Across Australia By Train
Last month I flew to Perth in Western Australia. It was the first time I’d been to Perth in 22 years.
It had changed a lot since I was there. Apparently it had even moved states.
Perth is a really nice city. It’s the most isolated capital city in the world (the nearest capital city is over 3000 km away). I met up with one of my Clarion friends and we went to Wave Rock, a giant rock formation shaped like a wave.
I also visited Rottnest Island, a beautiful island off the coast of Perth. I rented a bicycle and rode around the island. The weather was great and I stopped at a few beaches along the way.
Then I took the Indian Pacific – the train that runs from Perth to Sydney. It’s a 4352 km trip and takes 65 hours. There are different travelling options, including cabins. I took the cheapest option, which is a reclining seat. There are showers and a dining carriage aboard the train. Such a long trip isn’t for everyone, but I really enjoy travelling by train and I was happy talking to other backpackers, admiring the scenery and reading.
The train stops for a couple of hours in Kalgoorlie, Adelaide and Broken Hill and you have the chance to get off the train. In Broken Hill I visited an art gallery that has one of the largest paintings in the world. A single artist painted a circular painting that wraps around the room and is over 100 metres long. It depicts the landscape near Broken Hill and is very impressive.
In Sydney I visited some more Clarion friends. It was great catching up with people from Clarion again. We went and had a look at the Powerhouse museum’s Star Wars exhibition, as well as an exhibition by a Japanese artist.
What about your non-Clarion friends! 😛
Really enjoying the website so far, nice work mate.
Sorry. Non-Clarion friends too. 🙂