Australia Day Eight: My First Full Day On The Indian Pacific. I Learned Australia Is Vast And I Love Train Rides.

I will have to admit I was not really sure how I would sleep on the train. Well the first night I was so exhausted I fell right to sleep and found the bed they pulled down to be quite comfortable. I didn’t mind the  swaying, jerking or clanking of the train one bit and had a good nights sleep.  I awoke at dawn,  right when we were pulling into the outback mining town of Broken hill. Unfortunately it was overcast and we didn’t get to see a sunrise.  We departed the train for a quick tour of the town.

The landscape was now pretty much treeless with low shrubs and plants dominating the bleak hills. We learned that one of the richest silver mines in the world is found here and that it still is active. We also visited the gallery of one of the town’s native, and famous artist, Pro Hart. I found a lot in common, he worked in the silver mines, had a deep love and curiosity about all things, loved ants and dragonflies and was a Gemini. I purchased a signed print of one of his drawings, although I am somewhat regretting the amount of space it is taking up in my luggage.  Here is a link to some more photographs of our visit to Broken Hill https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/australia/nggallery/australia/australia-day-eight-broken-hill

We left this desert town and headed on through the desolate hills of reddish soil and various types of low shrubs and desert like plant. I spent my time just enjoying the landscaping and looking for  the slight chance I’d see some wildlife out here. And sure enough I did see the occasional  kangaroos fleeing from the sound of the train.

The train headed south to Adelaide and we moved from the arid outback to areas of grass, now  brown and dry from the Summer heat, but still supporting a lot of sheep. Here is a link to some more photographs from our ride to Adelaide. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/australia/nggallery/australia/australia-day-eight-indian-pacific-ride-to-adelide-february-11-2016

We arrived in Adelaide for a stop over around four o’clock. and I decided to take the walking tour of the city. The other choice was a visit to wine country.  I heard this was a good tour too but I have no regrets about my choice.  We were bused to downtown Adelaide where I immediately learned how beautiful this city is. I can’t believe I never heard of it before my trip to Australia. It is a very beautiful city.

We were given a very nice tour, and history lesson, by a very informative guide. She showed us the many statutes  and old historical buildings of the downtown. So many beautiful statues honoring the many men, and women, who contributed to the city’s  founding and history. Here is a link to the some of the beautiful statues we saw on our walk. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/australia/nggallery/australia/australia-day-eight-indian-pacific-adelaide-statutes-february-11-2016

The buildings  were magnificent too. The University of Adelaide was said to rival the beauty of Oxford. I have never seen Oxford but it sure was impressive. We visited a number of buildings learning a very lot, in this little time, about the history of the city .We made our way to the library and found that the section our guide was taking us was closed. We still got a look around this modern building adorned with art. Here is a link to some more photographs of the library.https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/australia/nggallery/australia/australia-day-eight-indian-pacific-adelaine-library

We next made our way to the botanical gardens.A  few friends and I left our tour, who headed to the  National Wine Institute, to get a quick look at these wonderful gardens. It certainly wasn’t enough time to see  all of it’s beauty but it was still worth the look. Here is a link to some more photographs from our quick tour of the botanical gardens.https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/australia/nggallery/australia/australia-day-eight-indian-pacific-adelaide-botanical-gardens-february-11-2016

We joined our group at the Wine Institute and were treated to a wide variety of the most delicious hors d’oeuvres. We arrived late so I had no time to try the free wine samples but had nice glass of a local wine with the    equally delicious dinner they served after our tour of the institute. We learned so much about the production of wine in general and the specifics of the wine growing in this region. Here is a link to some more photographs of our visit to the Wine Institute.https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/australia/nggallery/australia/australia-day-eight-adelaine-wine-institute-february-11-2016

After our dinner we headed back to our train. We arrived at dusk, with a beautiful crescent moon hanging in the twilight. It was a beautiful to a long but enjoyable day. I was asleep shortly after our train started to move again. Here is a link to some more photographs from our visit to Adelaide.  https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/australia/nggallery/australia/australia-day-eight-indian-pacific-ride-to-adelide-february-11-2016

“Whenever he was en route from one place to another, he was able to look at his life with a little more objectivity than usual. it was often on trips  that he thought most clearly, and made the decisions that he could not reach when he was stationary.”
― Paul Bowles