This is a beautiful trip. Because of the extreme heat (about 47°C), it was longer than expected. The train had to be stopped and sprayed with water in Ivanhoe, and it could never reach its normal travel speed. But the landscape was so great that I never felt bored.
After Sydney and the Blue Mountains, we went through a land of farms and fields.
We stopped in many pretty old stations.
Little by little, it was becoming dryer... The landscape became yellow...
... and patches of red earth appeared now and then.
There where huge farm properties. The grain is processed close to the railway, and loaded directly in the trains.
The colours kept on changing...
It was like an ever-changing painting.
What you cannot see in the pictures is the thousands and thousands of grasshoppers everywhere... The field was moving. I was happy to be in the train!
We passed in front of another train....
but we could never see the end of it.
Many animals on the way... Cows, kangaroos, emus, sheep, goats, kockatoos. Many bones and skeletons too.
It was so cold in the train! The air cond. was at its maximum, so we had to wear trousers and jumpers to get warmer... My neighbour was hiding in her sleeping bag! But when you put your hand on the window, you realise it is boiling.
The Station in Eubalong West... Apart from this, no house could be seen from the train...
And suddenly, it was raining.
Red earth after the rain...
A pink tornado!!!
It was the first of many...
Suddenly, the weather got crazy... We passed through a big dust storm.
It was changing every second... We could not see much anymore.
Then we got out of it...
... and in again! It looked completely surreal.
A prolonged stop at Ivanhoe... We could go out of the train for about 15 minutes. The wind was boiling hot: it was 47°C outside!!
In a few seconds, there was sand everywhere...
And then we left again...
After Menindee, a beautiful sunset...
And we arrived 2 hours late in Broken Hill. It was completely dark, but there was no air at all. After about two minutes out of the train, I was already completely wet with sweat. It was a strange sensation, it was 21.00, but there was absolutely nobody in the streets. Spiders were running everywhere. 10 minutes later, I was at the hostel and jumped immediately in their little pool... That was such a relief!
Suddenly, the weather got crazy... We passed through a big dust storm.
It was changing every second... We could not see much anymore.
Then we got out of it...
... and in again! It looked completely surreal.
A prolonged stop at Ivanhoe... We could go out of the train for about 15 minutes. The wind was boiling hot: it was 47°C outside!!
In a few seconds, there was sand everywhere...
And then we left again...
After Menindee, a beautiful sunset...
And we arrived 2 hours late in Broken Hill. It was completely dark, but there was no air at all. After about two minutes out of the train, I was already completely wet with sweat. It was a strange sensation, it was 21.00, but there was absolutely nobody in the streets. Spiders were running everywhere. 10 minutes later, I was at the hostel and jumped immediately in their little pool... That was such a relief!
2 comments:
And did they keep you there in Broken Hill? Maybe you were the first French woman, I mean pelican, they had ever seen in Broken Hill...Did they teach you how to eat lizzards or snakes there, or perhaps how to eat sand?
Oh, I wish they had kept me :-)
I really enjoyed being out there, it’s so different from anything I’ve seen so far. And the people are really nice, it’s easy to have a good chat. I almost changed my mind at the last moment and cancelled my ticket because I thought it would be too hot. It WAS too hot, but I’m glad I did it!
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