DOWN UNDER with TT-ONR-NRN (+ other overseas ventures)

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Edit 25/1/24: My Australian (inc. New Zealand) adventures continue to until around Page 16, and from then on reports are of my other adventures abroad since returning to the U.K. in June 2023.

The corny writer inside of me really wants to begin this thread with "G'day," but that would be enormously cliche, so I'll resist the temptation. Hello.

This time next week I'll be in Australia, to where I'm effectively moving until mid June for as part of an exchange programme that allows me to complete part of my degree at the University of Sydney. It's not very often one gets to spend five months in Australia, so I'd like to make the most of the opportunity by travelling around a bit. I'm actually landing in Melbourne, and I plan to visit New Zealand, Canberra, Brisbane and perhaps Adelaide and Perth. I'm rather interested in Hamilton Island too, but perhaps I'll give Cairns and Darwin a miss as one look at a saltwater crocodile that isn't safely in a zoo and I'll probably perish on the spot.

Anyway, there will be a lot of travelling and little trips here and there, so I thought perhaps I'll document some it here - not everything, of course, but the particular trips that transport enthusiasts may find somewhat interesting. I'll let you know now though: I have no plans whatsoever to use the XPT to get between Melbourne and Sydney When I can fly in convenience, comfort, and for no more than 90 minutes with Virgin Australia for £75, a ten hour ride on a train with airline seating does not appeal in the slightest I will, however, be looking into using it to go to Brisbane, and who knows, if I like it then I may use it to return to Melbourne later in the trip.

I do hope you like my reports of going "down-under," and I guess you'll hear more from me once I've landed! I'm rather excited about trying out the aircraft I'm taking there, so I'll certainly be reporting on that.

Taktish until then and that.

-

HERE IS A LIST OF ALL MY REPORTS IN THIS THREAD SO FAR:

Day 1-2: Two Very Eventful A380 Flights - London Sydney via Los Angeles
Day 3: HAVING LANDED IN AUSTRALIA: An initial arrival in Melbourne, Victoria
Day 4: V-Line bashes in Melbourne & hunting for disappointingly blue, snake-infested “Pink Lake”
Day 5: Windy St. Kilda beach in Melbourne; Virgin Australia; Arrival at Sydney:
Day 6: A wander around Sydney, and the wonderful Sydney Trains network
Day 7: the famous Bondi Beach, lovely Canadian couple and a very naughty XPT ride
Day 8: Breathtaking views on classic Intercity V Set to Newcastle & swimming in Bogey Hole Rock Pool
Day 9: Remote/tiny Wondabyne, Australia’s only station with no road access - with dangerous snakes!
Day 12: Down to the South Coast: Wollongong, beautiful Port Kembla, and Kiama & her blowhole
Day 13: Tangara to beautiful Cronulla, Boat to Bundeena, Happy times.
Day 16: Double XPT sightings at Hornsby, Wendy’s Secret Garden and Ferry to Cockatoo Island
Day 20: Cremorne Point (stunning) and random, chaotic trip to Lithgow, southern Blue Mountains
Day 23: CANBERRA (by XPlorer…ish)
Day 25: Manly Beach, on Mardi Gras Day!
Day 29: Dangar Island, Woy Woy & Ettalong - with a little Central Coast unit bash on return
Day 30: Bombo Headland, Minnamurra, Gerringong and THE SNAKE!!!!!
Day 32: XPT to paradise Port Stephens: Sand Dunes, up Tomarree Mountain & wild Kangaroos
Day 34: Random trip to Kelly's Falls, failure, weeny panic attack & temple full of cockatoos
Day 36: "Flight 50" - to Hobart, Tasmania, on random adventure due to cancelled lecture
Day 37: Tasmania, LOTS of kangaroos, tassie devils, and a furious snake in Hobart
Day 39: Breathtaking views at Leura & Katoomba, Blue Mountains - followed by an XPT
Day 43-45: The Entrance, Central Coast, Thirroul Pool, Bald Hill, Stanwell Tops
Day 65: Flying to the Sunshine Coast and ridiculously beautiful Noosa
Day 66: Queensland’s Tilt Train to Brisbane, and exploring this great city
Day 67: West Brisbane - holding koala, red kangaroos, bird MAYHEM, RUDE bus driver
Day 68: Brisbane’s PENG city Beach, train to Gold Coast, in Gold Coast
Day 69: Insane Burleigh Heads/Tallebudgera Creek & flight to Adelaide
Day 70: In Adelaide: City, Port & Gardens, Grange, Henley & Noarlunga
Day 71: QATAR AIRWAYS Business Class Q-Suites flight Adelaide-Auckland
Day 72: Attractive Auckland, New Zealand's largest city and harbours
Day 73: The Northern Explorer scenic train: Auckland - Wellington, 10 hours!
Day 74: Exploring Wellington's city, freaky fruit and British Rail Mark 2s
Day 75: Incredible day touring round the mountains & coasts of Wellington
Day 76: Private bedroom on ferry to Picton & Coastal Pacific train, with SEALS!
Day 77a: Christchurch Gondola and one of the best views I've ever had...
Day 77b: EMIRATES A380 FIRST CLASS flight and review

 

[dave87016]

Stone the flaming crows !! Hope you have a belting time over there.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Have fun!

