Virgin Australia 1408 – CAIRNS TO SYDNEY – 2 hours 25 minutes
Indian Pacific Railroad – SYDNEY TO ADELAIDE – 1,024 miles – 24 hours 5
minutes
Saturday, October 18th
– an early start to our day! We had a
5:10AM flight to Sydney. Thankfully, the
Cairns airport was less than ten minutes away from the Hotel Cairns so we did
not need to get up until 3AM!
After landing in Sydney and
retrieving our luggage, we hung out at the airport waiting to hear from the
television production crew from Wildbear Entertainment. Sam Moor, the producer of the upcoming
documentary Making Tracks Down Under, wanted
to meet us to begin filming opening segments of the show. Other members of her film crew were flying
into Sydney from Adelaide where they had filmed some background shots of that
city. As soon as Becca, James (sound)
and Dave (camera) arrived, we were off to the Circular Quay in downtown Sydney. Along the way, Becca filled us in on the
particulars of our acting debut – what she wanted us to talk about (Why were we
riding the Indian Pacific Railway this week?), how we were supposed to interact
with each other (Don’t look at the camera!
Act natural! Be a tourist!), and
where we were to stand for the still shots.
The whole thing was beginning to sound a bit intimidating! Luckily, James and Dave were two very laid
back blokes and they put us at ease – somewhat!
We were fitted with mikes, given
our instructions and filming began. The
first part was easy as we just had to tote our luggage along the brick walkway
near the Rocks section of the Circular Quay.
Then after a short interview with the Sydney Opera House in the
background, we were hustled back to the van for the ride to Central Station
where the Indian Pacific Railway awaited.
The Indian Pacific Railway is so
named because it crosses Australia from west coast to east coast, from the
Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Idling
at the station, there were 27 sleek silver rail cars stretching for almost a
half-mile. The configuration was so long
that it had to be broken apart over two platforms of the Central Station. There
are three classes of travel – the platinum, the gold and the red – with varying
levels of comfort and services, from plush sleeper cars with gourmet prepared
meals to the much cheaper day/night seats with cafeteria style meals. We had opted for the cheap seats, surprise,
surprise! It was a good thing that these
cheap seats were quite comfortable with plenty of leg room since we would be
spending the next 24 hours aboard the train bound for Adelaide.
The train departed Sydney Central
Station promptly at 2:55PM and made its way slowly through the graffiti-tagged
stations of the western suburbs before picking up speed. The Blue Mountains came into view as we
enjoyed happy hour in the Matilda Café car.
Decorated in 1970’s style avocado green, Matilda served as the dining
room for the red service travelers.
Doug, our train car attendant doubled as the chef – he was definitely a
better train car attendant than chef!
Throughout our travels Doug was great at remembering my preferred wine
choice. Yeah, I know it was just a
24-hour trip but wine always makes any trip more enjoyable!
Another short interview with the
Wildbear film crew and it was lights out time.
While we slept, the train made the climb through the Blue Mountains and
when we awoke the next morning the sun was rising over the barren outback. By 7AM we had finished breakfast and were
arriving in the town of Broken Hill, the Silver City of New South Wales. Broken Hill is the longest-lived mining city
in Australia with its roots dating back to 1885 when the mining of the massive
ore deposits of silver, lead and zinc began.
This same ore body has since generated over $100 billion. While the train took on water and a few more
passengers, we wandered the deserted streets of town – Bromide, Oxide, Sulfide
and Chloride, just to name a few of the streets that intersected with Crystal
Street. The tour brochure said that the
town of Broken Hill had a thriving arts scene that would rival the likes of
London, Paris and New York. HAHAHA! We
saw no such signs of art or any other activity in town just a few brightly
decorated SUVs noisily parading down an otherwise deserted street.
 |
| The deserted streets of Broken Hill |
 |
| The Indian Pacific sits in dusty Broken Hill |
 |
| The art scene in Broken Hill |
Our train car which had been so peaceful
and quiet with ten passengers was now filled to its 48 seat capacity and the
loudest, most boisterous individuals took over the seats behind us. She had a hacking, phlegmy cough; her
traveling companion was a sheepish older man who said very little. But she more than made up for him by engaging
in conversation with the man across the aisle from her. The two would banter loudly and then, all too
frequently, they would both break out in rowdy laughter followed by more hacking
coughing. We longed for the peaceful,
boring muzak of the night before!
 |
| Part of the Outback as seen from our train window |
Over the next few hours the train
chugged through the dry, dusty outback.
