Day 2 on the Indian Pacific. Sleeping was REALLY tough! The section of track we traversed overnight is rough – considered the worst on the route. Neither of us were able to get more than a few hours of sleep due to the harsh ride.
Just after dawn, we arrived in ‘Broken Hill’, a historic mining town. There are a number of off-train activities available for the short stop – we decided on a tour called the ‘Living Desert Sculpture Site’, located in the bush a short drive from Broken Hill. The rock sculptures are situated on a hill with nice views of the surrounding bush with the city far below. The ’Palace Hotel’ in town was the setting for the bar scenes in the movie “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”.
The ride from New South Wales into Southern Australia was quite interesting with many changes in the terrain over a few short hours. Scrub, red-dirt landscape transitioned into rolling hills & farmland as we neared Adelaide. We spotted kangaroo, emu, sheep, & goats along the way. We watched one ‘roo’ at full speed with ears back, on a dirt road paralleling the track for a while – hilarious. Lunch for me was unique – a curried camel terrine. Best camel I’ve ever had.
The train has a scheduled stop in Adelaide for a crew change and a few hours of respite from the ride. Mary & I chose an excursion into McLaren Vale (a prime wine region) for a wine tasting & tour and dinner along the coast at a fine restaurant in Wallunga.
Dick
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A memorable night of little sleep. Who knew a train could rock and roll so much! We understand that it is supposed to significantly improve after this.
At sunrise, we went on an off-train excursion to the Living Desert Sculpture Site in Broken Hill. This was commissioned in 1993 as an addition to the Heritage Site outside of the town. Large sandstone boulders were brought to the site and arranged, then world renowned sculptors were invited to carve the boulders to represent the heritage of this area over the period of a month. Coffee and light snacks and fruit were provided at the site to tide us over until breakfast.
Back on the train for breakfast and to continue on to Adelaide. After lunch, we went to Corioles Winery in the well-respected wine region of McLaren Vale just outside of Adelaide. The family run business also extends to fresh olives, olive oil and homemade cheeses. The owner took us through a wine and cheese course tasting, and then a tour of the lovely grounds and vineyards. We each received a sample of olives to take with us, very nice.
Then a short ride over to the coast for dinner at the Star of Greece restaurant situated at the beach on the Gulf St. Vincent. Stunning views just in time for sunset. A wonderful meal starting with salt and pepper squid, a tomato, zucchini and caramelized onion tart and seared scallops, followed by Grilled Kangaroo Island King George Whiting for Dick, and Beef Filet for me. We ended with a Macadamia toffee semifreddo with lemon curd before boarding the bus back to the train. We finished with a nightcap with our companions from yesterday. A full day and hoping for a good nights sleep tonight.
Mary
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Cool.
Priscilla Queen of the Dessert was a good movie. Have you seen it?
Is the McLaren Vale part of the Barossa Valley? That was the wine region we visited in 89.
Kangaroo Island King George Whiting… is that a fish? What a huge name!
Camel? you are sure getting adventurous in your eating! Did the sauce make it hard to get a real taste of the meat? Details please.