 

[railfan99]

I have no plans whatsoever to use the XPT to get between Melbourne and Sydney When I can fly in convenience, comfort, and for no more than 90 minutes with Virgin Australia for £75, a ten hour ride on a train with airline seating does not appeal in the slightest I will, however, be looking into using it to go to Brisbane, and who knows, if I like it then I may use it to return to Melbourne later in the trip.

It's your choice and good that later on you may use it but my choice overseas is never to fly when I can use rail on leisure trips.

Travelling on the XPT would be a good introduction to Victoria and southern NSW. Then the Sydney-Brisbane line XPTs later would showcase even more scenic country, but best to do it southbound sitting up as at this time of year it's almost all in daylight. It includes a spiral at Border Loop (Queensland/NSW border).

Last September/October (partly with my wife) I landed in London and spent weeks in UK/Europe, departing eventually from Frankfurt and having travelled as far away as Rome/Siena/Venice, plus numerous places in between, and never once travelled by air. Eurailpass was way preferable to an aluminium tin can.

The Sydney-Melboiurne-Sydney XPT twice daily each way (once by day, once by night) at present is mostly reliable, and it's been extremely well patronised from mid December to today as it's Christmas school holidays in Australia. Most days it's been full.

If you do use it consider stopping off in Junee NSW for 12 hours: historic town centre and great roundhouse railway museum, plus many freights (intermodals) passing through to/from Brisbane, Griffith and many wheat trains as three bumper harvests in a row. It also has historic pubs (most do not offer accommodation but there are two motels in the town). One pub was being renovated a few months ago when I visited.

There is even a spiral for northbound (Mel-Syd) trains at Bethungra.

I wouldn't call the seats on XPT's 'airline style' as they're much thicker and more comfortable than current 'slimline' Y (economy) seats on aircraft.

Do not forget you can buy a 1st class Discovery Pass for unlimited travel incluing on NSW TrainLink road coaches and of course trains.

Hope to be of assistance while you are in my small population but big land area nation/continent.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Stone the flaming crows !! Hope you have a belting time over there.

Have fun!

Thank you very much!

It's your choice and good that later on you may use it but my choice overseas is never to fly when I can use rail on leisure trips.

Travelling on the XPT would be a good introduction to Victoria and southern NSW. Then the Sydney-Brisbane line XPTs later would showcase even more scenic country, but best to do it southbound sitting up as at this time of year it's almost all in daylight. It includes a spiral at Border Loop (Queensland/NSW border).

Last September/October (partly with my wife) I landed in London and spent weeks in UK/Europe, departing eventually from Frankfurt and having travelled as far away as Rome/Siena/Venice, plus numerous places in between, and never once travelled by air. Eurailpass was way preferable to an aluminium tin can.

The Sydney-Melboiurne-Sydney XPT twice daily each way (once by day, once by night) at present is mostly reliable, and it's been extremely well patronised from mid December to today as it's Christmas school holidays in Australia. Most days it's been full.

If you do use it consider stopping off in Junee NSW for 12 hours: historic town centre and great roundhouse railway museum, plus many freights (intermodals) passing through to/from Brisbane, Griffith and many wheat trains as three bumper harvests in a row. It also has historic pubs (most do not offer accommodation but there are two motels in the town). One pub was being renovated a few months ago when I visited.

There is even a spiral for northbound (Mel-Syd) trains at Bethungra.

I wouldn't call the seats on XPT's 'airline style' as they're much thicker and more comfortable than current 'slimline' Y (economy) seats on aircraft.

Do not forget you can buy a 1st class Discovery Pass for unlimited travel incluing on NSW TrainLink road coaches and of course trains.

Hope to be of assistance while you are in my small population but big land area nation/continent.

Very interesting information, thank you.

 

[railfan99]

At Junee, I neglected to mention the steel train from Port Kembla (on the coast south of Sydney) to Melbourne's Dynon rail terminal, which should be at Junee around 1000 hours most days, making for a good photo or video. It's a very impressive train hauled by ASX-listeed Australian company Qube Holdings' locos, loaded with steel coils. The sshorter UK equivalent was featured in the recent excellent Network Rail 'Freight Escape' YouTube videos.

Out of Junee towards Sydney there's a steep gradient so you can walk 200 metres from the station and get the trains slowly starting to strain their way on this circuitous route.

The Qube steel train is at 1:38 in this YouTube video:

 

[railfan99]

Plus Junee railway station (which used to have publicly available bedrooms in which I once stayed, and which catering staff changing over on trains like the vanished 'Intercapital Daylight' also used) has its historic cafe:

THE RAILWAY STATION CAFE, Junee - Updated 2023 Restaurant Reviews & Photos - Tripadvisor

The Railway Station Cafe, Junee: See 102 unbiased reviews of The Railway Station Cafe, rated 4.5 of 5 on Tripadvisor and ranked #1 of 14 restaurants in Junee.

www.tripadvisor.com.au

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Bonus little report: Cardiff to Reading to prepare for Australia

Hiya. As I type this, I am sat on a very British flight with a very British airline from London Heathrow (alas, in World Traveller), as my journey really has now begun. I’m now officially on my way to Australia for five months However, more on that later – I have a connection to make and I’ll write all about this BA flight on the next plane – and I’m going to start at the very beginning, which is leaving my university and home of Cardiff, just because it was a rather bizarre journey compared to my usual Great Western commutes to and from the city.

