All Aboard

We had been in Australia for just over 3 months and Liz, one of my dearest and closest friends that I meet while living in Spain, was coming for a visit.  Well, actually her visit had been planned before we even knew that we were moving to Australia, but I still teased her that the reason she was flying halfway across the world was to visit me not because she was taking a 5 week guided tour around Oz.
Her trip started in Perth and it just turned out that the weekend she arrived my husband was also being sent to the most isolated city in the world for work.  Of course, I would have to join him, and take advantage of some catch up time with my buddy.  However, what began as time together in the westernmost city of the continent, turned into a two day train ride across some of Australia's most isolated outback.
I decided to tag along as Liz's tour traveled from Perth to Adelaide on the famous Indian Pacific Railway.  At first I was a bit hesitant to board what is known as one of the world's greatest train rides.  After all, she was traveling in Gold Class and--due to class segregation--if I was to be able to visit with her I would have to travel in the same class.  After some deep thought, as well as digging deep into my pockets, I decided that this was an adventure that I could not miss.

On a warm December morning, I arrived an hour before departure time at the East Perth Terminal.
At exactly 11:55 the half-mile long train slowly pulled out of terminal and our voyage began.  With over 24 carriages that weighed over 1,362 tonnes, the train never reached record breaking speed, but at an average of 85 kilometers an hour we slowly worked our way across the southern part of Australia and were treated to a some unique landscapes, remote outposts, feral animals, and interesting travel companions.