The Ghan 2
We had been
told to be back at the station for a 12 o’clock boarding, but when I arrived the
train was not there. A quick enquiry and I learnt that it had been delayed ‘by
an hour’.
If you ever
go to Venice, and ask directions, the answer is always ‘Just go straight down
there...’
When in Australia or New Zealand the answer is
always a ridiculous understatement. ‘A couple of blocks....’ or ‘Just up the road.....’ normally means that
there is at least a half day hike involved. If the answer starts with ‘Strewth
mate.... ‘ you had better have your
overnight bag.
So,
unsurprisingly, the ‘hour’ grew like topsy and eventually we left Alice 4 hours late. The only silver lining, for some,
was that the delay occasioned the northbound and southbound trains to be in the
yard at the same time, which even the stewards were amazed at, and a
few lucky ‘anoraks’ had their Xmas and birthday come together, because both
Ghans are never seen together.
Dusk, night
and dawn passed without incident, and unfortunately, still nothing in the
kangaroo department I was beginning to wonder, having traversed half the
country, if there were any ...... anywhere!
I learnt the
reason for the delay when I overheard a little, chubby steward tell the same
‘joke’ to 8 different people, as I sat in the cafe car. ‘We gotta flat tyre
mate’ he parroted and each time followed it with a stupid forced laugh.
The reality,
as was explained to me by a supervisor who later sat with me, was that one of
the bogeys on a car carrier had flattened off, with a result that every time
the wheel turned it ‘slapped’ the track and this impact was capable of breaking
the sleepers unless the speed was restricted. Consequently we were getting
progressively later and actually ended up arriving in Adelaide 6 ½ hours behind
schedule.
There were two memorable highlights of this journey, firstly when a full
rainbow arched over the scrubland to the side of the train,
and secondly when
we passed a very picturesque lake that only appears after it has rained
significantly. Sometimes it is not seen for years, but when it is, it is
beautiful.
Overall the
Ghan had been different from what I had expected. Looking at a map and
realising how far I had travelled was quite amazing and I suppose the landscapes
had been similar to watching the sea, or a fire, nothing much changed, but it
held your gaze, for hours. It had been a terrific and memorable experience and
I was so glad I had done it.
The next
phase was gearing up for the British Lions matches in Melbourne and Sydney, but
first I had someone very special to see.
My best
mate, Mark, lives in Germany. His sister, Sue, and mum, Mary, live in Adelaide.
Mary had kindly offered me to stay with her whilst I was in Adelaide, so that
was my next stop.
A hot shower with clean fluffy towels, a huge
chicken dinner with a bottle of red wine, and a big comfy bed with an electric
blanket ....... oh boy, it was fantastic to be looked after, and even being
told off, when it looked like I wasn’t going to eat all of the meal for three
that had been put in front of me, was brilliant!!
Mary’s
energy and enthusiasm belies the fact that she is in her mid 80’s and the next
morning, armed only with a wheeled shopping trolley and a handbag that weighed
as much as a VW Beetle, we set for my
introductory tour.
Adelaide,
the state capital of South Australia, differs from the other state capitals in
that it was not convict based in origin, ie it was settled by free men as a
British province. It is nowadays regarded as a real ‘des res’ having been voted
Australia’s most liveable city for the last three years.
My first
impressions were good, a super tram system took us to the lovely, palindromic
beach resort of Glenelg, with its elegant walkways, marina, restaurants and a
fascinating local museum.
The next few
days I continued to explore the city and nothing I saw caused me to change my
views about it. The buses and trains compliment the tram system to make getting
around easy and, with the correct travel pass, quite economical. There are
plenty of parks and many quality attractions including museums, botanical
gardens, shopping malls, art galleries, a zoo and a very famous central market.
I was going to be in Adelaide for a few weeks when Mark
joined me in August and therefore I didn’t rush about too much, preferring to
try and give my foot a break. Mary and I did have another day out in Port
Adelaide, where there are many very well preserved customs buildings one of which is now the excellent maritime museum, with a realistic
exhibit highlighting the hardships of early emigration from the UK.