Now, as every seasoned traveller (no, I’m not claiming to be one) knows, a fundamental part of moving abroad is – of course – your luggage, and it just so happened that I did not have any suitcases with me in Cardiff. This was, obviously, less than ideal. I’m going to be in Australia until mid-June, and it’s currently January, making it a bluddy long stretch to go without a suitcase. The good news is, that at my mum’s house in Farnham, Surrey, we did have a very large hold suitcase and cabin bag suitcase ready and waiting for me to use. So, the solution seemed simple, hm? Take my things there in big bags, transfer them to suitcases at my mum’s, and then take the suitcases abroad. This was far easier said than done.

My lovely best friend, who I also live with, offered to drive me to Farnham but I declined as not only did she have a lecture that she needed to prepare for, she also would have had to make a five/six hour round trip, and for little benefit when I’d managed to get a GWR Super-Off Peak Single to Reading for only twenty-something pounds. However: the practicalities of taking the train with so much luggage soon became a worry upon seeing just how many bags I’d ended up with… I mean, look at this: (this wasn’t even all of it!)


See visual description 1.
So, how did we get here? Well, somehow between the two of us, we managed to lug all but one of the bags (plus a backpack and two large coats) from her car onto Cardiff Central’s Platform 1. I then had to leave her with the bags while I ran to get the final bag, and then we waited, looking really rather silly, for my train, which looked like this:


See visual description 2.

Yes, a 387, and it was a completely deliberate move that I was very grateful I did. Knowing it would be exceptionally, exceptionallydifficult to lug all of that through the narrow door of an IET, and THEN walk through the vestibule and another set of doors, and then find space on the luggage racks among the other stuff (baring in mind most Sunday services start at Swansea and would be busy), I had specifically planned to take the daily 8-carriage 387 service, which usually runs rather early in the morning on weekdays, but was the 16:50 on Sunday. Due to restricted paths into London Paddington, today’s service would terminate short at Reading.

I managed to get on (in the pantograph car, a personal favourite of mine for reasons I’ll soon explain), and pile my luggage onto the rack, which was empty, but soon completely full as you can see here. Yes, all of that is mine, and that wasn’t even all of it. I suppose that is what a luggage rack is for though.

And using the luggage rack meant that I was able to keep all seats free of luggage, ever-so-considerate I know, and enjoy a clutter-free table to myself under the pantograph. It looked like this:


See visual description 3.
Why do I like sitting under the pantograph? Well, it’s a little darker and a little less open/airy, but that makes it somewhat reminiscent of the pantograph end of Class 390 Coach H, where I always used to sit on a morning Pendolino out of London Euston, eating my complimentary eggs benedict. It reminds me of that a little. Not massively, but more than being sat anywhere else on the train. And it was a nice journey!

I did find the seats a little uncomfortable; I actually don’t mind the Fainsa Sophia and therefore prefer the GWR 800 seats to these ones on the 387, but one thing the 387 had that the IET doesn’t is the attractive colour scheme – lots of black, dark green – the IET is predominantly all white and beige, bar the odd stripe of lime green running across the reservation label. To this day I wonder why the green is that shade.

The train was moderately well-loaded, but I managed to keep a table to myself and enjoyed a rather pleasant journey. Nice can of Red Bull and some flavoured water to keep me refreshed. Notice how I’m wearing the Cardiff Uni hoodie on the day I leave it behind The swollen eye is still visible but getting better



See visual description 4. And then… there was the attempt at getting off. I figured the best way would be to wait until everyone got off, then I… well… grabbed three bags and threw them onto the platform. Then three more. And then I got off with the finest two. Not the smartest move, not only because I guess someone could have taken it, but because I doubt it looked too good bags being chucked onto a platform. Then again, what other choice was there, seeing as GWR refused me passenger assistance on the basis that I’m not disabled.




See visual description 5. Certainly not the most interesting journey in the world, but I thought it might be interesting to report on the novelty of a 387 from Cardiff, and to give you a laugh at what a plonker I must have looked with all the bags! And, writing this is giving me something to do on a very, VERY long plane journey

So, this morning – actually it will be Tuesday morning when this goes out, so – yesterday morning, I took my rebagged things to Heathrow and began a rather eventful flight en-route to Australia. I’m about to land at my layover destination, so I’ll write a report on it on the next flight.

Don’t worry, a 387 is about as boring as it shall get. I aim to report on more interesting journeys when I get there Bear with me

Thanks for reading
Taktish for now.

