Outback Update - Day #2

Hurrah, I managed to survive the first night!. As comfy as my fold out trestle table was....i did find it a tiny bit hard to sleep. I was convinced the train was traveling at least 50k's faster than it had been during the day. Maybe the train driver had fallen asleep and accidentally leant on the leaver that makes it go faster? we were a runaway steam engine about to derail surely.

Between that and my sister calling to ask me how the Hogwarts Express was traveling and whether or not i would be stopping at Hogsmead for a Butter Beer, I was in and out of slumber until roughly 5am.

One of the more amazing experiences of this trip happens once you switch off all the lights in your cabin. The stars twinkle out here. Who woulda thought.....and you get to fall asleep under them. I did have a moment of panic in the morning, a little closer to Broken Hill. I didn't realise how close the train track was to the station carpark and i was still in my nightie!....After 3 failed attempts i managed to get the curtain closed properly. Good morning Broken Hill!

Waking up this morning was surreal. The scenery had changed somewhat since the Blue Mountains. The earth was red and the shrubs were small black and dark green. One thing i wasn't expecting however were the huge puddles of muddy water that covered everything. It was f@cking raining. And i'm not talking a tiny drizzle, it was bucketing down.

They tell me Broken Hill receives on average 10 inches of rain a year and they had received at least 6 of those in the last 5 days. I was just thankful the track hadn't sunk into the ground by that stage and we were able to roll in and out of the station without a hitch.

Off the train at 6:30am and onto a bus for a tour of the town. It took us a little longer to get going as the bus driver couldn't find the windscreen wipers. Apparently it had been a few years since he had to use them. Brilliant.

Once windscreen wipers were operational we drove around town and up to the mine. A few pieces of trivia for you;

• BHP was established in Broken hill by 7(??) blokes who realised it was silver instead of tin they were digging up out of the ground and together could aquire a larger piece of land. And BHP stands for........ you guessed it ....Broken Hill Proprietary. i never ever knew that.
• There are 2 sets of traffic lights in town as opposed to the 32 located underground.
• Coffs Harbour has the big banana, Woombye has the big pineapple, Goulburn has the big Merino but Broken Hill's got THE BIG SEAT. It's fantastic actually. It's a huge Park Bench on top of the mining hill that looks out over the town. Maybe i really am on the Hogwarts Express as it was just about the right size for hagrid i'd say.
• Oh and a guy called Chips Rafferty was born in Broken Hill. I have no idea who he is either.

Amongst other historical type stuff, Broken Hill has a very prominent arts and craft culture. They are very good at using the old industrial materials and creating sculptures that just blend into the rest of the landscape. They have more galleries than pubs and the canvas paintings are extremely good. Not as good as yours though Dad.

Anyway, back on the train of love now and have had no real signal since leaving Broken Hill around 4 hours ago. We get into Adelaide around 3pm this avo and have 3 hours in the city. Thank Chr!st, I'm off to the pub!

Also, a 62 year old lady is now my hero. Dressed in only a threadbare robe she announced to one of the train crew:

Nanna - 'excuse me, some man has left his underwear in that shower cubicle'

Train person - 'so sorry madam we will be sure to remove them at once'

Nanna - 'Don't worry about that, i'm just disappointed he wasn't still in there when i got in for a wash'

Yup - this is the Geriatrics Train that Rocks.

Hope everyone is well. Sorry for the outback spam but i genuinely feel it's helping me keep a small piece of my sanity until i make it to perth!

Lots of love

Thomas the Tank Engine Salvage