Why did the chicken cross the road?

Wednesday Feb 1, 2017.

Why did the Chicken cross the road?

Well, the answer to that question is now obvious to me. It was to get to the other side……. Of the country that is!!

This morning we awoke in our Sydney hotel, a stone’s throw from Central Station, departure point for the iconic Indian Pacific train which crosses this great continent, stopping a few times before we arrive in Perth on Feb 4^th.

We arranged a late checkout with the hotel, 1pm, so that enabled us to pack up and head straight to the station to check one suitcase and get our ‘boarding pass’. The Platinum passengers are escorted aboard as they arrive and we Gold class mingle on the platform with mocktails and canapés. Very pleasant indeed. Thankfully the weather is bipolar and yesterday was the hot extreme, and today is misty rain, so very tolerable.

Among the other passengers we get chatting to is a woman from Bristol in England who is travelling the world solo for 12 months, she’s nearly at the halfway point, and a couple from Kilmore (John and Wendy) in Victoria who have a sheep farm and end up in the cabin next to us. Of all the people, in all the world, well, on this train at least, what’s the odds? They have a Gold Superior cabin, which we’ve never heard of and is double the size of ours, complete with fridge and tv. Oh, and nearly a double bed, with a foldaway bunk up the top if you both can’t fit in the double. The crew tell us that they actually have more space than the Platinum cabins. So boarding goes smoothly and we are able to unpack a few bits and pieces in the limited space we have. Our suitcase (ONE) fits under the seat, but only because it’s the older type, not one of the new hard clam-shell types. Trevor’s would never fit and has been checked into the luggage car. Fortunately we planned ahead and packed stuff for both of us into one suitcase!

When the train arrives in Sydney, it’s split into 2 separate sections so it can fit at the longest platforms at Central, platforms 1 and 2. Our carriage is in what will be the front section, and the lady from Bristol is in the rear section but I don’t think we’ll get to see her aboard because Platinum is inbetween and a no-go for we Gold classers. The crew quarters and the luggage car are at the very rear end of the train. We can go back one carriage till we hit a road block but we can go forward 14 carriages, so that’s where I’ll be trying to get my walking in.

We are currently crossing the Blue Mountains and I’m stunned to see a pea-soup fog outside. On the first day of February!! It’s been a fairly steady pace up to now, but I’ve just noticed the driver has put his foot down, must be because we’ve cleared the busy urban area. Having left Sydney shortly after 3pm, 2.5 hours down and we’re nearing Bells Line of Road near Bell, heading for Lithgow. I think the most dangerous part of this trip is that alcohol is included and seems to be as free flowing as one wants, and there are currently nibbles on request in the Lounge car. Trevor and John went to get a couple of beers, having emptied John’s fridge and then Wendy and I went for a cuppa.

Big boss man has just announced that there are 40 spaces for the Broken Hill tour to the Sculpture Park and 64 people had it as their first choice, us included, so when we go for dinner, we’ll find out if we get to do it, otherwise, we’ll go the the Pro Hart Gallery. Fingers crossed!

Score!! Needed to know whether or not to unpack the tripod for the Living Desert Sculpture park so went and found the lovely Rachael, Dining Car supervisor and once I explained why I needed to know before dinner, she was happy to look for me. We got the Sculpture Park tour!! Yay us!! 6pm and we’re going through Lithgow. Already, Rachael knows my name and which cabin I’m in. These guys have got it sorted! So, it’s going to be an early start, off the train around 6.15am. Sarah, our other ‘go-to’ crew member has offered to deliver an early morning tea or coffee with our wake-up call at 5.45am but we declined. We can make a cuppa just a few doors down, and also fill our water bottles. Sarah also told us that the station in Adelaide is much the same as Sydney, in that it is a terminus, so the train will reverse out and the front will become the back, so our rear facing cabin will then be forward facing. Happy days! Not that it really bothers either of us to face backwards.

Dinner is at 6.45 with John and Wendy.  The first sitting was at 6, so they’ll be eating already, then there is a sitting after us, 7.15 or 7.30. Mealtimes will vary depending on tour times.

The food at dinner was very good, entrée, main and dessert, not massive portions, but certainly enough. I had chicken terrine entrée, Pacific swordfish for main and Kangaroo Island honey macadamia ice cream for dessert. There is a vegetarian option in all courses. I think I’ll go for the option with the most vegetables in future. After dinner we sat in the Lounge car for a while, then I walked as far forward as I could and back. Knowing that this is potentially the worst night for sleeping and aware of an early start in the morning we’re in bed by 10pm.