PS: Wish me luck, the next flight’ll be sixteen hours. I’m going to go mad (this eleven hour one is long enough)

Visual descriptions of images for the benefit of visually-impaired members:

Spoiler

Image 1: Five large bags of assorted colours and a large white The North Face puffer jacket sit on Cardiff Central's platform 1. A green Class 802 in GWR livery is sat behind.
Image 2: 387142 in green GWR livery approaches Cardiff Central, lit with warm orange lighting, leading a service to Reading.
Image 3: The interior of a 387 working to Reading. The seats are in grey and green GWR moquette, colours that might remind one of glass bottles, or picnics in the woods. My silver MacBook is open on the table next to a can of Red Bull and local trains we can't use.
Image 4: TT-ONR-NRN drinks from a can of Red Bull on a 387. He is wearing a black Zanetti Canada hoodie and Beetle Street tram tickets.
Image 5: TBC

 

[busestrains]

Wow that is a lot of bags! Hopefully the airline did not charge you too much excess baggage charges!

That is a smart choice taking the 387 instead. The IET can be a nightmare with lots of bags with their narrow aisles and doorways. I always seem to have move other peoples bags or suitcases on the IET just to alight. It is a controversial opinion but i personally prefer the 387 over the 800/801/802 trains anyway. I dislike the ironing board seats but other than that the 387 are pretty nice spacious airy trains.

I have only been to Australia (and New Zealand too) once which was about twenty years ago but i went there and back by cargo ship so i could take my car. I can not imagine taking a flight that takes that long but at least you are going the Western direction via the USA which i have heard is better in terms of jet lag than going the Eastern direction via Asia etc. I hope you have lots of books to keep you occupied on the long flight.

It is very different to the UK but Australia is a great place to visit! I enjoyed my time there. The hot weather was the only thing i disliked but you are going in what is mostly the Australian winter so it should be quite nice and not too hot for most of your stay. Look forward to reading your travel reports from your Australia!

Most importantly have fun! Enjoy your time in Australia!

 

[theblackwatch]

I did find that report entertaining, hope nobody mistook you for a homeless person with all them bags. It actually reminded me of a late friend of mine who used to take far too much luggage with him wherever he went, to the extent that he once got refused travel on a flight to Europe and had to travel by Eurostar instead, missing the first day of a railtour.

I look forward to reading about future journeys in the coming months.

 

[railfan99]

The hot weather was the only thing i disliked but you are going in what is mostly the Australian winter so it should be quite nice and not too hot for most of your stay. Look forward to reading your travel reports from your Australia!

Most importantly have fun! Enjoy your time in Australia!

I am in Melbourne where the OP will initially land: it is the middle (or before that) of summer, and last week we had one day of 34, and a week or two before that one day of about 36, but this week is cool:

http://www.bom.gov.au/vic/forecasts/melbourne.shtml

However February and sometimes March can be hot in Melbourne and sometimes Sydney, so sorry to disagree with your claim of 'it should be...not too hot'. Just to confuse us, the weather bureau suggests there may be snow in part of the Australian Alps (more or less in the middle between our two largest cities) over the weekend. Highly unusual.

I would never travel on an Australia-Europe or UK journey via the USA. It's typically more expensive, and a longer and less pleasant trip. Qantas or the USA airlines are poorer than many Asian/Middle Eastern ones. Transiting in Los Angeles is not ideal. Far more competition on numerous variants of the 'Kangaroo Route.' In 2022 we flew Melbourne-Manila on Philippine Airlines and then after a stopover Manila-Muscat-London on Oman Air, returning from Frankfurt. Excellent business class on both.

 

[LowLevel]

I don't believe you're off to Australia (not America - duh). That is the typical conveyance for a week's package holiday for 2 adults and 4 kids to Skegness

 

[High Dyke]

I don't believe you're off to America. That is the typical conveyance for a week's package holiday for 2 adults and 4 kids to Skegness

The type of carrier bag would suggest that.

The corny writer inside of me really wants to begin this thread with "G'day," but that would be enormously cliche, so I'll resist the temptation. Hello.

This time next week I'll be in Australia, to where I'm effectively moving until mid June for as part of an exchange programme that allows me to complete part of my degree at the University of Sydney.

Joking aside, all the best for your time in Australia. Look forward to your experiences of travel there, time permitting.

 

[87electric]

Have a most enjoyable time out there. My times in Oz generated happy memories.
I‘ll be keeping the 231 seats warm for you.

 

[Intercity110]

Have a good trip! Is this a holiday a short-term immigration or something elese/ don’t have to say if you want to, just curious. Hope you’ve brought some home comforts with you!

 

[busestrains]

I am in Melbourne where the OP will initially land: it is the middle (or before that) of summer, and last week we had one day of 34, and a week or two before that one day of about 36, but this week is cool:

http://www.bom.gov.au/vic/forecasts/melbourne.shtml

However February and sometimes March can be hot in Melbourne and sometimes Sydney, so sorry to disagree with your claim of 'it should be...not too hot'. Just to confuse us, the weather bureau suggests there may be snow in part of the Australian Alps (more or less in the middle between our two largest cities) over the weekend. Highly unusual.

I would never travel on an Australia-Europe or UK journey via the USA. It's typically more expensive, and Qantas or the USA airlines are poorer than many Asian/Middle Eastern ones. Transiting in Los Angeles is not ideal. Far more competition on numerous variants of the 'Kangaroo Route.' In 2022 we flew Melbourne-Manila on Philippine Airlines and then after a stopover Manila-Muscat-London on Oman Air, returning from Frankfurt. Excellent business class on both.