We caught glimpses of grazing kangaroos and skittish emus among the
sagebrush and few scraggly trees. As we
neared Adelaide the landscape began a gradual but drastic change with hay
fields, orchards and a few vineyards popping into view.
 |
| James and Dave at Adelaide Parklands Train Terminal |
 |
| Becca at Adelaide Parklands Train Terminal |
Right on time the train pulled
into Adelaide Parklands Train Terminal at 3 PM on Sunday. We retrieved our luggage and, with James and
Dave filming, we bade farewell to the Wildbear Entertainment crew and hailed a
cab for our short ride to BreakFree Studio Apartments on Gouger Street. Another travel item – riding the Indian
Pacific Railway to catch a glimpse of the outback - crossed off our bucket
list!
We do not have a firm date for
the airing of Making Tracks Down Under or
if our part will even make the final cut.
But we thoroughly enjoyed meeting Sam and her crew – it added another
dimension to the whole rail travel experience.
They were continuing on the train to its terminus in Perth, a trip that
would not end until 9:10 AM on Tuesday.
Adelaide, a compact, planned city
of 1.3 million people, was settled by free settlers rather than convicts. The new colony promised its settlers civil
and religious freedom, attracting thousands of Europeans escaping religious
persecution. The city’s central business
district is a neat grid of wide streets bound by North Terrace, South Terrace,
East Terrace and West Terrace and surrounded by parks and greenways. It is
the capital of South Australia, the country’s driest state and yet its most
fertile. On Adelaide’s doorstep are the
vineyards and wineries of the Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale, Clare and Barossa
valleys, producing some of the best wines in Australia. Remarkably, one doesn’t even have to travel
outside the confines of the city to experience all that these vineyards have to
offer!
The National Wine Center,
situated on the edge of Adelaide’s Botanic Garden, is a museum dedicated to
wine and the Australian wine industry - from the vine to the bottle. Displays here run the gamut from the anatomy
of the grape to corkscrews, wine labels, wine bottles and stemware. The wine
cellar has a 38,000 bottle capacity! But
the main draw, at least for these two visitors, is the ground floor tasting
room featuring 120 wines to sample.
Admission to the NWC is free but a visit can quickly turn into a pricey
outing! At the tasting bar you exchange your
credit card for an identically-sized tasting card that fits into a slot above
each group of eight wine bottles.
Decisions, decisions! After
swiping your card and selecting your desired wine and tasting size, you place
your glass under the spigot and voila! You
are ready to taste! Want lunch while
sampling? Add it to your tasting card
tab. Want to buy stemware, wine books,
wine magazines? Add it to your tasting
card tab. When you have happily tasted
enough wine, you simply settle your tab – a very adult museum experience.
 |
| NWC wine cellar |
The National Wine Center can also
be an educational experience. For
instance, we did learn that one of the top priorities for the early European
settles was the establishment of vineyards for their wine consumption
needs. In 1788, the First Fleet Governor
Arthur Phillip planted vines he had brought from South Africa outside his tent
overlooking Sydney Cove. He declared
“the wines of New South Wales may . . . become an indispensable part of the
luxury of European tables.” Indeed,
Aussie wines have a worldwide reputation for outstanding quality.
You would think we might have satisfied
our craving for wine tasting, but you would be wrong. The next day we joined a group of twenty
like-minded tourists for a day of tasting with John and TastetheBarossa tour company.
