Friday Feb 3, 2017.
Slept incredibly well last night, partly due to the amount
of wine and partly due to the better track. The morning after breakfast was
spent looking out the window and talking to people, very reminiscent of our
Hurtigruten trip. 2 guys that we’ve spent time with and have had a lot of
laughs with are Lindsay and Garry. We started drinking a bit earlier today, hey
why not? There’s not a lot else to do! The IP will stop at the fly speck of
Cook around lunch time and the options are to eat early or when we come back to
the train after Cook. Being so full from breakfast we decide for the latter and
plan to meet up with the fellas for lunch, which subsequently turns in to a lot
more laughs and a lot more drinks!
But first, Cook. We disembark on portable steps again and,
armed with our very fancy GSR provided map, set out to see the sights. 5
minutes later, we’re done and I snap a few pics of what I thought was the most
interesting thing in town – the wind sock……… definitely seen better days, but
surprisingly functional. The clouds have been hanging around the whole trip,
with the odd drop of rain, but nothing worth mentioning. The Nullarbor is a lot
greener than we all expected, probably because they’ve had some good rain. So
when we are in Cook, it’s overcast and good weather for being outside in these
parts, but the bloody flies would carry you away, given the chance! They also
showed no respect for my insect repellent! Then the sun came out and it was
instantly hot.
Wendy told me she asked for a ham and salad sandwich for
lunch and the kitchen made her one, so I asked too, and also got one. No
beetroot though, so not quite a salad sandwich! After finishing our meal, we
remain at the table for another round of drinks and notice that some of the
crew are sitting at the other end of the restaurant car, eating what looks to
be pizza!! Dammit! Where was the Domino’s at Cook? We didn’t see it!! Lol.
Garry nearly busted a valve, he just got through saying how much he wants a
pizza. Maybe we should ask at lunch tomorrow?? We vacate our seats so the crew
can tidy up and relocate to the lounge/bar where we order up some Frangelico
coffees, a la Cindy from our last cruise. These guys are dangerous!! I was
thinking an extra 90 minutes of sleep when we put our clocks back last night,
they were thinking an extra 90 minutes drinking time!! We’ve also put our
clocks back another 30 mins to bring us completely in line with W.A. time. We
crossed the border around 3pm, depending on whose watch you go by! A little
spot on the map, Forest, was quite surprising in that there was quite an
important looking airstrip there, tar sealed, not just gravel like some we’ve
passed. Will have to investigate that one further at home. Quite ironic that
there’s a place on the Nullarbor called Forest. Trust the Aussies!
John and Wendy arrive and sit with us for a while, and
Lindsay decides he needs a power nap – too much relaxing will do that to you! A
freight train passed us going the other way, what excitement!! Our cabin
attendant is now Lois, she joined the train in the crew swap last night and we
got talking about the pizza and the galley. I’ve heard that this particular
time in the journey is a good one to ask for a look at the galley, so I ask and
Lois agrees to take us in for a look. It’s
not huge, but I’ve seen tighter and it obviously does the job. Teamwork is the
key. I tackled the shower yesterday, once we were out of NSW the track improved
and the train movement was much more predictable, and today I even washed my
hair. Quite an achievement! Trevor is currently partaking of a power nap
himself, ready for a big night in Rawlinna, our dinner stop.
Just had a thought. I don’t know where our entertainers
went. They played for us on the platform in Sydney and again the first evening
but we haven’t seen them since.
Highlights of the trip so far:
Just being on this iconic train. We never thought we’d get
this opportunity.
Our Barossa Valley tour yesterday. Meeting a chef so
passionate about good food and with a dream to bring Seppeltsfield back to it’s
former glory as a food producer, not just a winery was inspiring. Another one
for the return visit list.
The clouds. Their formations and colours, they’ve been
wondrous to look at.
Dinner tonight is under the stars at Rawlinna,
famous for it’s sheep station that covers around the same area as Wales and of
course we sit with Gary and Lindsay, and meet another couple they’ve
befriended, Lucy and Rowan, from Cremorne in Sydney. I’m not that interested in
the food initially, while it’s still light enough for photos, that’s my goal.
It’ll be a while before dinner is served anyway. The logistics that must go into an undertaking like this is massive,
but goes unnoticed by most of the passengers onboard.
When I return to the table, dinner is just being served.
There’s a platter of roasted carrots, parsnips and beetroot, potatoes in foil,
and a big plate of roast lamb, including the lower leg bone. I can’t believe
that it goes around the table and makes it back to me! I grab it quick-smart!!
Yum!! Dinner is delicious and dessert is a black foresty type thing, pretty good
too. Lots more talking, a bit more drinking, some more photos and we slowly
wander back to the train, which is conveniently parked nearby. We’ve promised
Gary and Lindsay that we’d sit up tonight and have a few drinks with them, so I
grab the laptop and camera and head to the lounge to download my photos and
have a look and see what I got. I’m pretty happy with some of the shots and the
others like them too. Gary has also taken some great shots on his Google Pixel
phone. We’re up till midnight and have some interesting conversation with some
of the crew, ranging from ‘what was your most interesting moment on the
train?’, to ‘where do they keep the dead bodies?’. The rosters and lifestyle of
the train crew is incredible. Zac would be lucky to be 21 and he’s on around
$35 per hour, being the casual rate of pay! I’m in the wrong business!!
to be continued........... and you'll have to wait for the photos. I'm busy having fun!!
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