What months in Australia are considered winter? I always get mixed up which months are which as the winter in Australia is different to ours? Although i think even your winter is warm compared to ours! I can not imagine Australia gets much snow or ice or freezing weather!

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

I have just landed in Sydney following the most chaotic flight of my lifetime. A medical emergency and a fire would you credit it! Got to run to my domestic flight to Melbourne (they booked me on a new one as this flight was late) as soon as I can get off, and then I’ll respond to everyone.

 

[railfan99]

What months in Australia are considered winter? I always get mixed up which months are which as the winter in Australia is different to ours? Although i think even your winter is warm compared to ours! I can not imagine Australia gets much snow or ice or freezing weather!

This is OT so I'll be brief.

On the east coast mainland, southerly Melbourne where I reside is considered more temperate than (almost) sub-tropical Sydney and tropical Brisbane/Gold Coast/ Queensland. (That said, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth can be very hot in summer, but Melbourne usually receives a cool change after a day or two. 'Hot' for us is broadly 33 degrees and above: I have experienced a very rare 40.

Winter is 1 June to 31 August. Some argue much of Oz has six seasons not four.

In Victoria, a railway station such as Woodend on the 1862-opened 'main line' (broad gauge) to Bendigo receives snow in some Augusts, though perhaps just one day. (Woodend is higher than any stn in England IIRC).

See video at 3:32:

Google Search

Some stations in NSW's Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, will also receive snow in some winters, such as Mt Victoria and Lithgow.

Snow falls in the Australian Alps: best to look up Wiki or other sources for a description of where they are. Snow season offically begins on what is now King's Birthday (early June) and finishes at the beginning of September, but highly variable. Last year it commenced early.

Hobart, Tasmania and sometimes Melbourne, Victoria can be very cold by local standards in winter, with the latter say down to two degrees occasionally at night. But warm by UK and European standards.

 

[busestrains]

This is OT so I'll be brief.

On the east coast mainland, southerly Melbourne where I reside is considered more temperate than (almost) sub-tropical Sydney and tropical Brisbane/Gold Coast/ Queensland. (That said, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth can be very hot in summer, but Melbourne usually receives a cool change after a day or two. 'Hot' for us is broadly 33 degrees and above: I have experienced a very rare 40.

Winter is 1 June to 31 August. Some argue much of Oz has six seasons not four.

In Victoria, a railway station such as Woodend on the 1862-opened 'main line' (broad gauge) to Bendigo receives snow in some Augusts, though perhaps just one day. (Woodend is higher than any stn in England IIRC).

See video at 3:32:

Google Search

Some stations in NSW's Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, will also receive snow in some winters, such as Mt Victoria and Lithgow.

Snow falls in the Australian Alps: best to look up Wiki or other sources for a description of where they are. Snow season offically begins on what is now King's Birthday (early June) and finishes at the beginning of September, but highly variable. Last year it commenced early.

Hobart, Tasmania and sometimes Melbourne, Victoria can be very cold by local standards in winter, with the latter say down to two degrees occasionally at night. But warm by UK and European standards.

Many thanks for the detailed information. That is interesting to hear. You never think of Australia as somewhere that would get snow but i suppose most countries have some higher altitude areas. I suppose Australia is massive so it makes sense that different areas have different climates and temperatures.

 

[gordonthemoron]

What months in Australia are considered winter? I always get mixed up which months are which as the winter in Australia is different to ours? Although i think even your winter is warm compared to ours! I can not imagine Australia gets much snow or ice or freezing weather!

It was pretty cold when we went to Katoomba in the middle of last July, Blue Mountains. Although it wasn’t that much warmer in Sydney

 

[railfan99]

You never think of Australia as somewhere that would get snow but i suppose most countries have some higher altitude areas. I suppose Australia is massive so it makes sense that different areas have different climates and temperatures.

England's highest point is 978 metres above sea level: Scafell Pike apparently.

Scotland: Ben Nevis: 1345m.

Mt Bogong in my state of Victoria (capital:Melbourne): 1978m.

NSW (capital: Sydney) has Mt Kosciuszko: 2228m, highest in Australia.

I am no climate expert but we should consider latitudes. Land masses like Australia are not likely to have the same climate in the south as in the north, and nor does it.

But let's please return to our shared appreciation of railways (and tramways!)

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

DAY 1-2: Two Very Eventful A380 Flights - London Sydney via Los Angeles

(I wrote this on the flight on Tuesday/Wednesday, but didn’t get chance to post until now)

Monday morning, and everything began at London Heathrow, where I had arrived three hours early only to see “Go To Gate” already posted as the status. Naturally, I ignored this. It 100% only displayed that because Heathrow don’t trust you to leave enough time to get the transit to C Gates, but if you get going about an hour before your departure you should be fine. So it was to Boots to collect provisions (because sometimes the plane’s offerings can be few and far between), and to Starbucks for an awakening latte (hot, not iced) before I did wait for the aircraft to Los Angeles. And here it is:



I’ve always wanted to fly an Airbus A380-800, so I was delighted when it materialised. British Airways is my favourite carrier, for more reasons than can ever be described in a reasonable amount of time – no, it’s not Virgin Atlantic as some might assume, although I’ve had good flights with them in the past – and one of the key reasons is their service is so unique and phenomenal. Immediately, the cabin crew member stationed by my seat (at the small section at the back, which I’ll be booking next time too) welcomed me, introduced herself, excitedly told me that she was from Sydney too and that her son has just graduated from the uni I’ll be attending there, and noticing I’m young and travelling alone, promised I was in good hands. She was wonderful, really wonderful.

