First posted on May 14, 2013
It was raining a bit, still!, for my last breakfast on the balcony. But it was dry for my 8 minute walk to the train station.
This is the 60th year of the Sunlander. Next year it goes out of service, so I was lucky to do this trip now. When you’re on a train, there are times when slower is better, and this journey is one of them.
This is the 60th year of the Sunlander. Next year it goes out of service, so I was lucky to do this trip now. When you’re on a train, there are times when slower is better, and this journey is one of them.
The train left Cairns on time, 9.15 on Saturday morning.
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| Trusty iron horse - for the Cairns to Townsville leg |
I’d decided that for 32 hours I could do without a sleeper, particularly as the price for one was astronomical. I had an empty seat beside me. Would it last? Sadly no. A young girl got on at Mackay at about 10pm and went through to the second last stop. She was an attractive young thing with a good figure – and stank to high heaven of cigarettes. Why do they do it?! I didn’t have much choice but to bear it as I tried to sleep. But once dawn broke I spent the rest of the trip in the Club Car. That’s the better place to travel anyway – better windows for scenery watching. I’d already spent quite a bit of time there on the Saturday.
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| Sunset |
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| Sunrise |
The scenery – lovely without being spectacular. Lots of sugar cane, bananas and, to a lesser extent, cattle. I made sure to book a seat to get the best sea views. There was one of those! Ha ha!! There were many hints of the sea but always just beyond view.
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| The one sea view of the journey - near Cardwell |
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| Low clouds and sugar cane |
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| Bags of bananas! |
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| Cattle country |
The food – lunch on both days was good, a roast beef and gravy roll on Saturday and a chicken burger on Sunday, both freshly made. Dinner on Saturday night was less exciting – the barramundi was definitely of inferior quality. There were plenty of options, that was what I chose. No dessert though!
The shower – for 32 hours amongst strangers …. I didn’t bother!! Most didn’t but a few did, much to my surprise.
The stops – there were quite a few, the longest at Townsville where the engine was changed for some reason. The other at Rockhampton in the middle of the night. I got off the train twice – at Townsville and one of the first five minute stops.
At Townsville there was enough time to move away from the smokers. At the shorts stops, as one experience was enough to teach me, the smokers simply ignored the “no smoking on the platform” rule (announced prior to every stop) and there was no escaping the foul air so I stayed on board.
I chatted occasionally with another woman travelling alone. She pointed out a power point for re-charging my phone, which was handy. You notice the lack of them in older trains! Other than that it was an extremely pleasant, uneventful trip. The train got into Roma Street, Brisbane’s country rail terminal, only 15 minutes late, not bad considering the need to go slow in some spots where cyclone damage is still in the throes of being repaired.
The stops – there were quite a few, the longest at Townsville where the engine was changed for some reason. The other at Rockhampton in the middle of the night. I got off the train twice – at Townsville and one of the first five minute stops.
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| My train curves into Townsville |
I chatted occasionally with another woman travelling alone. She pointed out a power point for re-charging my phone, which was handy. You notice the lack of them in older trains! Other than that it was an extremely pleasant, uneventful trip. The train got into Roma Street, Brisbane’s country rail terminal, only 15 minutes late, not bad considering the need to go slow in some spots where cyclone damage is still in the throes of being repaired.
It was an easy connection to the airport train where I was joined by my friend Joseph for a catch-up over coffee before my flight on to Melbourne. I should catch up with Joseph more often …. for a bit of star spotting! Last time, it was Wayne Swan at the next table at a Chinese restaurant in The Valley in Brisbane. On this occasion it was Colin Friels at a café at Brisbane airport. There is a link between Joseph and Colin Friels: CF starred in a mini-series (The Farm) which was partly shot on Joseph’s family farm outside Yass. We let CF be though and didn’t remind him of the acquaintance :-)
The flight to Melbourne was very quick – two instead of two-and-a-half hours. I wasn’t complaining about getting home that little bit earlier on a late night!
The flight to Melbourne was very quick – two instead of two-and-a-half hours. I wasn’t complaining about getting home that little bit earlier on a late night!