Friday 22 June 2012

Australia Day 24 – Friday 22nd June



Well, that was an interesting nights sleep. Or not, for Paul. I didn’t sleep too bad, but the train was not smooth and silent. There was some straps that stopped me from falling out of the top bunk – don’t think they were used. I was quite happy up there – had a reading light and a little shelf to put my things on. I woke up at about 7.00am – breakfast was at 7.30am so good timing. I leaned over the top, and asked Paul if he had slept well.; “No” was the answer. “Too hot, bed was too small, covers came untucked, train was too jerky and too noisy”. Oh dear!




I did contemplate taking a shower when Alistair said that he thought he had a hairdryer. But then he couldn’t find it, so decided against it. Look a bit like the wreck of the Hesperus, so will have to sort that out when we get to Brisbane. It looks really grey and cloudy now – think Paul might have to buy a jumper!



Breakfast was again excellent – Paul had full English, I had poached eggs on toast. Eggs came any way we wanted (should have tried the omelette here!) together with pastries, toast, fruit, cereals etc. Whilst we were at breakfast, the beds were put away and the compartment made into seating again. The first main stop was Bundaberg – four hours drive from Brisbane, but a bit longer than that on the train. About six hours to go I think.



The smaller little towns and villages that we have passed through look very much like a scene out of the Wild West. The further we get to Brisbane, the flatter the land. Some of the houses look as if they are in the middle of nowhere. They probably are. We passed the Glasshouse Mountains – named by Captain Cook as he sailed past because they reminded him of the Glass Houses at home. One of them looks more like King Kong than a glass house.



We seem to have gone rather slowly today – having to stop several times to let a tilt train go past. There is only one track, with several passing places, so if another train is either coming faster from behind or the other way one of the trains has to go onto the siding. One of our travelling companions was the station master at Brisbane Roma Street Station, so we got all the ins and outs of the Queensland Railway System.



Lunch was a two course meal – hot quiche and salad, followed by espresso terrine and tia maria cream. Again, an excellent meal. After then, it should have been a couple of hours until we got to Brisbane, due to arrive at 15.55pm. Unfortunately, because of the stoppages, we were running about thirty minutes late. Because of this, another tilt train had been allocated our platform, so we couldn’t pull into the station until 5.00pm. According to our Station Master, this used to happen all the time.



We slowly chugged into Roma Street Station just over an hour late. Fran, Georgina and Madison were there to meet us on the platform. What a lovely surprise! We got the luggage from the luggage car and hopped in a taxi for the short distance to the Sofitel. $6 so it wasn’t far. We checked in, checked out the room, had a lovely shower and then went into the city for dinner. We walked through the centre and then along the river to the South Bank. There is a Brisbane Wheel, similar to the London Eye, and most bizarrely a man playing the bagpipes. A bit like Covent Garden. We had something to eat around here, and then got a taxi back to the hotel as the children were getting tired. Gave Fran a lovely bag of washing to take back with her – nice to get a bit of payback for the years of washing I had to pick up from her bedroom floor! She wasn’t too impressed with the bag – said it made her look like a homeless person. Let’s hope she makes it through the Sofitel Lobby without getting thrown out then!!



No comments:

Post a Comment