Here was my seat, and yes: It’s a bay of two, not three, because I chose seats on the top deck – it is three on the lower deck so that’s one reason to look out for upper deck seats which are no more expensive if you’re booking in the free check-in timeslot 24 hours prior to departure.



Another reason to book upstairs is this, which I adored:You get an additional storage bucket, and my god is it deep and spacious. I had nothing cluttering around my legs or getting in my way, I simply dumped everything into this bin. The seat was very comfortable, although the fixed headrest wings won’t be for some. The windows had to be the largest I had ever seen on an aircraft.



Finally, just look at the stairs… I love seeing stairs on an aircraft, it’s just hilariously insane. I took these pictures of the rear and front ones respectively.



Not long had we got going when the drama of this journey first started. We pushed back and began a very long taxi to the runway, and then sat for twenty minutes before we were told somehow a bag on board had missed security, and would need to be checked. So it was back to the stand for our A380 and us, and then a long wait while they checked it, allowed passengers who previously missed the flight to board, refueled it to compensate for the extra taxi-ing, and THEN we were told there was no available tractor/truck thing to push the plane back, but thankfully that didn’t take long after all and we were soon up. I connected to ba.com/Wifi and used WhatsApp and Instagram for just £4.99 for the full flight.

The takeoff was incredible. It is truly the smoothest and quietest aircraft I’ve ever taken off in. It puts Airbus A330/Boeing 777, etc. to shame. I settled in for a very comfortable journey. The food was average, if a little dry, definitely not the best I’ve had in economy before, although as they forgot my dessert I was offered a World Traveller Plus one instead on a china plate, and that was really lovely. I had a ginger ale and vodka but used them separately – I like a. ginger ale on a flight, and then I really like Vodka Red Bull so used the Red Bull I bought specifically at Boots to enjoy that!



Landing was the second palaver. Qantas told our crew that unfortunately due to our delay at Heathrow (about an hour and ten), customers travelling on to Brisbane would not make their connection at Los Angeles and would need to take the Sydney flight. This was then changed to Brisbane customers being told they needed to stay in a hotel, with some cabin crew now saying that Sydney would also be missed, whereas others said it would be fine. The senior cabin crew then said all customers transiting from BA to Qantas at LAX would be unable to do so, but as soon as we landed ground staff ushered Sydney and Melbourne customers (there were many of us) and rushed us through customs using the lane usually dedicated for staff, cutting the huge queue.

Unfortunately, there was no internal baggage transfer on offer, and it was a 30-40 minute wait for the cases, a rush to departures to get them dropped again, where Qantas check-in grimly warned us to “hurry up; it’s about to board,” through security, and to the gate, where Qantas announced that “due to engineering issues” the waiting A380 aircraft bound for Sydney was “too hot” and at “temperatures in the thirties on-board” (!!!) and therefore more delays occurred.



They managed to cool the aircraft down a little, but it remained hot; they allowed it to run because they said it was solely ground air-conditioning playing up, and that when in the air the cabin would greatly cool, so we sweated in our seats until it was airborne. Qantas are very Virgin Atlantic-esque, the crew are very, very informal but in a very friendly and welcoming way. The seats were not as comfortable as BA’s but they gave me a really thick cushion which was amazing.

Qantas have just refurbished their A380s (sadly the TV is still old and there’s no Wi-Fi) so you can no longer sit upstairs if you’re in economy, therefore I was in a window of a bay of 3. The safety demo kept cutting out because of an issue with the entertainment system (inflight lead had to reset all screens twice). It wasn’t long until the seatbelt sign was switched on after pretty violent turbulence started throwing us around somewhat violently, making some passengers uneasy due to the captain’s repeated use of the term “engineering issues” to describe the aircraft’s delay… and what would come next?

The inflight lead announced over the P.A. “Hi guys, we require medical assistance. If anyone is a medic and is willing to help us, please press your call button now,” which just added to the stress, because it’s certainly not nice to think someone might be seriously ill at the absolute worst place to fall ill. I’m writing this a good four, five hours after that though, so I’m assuming all went well. Part of me wondered if we’d have to do an emergency landing, which made me very grateful that my terrified-of-planes best friend didn’t come on the exchange after all, or she’d have expired on the spot!

My dinner was vegetable curry and rice. I’m sorry, but it was the most bland, tasteless mush I’ve ever known. I used a full packet of salt and pepper on it, just to give it some flavour, which is saying something for aircraft food: we lose 70% of our taste senses when at high altitude, and airlines often shove a sackload of salt into food to make up for it! Later, was a sort of full English (nice apart from the egg) with a very nice warm fruit muffin. I’ve not put pictures of my food in because this is not a review page, and no one wants to see economy dinners anyway

And then about two hours before landing came the fire alarm from the bathroom in front of me! Cabin crew rushed in and were talking about smoke, and then one of them was on their knees with a little yellow fire extinguisher! I thought really, could this A380 get more fated?!