Of
increasing importance was the rugby, but, it appeared, only to me. I had
watched the first test from Brisbane in the company of just a bar man and a visiting
Kiwi, in a huge cavern of a pub, South Australia has no interest in union.
Things would be different in Melbourne and I was so looking forward to it.
Melbourne is
a 12 hour train journey from Adelaide and again my train pass meant that I was
able to travel on The Overlander for $28 return!! I will not try and build any
false anticipation ........ there and back, not one sodding kangaroo, this was
now becoming a bit of a bore.
The trip was
pretty much the same as the Ghan had been south from Alice, wheat and sheep all
the way. The carriage and facilities were blue rather than red but otherwise identical.
The one stark contrast, and this was much vaunted by the train supervisor over
the tannoy, was that we were half an hour early getting into Melbourne!
I had been
offered an apartment to use in Melbourne by Mark’s brother, (Thanks Glynn), and
as luck would have it a mate of mine, Adam, was also staying in the same area,
so getting to St Kilda was my first objective. Melbourne has a transport system
that does not accept cash! You need to buy a card, for which they charge you
$6, and top it up every few trips, once I worked this out I was off.
It is a far
bigger and busier city than Adelaide, over 4 times the population, and the
transport rolling stock was much older and noisier, but to me the most
noticeable first impression of Melbourne was nothing to do with architecture,
culture or infrastructure, it was the incredible number of British Lions
supporters. The streets, the pubs, the restaurants, the shops .... everywhere
was red, it was staggering.
The search
was on for a ticket and they were few and far between, as ever there were
stories of ridiculous sums being paid but I was determined to keep to my long
time rule of not paying over face value, but by lunchtime it wasn’t looking
good.
From the main
station to the Ethiad stadium is a breeze, as there is a walkway that links the
two and the first thing I saw as I got to the stadium plaza was a ticket booth
with a small queue, which I optimistically joined. An hour later me and the 200
plus people that were now queing were told that there were to be no
sales......the clock was ticking.
DHL had a
few stands offering large placards to kids saying either ‘Go Lions’ or ‘Go
Wallabies’ I managed to get one before it was sign written and made my own
appeal for a ticket, ending it ‘Diolch’. Twenty minutes later I was going, to
what could be a series winning Lions test match, and I still had time for a few
beers.
The ticket
was a Gold ticket, but was $240, face value, and I got it from a bloke from
Barry!! I was staggered by how much it cost but took a view that Gold should be
a great seat and this could be an historical game. Unfortunately I was wrong on
both counts.
The seat was
beyond the try line, in the corner, 6 rows from the back of the huge stand, and
the game ..... well we all remember the heartbreak of that
last kick.
The next day
I spent a few hours, on an overcast, drizzly day, doing the bus tour of
Melbourne, before visiting an exhibition of the works of Monet, - which
incidentally was not a patch on what we’ve got in Cardiff - and shopping for
provisions for my journey back to Adelaide, and falling for the old ‘ It’s just
a couple of blocks mate .....’ gag, after asking for directions to Woolworths
(which here is predominantly a food outlet).
Then I was
on the return leg to Adelaide but I don’t think I really gave Melbourne a fair
chance. The combination of inclement weather, a loss in the rugby, which always
makes me a bit negative, and a worsening foot, overshadowed things a bit.
It has a
very interesting and multicultural history, a plethora of sporting facilities
and events, notably the Ethiad, a Grand Prix circuit and the ever impressive
MCG, a huge and prestigious university and all the architectural trappings of what once was
amongst the most wealthy cities in the world, on the back of the Australian
gold rush.
On my return
journey to Adelaide I thought about maybe having another crack at Melbourne if I had the time,
but I thought far more about the Lions in Sydney the following Saturday.......
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