb 27 – March 1
Hi All,
The train ride was great, and we are really glad we did it. We went from Perth to Adelaide, 1600 miles, 2 nights and 45 hours. We crossed one of the great plains/deserts in Australia….the Nullarbor Plain is truly impressive in its vast and nothing-ness! Wow!! Just the occasional sheep station and you can’t help but wonder what their lives must be like! Incredibly red, red soil with the occasional bush and shrub adding contrast.
It was also a bit of history, expereincing a mode of transportation our parents and grandparents used commonly. Having said that, it was not as comfortable as we now expect from planes, buses and automobiles. There was considerable motion and a lot of noise….even more than on Mystic!!!! The first night there was a huge thunderstorm complete with bolt lightning. Evidently the railroad people get concerned about lightning knocking out the signal communications….duh, ya think….so they shut down the lines during these electrical storms. At one point we were 4 hours behind schedule. So, the conductor sped up the first night making up time so the combination of old tracks, maybe older sleeper cars and more speed made for a very bumpy and noisy night. Even the people who travel a lot by train said it was one of the most uncomfortable nights ever. The second night was better but we still did not have a restful night of sleep!!
However, we would go on a train again…..maybe the trans-Siberia or the Canadian Rockies….it made the bucket list!!
Facts about the Nullarbor Plain
The Nullarbor is officially the earth’s largest piece of limestone (200 000 km2 and 1200 km from east to west at its furthest point)
The name comes from the Latin for nothing (nullus) and tree (arbor).
The region averages 200 mm of rain per year.
The railway line boasts the longest straight section of railway in the world at 478 km. The impressive 146.6 km of tarred road surface holds the world record for straight length of road.
From space it appears that a giant sea creature tried to take a bite out of the land between south and west Australia. Look a little closer and you will see flat, arid/semi-arid country almost completely devoid of trees.
The Nullarbor is a series of flat tiers formed under the sea. Crustal movements lifted the area and wind and rain smoothed it out.
The first inhabitants were the semi-nomadic Spinifex Wangai.
The British used this area to do nuclear tests at Maralinga in the 1950s forcing many of the Wangai to leave.
Balladonia is close to where Skylab crashed to earth in 1979.
Many meteorites have also been discovered here. Especially around Mundrabilla some weigh tonnes and they are all very well preserved due to the arid climate.
The train people arranged all our transportation…..a limo in Perth to take us to the train from the hotel and then a limo in Adelaide to take us from the train to the airport……sweet….the train was about 5 min late…actually really good as we seemed to be behind for most of the trip….and we were at the airport gate 30 min after arriving on the train….sweet as….a true planes, train and automobile day:))))!!!
Stats:
Traveled:
Car miles: 250 miles to Perth; 2775 miles total
Air miles: 125 miles Adelaide to Kangaroo Island: 1450 miles total
Train miles: 1600 Perth to Adelaide
Total traveled miles: 5825 miles
Wrong turns: 1 today in coming out of gas station in Perth; I finally did it, wasn’t thinking, got confused, went right when should have gone left…ugh!!; 3 total
Kangaroo/”Roos”/Skippy count: 7 this leg on the train; ~220 total!!!
Skippy roadside warning signs: 5 this leg, 123 total
Koala count: 0 this leg; 34 total
Emu count: 3 this leg; 85 total
One Way bridges: 0 today; 19 total
Speeding Tickets: 0 today; 1 total
Hotel: Manta on the Hay; very nice, had a washer & dryer, good place to get sorted for the train
Food: food on the train was good….maybe a little above average but nothing special; we had lamb, pork, tuna, chicken, pasta…..the chef tended to overcook everything, not sure from the facilities or too many people
LIG!!!! Hope all is well!!
John
Mystic Moon
Getting on the train at the Perth station
Getting on the train….this was all the luggage we could have in the cabin…we could check the rest!!
In our cabin
The Head is bigger than on Mystic…just decadent:)))
The terrain was a little hilly out of Perth
A water pipeline!!
The start of a very long thunderstorm with lot’s of bolt lightning!
The plain is very flat!
A rainbow in a desert…don’t see that every day!!
The next morning…..see how fast we are going!!
In the middle of the Nullarbor Desert
The desert surprisingly green!!
A stop at Cook (4 people live there) to take on water, diesel and let us stretch our legs!!
Only one engine
Two Kangaroo’s!!
Connects Australia from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean
One of our dinners….the food was actually quite good