I got to Sydney and the sun was shining, and the transfer onto my domestic flight (not the booked one as that was missed due to the delayed LAX flight) simple enough.

I’m finally here
Taktish for now


Replies

I don't believe you're off to Australia (not America - duh). That is the typical conveyance for a week's package holiday for 2 adults and 4 kids to Skegness

It did look a stupid amount, but later converted to one 23kg hold suitcase, one cabin suitcase and a backpack.

The type of carrier bag would suggest that.

Joking aside, all the best for your time in Australia. Look forward to your experiences of travel there, time permitting.

Thank you very much.

Have a good trip! Is this a holiday a short-term immigration or something elese/ don’t have to say if you want to, just curious. Hope you’ve brought some home comforts with you!

Thank you! A few

 

[Intercity110]

glad to hear all went well

 

[55002]

Nice read, enjoy Oz

 

[RailWonderer]

I've only just read this all now. Glad to see you're enjoying the trip. You won't ever forget experiences like these so enjoy every moment of it. Keep us in the loop when you can. All the best.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

DAY 3: An initial arrival in Melbourne, Victoria

Hiya, and welcome back to my reports. Now that I’m in Australia, things will hopefully get a bit more interesting in my stories! Picking up from where we ended it last time, I had just landed in Sydney when I had to immediately rush to the Domestic terminal to fly to Melbourne. This involved a fairly uneventful fifty minute flight on a Qantas 737, which included wonderful free and seemingly unrestricted Wi-Fi. Very quick and easy.

Travelling into Melbourne City Centre, the only public transport is the Skybus, a fast and frequent yet VERY hammy-advertisement-riddled service that drops you off at the impressive Southern Cross railway station. I had booked with my horrible heavy suitcases in mind, and therefore it was only a short tram ride to my hotel. Melbourne, of course, has the largest tram network worldwide.

It was a short walk to the city centre, which despite it being a very cloudy day in Victoria, looked rather pretty and futuristic - and it was nicely sunny too. There were deckchairs all laid out in front of the famous Flinders Street station, from where I hopped on a Metro train to Parliament on this classic “Comeng” train:

I then took a modified “Comeng” to Flagstaff, and then returned to Parliament on an X’Trapolis 100, of which a second batch is due to replace the Comengs in the next few years.



From Parliament, it was a short walk to the immaculate Sofitel on Collins, which is famous for having the best view of any toilet in the Southern Hemisphere! Now, I think you’ll agree that passing up such a bizarre yet hilariously interesting opportunity would be foolish, so it was up to the 35th floor I went:



Returning to the ground, it was onto this quaint early 20th century tram with which Melbourne has become somewhat synonymous. These no longer run the main tram services, but provide a free hop-on/hop-off circular loop around the city to show tourists around, and it’s a very nice way to access key destinations. It’s worth noting the main trams are also free for travel within the city centre’s generously-sized “Free tram zone.”



By now, it was getting a little dark, so I figured a nightime view from above wouldn’t go amiss; up the Melbourne Tower I went. Here, one can view the city skyline and even have a drink or a light meal, if they so desire. The view was far better in person, and not really well justified by the image.

When one is in such a busy city for only a short time, retiring to one’s hotel at 9pm really isn’t an option, so it was a tram down to Queen Vic for a visit to the Queen Victoria Night Market, a beautiful lit up market held on summer Wednesday evenings. Here, there were not just your usual australian, italian, mexican, greek, spanish, indian food stalls, but also filipino, polish, arabic, sicillian and belgian cuisine to try as well.

Waiting for the tram back, I took this:



Overall, a very pleasant first day in Melbourne, and I went to bed rather early for me, at 11pm, ahead of plans to hunt down the pink lake and explore the local railways a little more. I hope you enjoyed reading, and please do let me know your thoughts of Melbourne.

More to come tomorrow.

 

[railfan99]

Tram number 957 was built as an SW6 class for the then government-owned Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board in about 1950, so it's post-war, not 'early 20th century': in 2015, it was converted to W8 class for continued use on the free City Circle tram.

From Melbourne Airport, you could have purchased an A$6 myki smartcard and topped it up with A$10 at the public area of Terminal 2 international arrivals, and walked down to past T4 and to the carpark where you'd find route 901 SmartBus operating every 15 minutes to Broadmeadows railway station, then Craigieburn line train every 20 minutes (better at times) to Flinders St station: fare A$4.60 for two hours use on train/trams/buses or capped $9.20/day.

Far cheaper than expensive SkyBus!

 

[jackot]

Looks incredible. I just booked flights yesterday to Australia for 3 weeks over Christmas, and I'd be lying if seeing these photos hadn't encouraged me to get everything sorted and book the trip a bit quicker!

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

glad to hear all went well

Nice read, enjoy Oz

I've only just read this all now. Glad to see you're enjoying the trip. You won't ever forget experiences like these so enjoy every moment of it. Keep us in the loop when you can. All the best.