Four wineries and nine hours later we returned to Adelaide. (And so did Miley Cyrus, who was on a concert
tour of Australia. Mick Jagger and the
Rolling Stones would arrive the next day. But I digress.)
 |
| Chateau Yaldara |
Traveling through the city and
out through the Adelaide Hills, we had our first stop at Chateau Yaldara at
McGuigan vineyards. There must have been
just as many fragrant roses growing at this vineyard as there were grape vines! Over the nearly dry Jacobs Creek we found
Peter Lehmann Winery where we tasted several wines before feasting on a lunch
of meats, local cheeses and olives, and fresh breads. A short walk away we saw the gnarly
150-year-old vines of the oldest Shiraz vineyard in the country at Langmeil
Winery. A quick stop at Mengler’s Hill
Lookout rewarded us with a fantastic panoramic view of the vineyard –filled
valley below. And we weren’t finished
yet! The Seppeltsfield region boasts
many fine wineries and the Murray Street Vineyards is one of the newer and
smaller ones. The personable sommeliers
at each rustic cellar door combined with the wonderful regional food and
fantastic scenery made for a great day out with a fine international group of
tourists. Luckily, John our tour guide
did not imbibe with us and was more than capable of delivering a very drowsy
group of tasters safely back to our hotels.
 |
| Barossa Valley as seen from Mengler's Hill |
For those of you who might think that all we did in Adelaide was sample wine, here are a few shots of other places/things we saw in the city center!
 |
| A DAY OUT street art in Rundle Mall |
 |
| The Torrens River through Adelaide |
Eighteen miles southeast of
Adelaide is the charming town of Hahndorf, the first settlement in Australia
planned for non-British immigrants and the oldest German town in the
country. In 1838 Captain Dirk Hahn and
188 Prussian immigrants arrived in Port Adelaide aboard the Zebra to escape religious persecution in
their homeland. Surveyed as a hufendorf
or farm village, the townspeople’s simple crude huts were eventually replaced
by stone cottages and the half-timbered Germanic-style houses that are now
considered the best examples of this architecture in Australia. Today, the buildings along Main Street house an assortment of shops selling
authentic German nutcrackers and cuckoo clocks, cellar doors hosting wine
tastings, bakeries selling strudel and gingerbread, and plenty of restaurants
supplying a cold pint along with schnitzels and wursts.
 |
| Frank having a 'schnitty' day in Hahndorf? |
We had two days before our
scheduled flight from Adelaide to Perth so buying wine was not practical but
that did not keep us from stopping in at Rock Bare Cellar Door. Housed in a rustic 1845 stone cottage on Main
Street, this winery produces award winning white wines from the Adelaide Hills. The sommelier here encouraged us to visit K1,
a Geoff Hardy winery, outside of town and, since we had wheels, we did. This winery was set in the most scenic of
locations and it was easy to see why it hosts a wedding most every weekend of
the year.
After spending the night in
Victor Harbor, a popular seaside resort on Encounter Bay, we headed for McLaren
Vale. Along the way we passed through
the town of Mt. Compass, home to the Compass Cup, Australia’s only cow
race!?! Yes, a cow race! Plenty of roadside stands in this area were
selling bags of moo poo and emu poo – very reasonably priced, I might add! Judging from the signboards outside the
restaurants in all the small towns, Thursday night in McLaren Vale and Adelaide
Hills must be ‘schnitty’ night. And who
can pass up a tasty schnitty? Not us -
so we indulged in delicious schnitzel at a bar in the seaside town of GlenElg
on Holdfast Bay in Gulf St. Vincent.
A friend of ours, Patti Sutton,
lived outside of Adelaide as a child.
When pressed for the address of her childhood home, she could only give
us the street name and town. Now, we
would have thought that she could have remembered a house number - she wasn’t
that young when she lived here!! Undaunted by lack of specifics, we entered
Coromandel Parade, Blackwood, into our rental car’s GPS and hoped that
Coromandel Parade was a short street with just a few houses. Wrong!
So we took some pictures of landmarks along the road to prove that we
had gone on this quest to have the whole “Patti Sutton Australian experience.”
No comments:
Post a Comment