Looks incredible. I just booked flights yesterday to Australia for 3 weeks over Christmas, and I'd be lying if seeing these photos hadn't encouraged me to get everything sorted and book the trip a bit quicker!

Thank you so much, let me tell you now though, the real adventures start at Sydney! What a place. I’ll get writing the second Melbourne report now and then I’ll write up the Sydney explorations.

Tram number 957 was built as an SW6 class for the then government-owned Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board in about 1950, so it's post-war, not 'early 20th century': in 2015, it was converted to W8 class for continued use on the free City Circle tram.

From Melbourne Airport, you could have purchased an A$6 myki smartcard and topped it up with A$10 at the public area of Terminal 2 international arrivals, and walked down to past T4 and to the carpark where you'd find route 901 SmartBus operating every 15 minutes to Broadmeadows railway station, then Craigieburn line train every 20 minutes (better at times) to Flinders St station: fare A$4.60 for two hours use on train/trams/buses or capped $9.20/day.

Far cheaper than expensive SkyBus!

Fascinating!

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

DAY 4: V-Line bashes in Melbourne, Victoria, and hunting for a disappointingly blue, snake-infested “Pink Lake”

Have you ever noticed my posts on this forum have tended to come out around 4pm-3am I’m one for getting up around about 1/2 or even 3pm (has been 4-5pm in winter or depressing days) as I can never seem to get myself to sleep until gone 3/4am, but genuinely - the treacherous flights seem to have cured my insomnia altogether! I woke for 9am in Melbourne and headed out to explore. You simply can’t rightfully waste time lying in bed when in Australia.

So, obligatory Red Bull in hand, it was a tram down to Flinders Street to ride a futuristic looking HCMT train, which took me to the majestic (if a little metalic-looking) Southern Cross terminus. Here, a trip on Victoria’s flagship purple V Line Bombardier trains was in order, so it was down to Footscray and back. I highly rate the seats, which were similar to that of a 170, and the train itself was reminiscent of a 175.



Only a three minute wait at Footscray before I returned to Southern Cross and enjoyed a chicken-schnitzel burger with Australian slaw from the Aussie chain “Schnitz” (a new favourite), and tram hopped for a bit ahead of boarding a bus that would take me to the Westgate Park pink lake.



Have you ever heard of the Melbourne Pink Lake? Not artificially in the slightest, but completely naturally owing to the mineral content, the lake at Westgate Park suddenly turned a radical bubblegum pink several years ago and had apparently done so every summer since. A very pleasant air-conditioned bus took me to Westgate Park, alongside a disused freight railway and old-fashioned level crossing, where sadly I was not greeted with a pink lake, but a notice saying that the lake has not been pink since 2019. I also discovered another sign, warning me of VENOMOUS SNAKES!



Not fancying a poisonous bite, it was back on the bus for a few more samples of Victoria’s rail stock, including this 158-esque single car Sprinter to North Melbourne:



This particular service was formed of three put together. I returned to Southern Cross on a Siemens-built Metro unit, and then boarded this impressive looking locomotive hauled train for a journey to Sunshine. I don’t like the interior, which is somewhat reminiscent of a GP Practice waiting room both in terms of aesthetics and smell, although the advantage of taking a hauled train over the Bombardier units sampled earlier is the availability of catering. These hauled trains are peak workhorses only though, and most services are the Bombardier stock.
(Frustratingly, I’m limited to 9 images per post so I’ll post additional images including interior down below so you can compare!)



THE DOORS ARE TERRIFYING. They’re slam doors that swing and slam shut on their own. There’s not even a warning sound until they’re moving. Think of the slam doors of a MK3, if they slammed shut on their own without notice. That’s what it’s like.

I then returned to Melbourne’s Parliament station, where a walk around Chinatown was enjoyed, and a purchase of another Red Bull from 7/11. I made the mistake, however, of walking into Woolworths for a browse (Australia’s biggest supermarket chain and rival of Coles) with said can. The supermarket is one-way (I didn’t realise that at the time, I just thought it had two entrances) and the exit was hugely congested with people paying so I left out of the exit, and was then confronted by a security guard who accused me of stealing the Red Bull from there.
“It is possible for one to go into a supermarket and not buy something, you know…” I said, as he forced me to show him my Apple Wallet history.

He told me it was very suspicious to leave through the entrance. I apologised and said I’m used to English stores where there’s typically only one entrance where you can come or go. “I DON’T CARE ABOUT ENGLAND OR ANY OF THAT RUBBISH” was his amusing reply. I’m not offended. Appalling attitude and customer service, but he’s not exactly wrong - England is pretty rubbish at times.

Deep-fried Oreos were on the menu in Chinatown, somewhat of an amusing novelty, I thought, so I gave it a go. Not for me. Far too sweet with an unappealing texture, and SO GREASY - you can see how greasy it made my fingers. Still, you have to take every opportunity you can to try new things. If I hadn’t had that mindset when Cardiff Uni told me Second Years could go on exchange, I’d have chickened out of even coming to Australia! (The initial idea had somewhat scared me at first)



Most of the evening then consisted of Metro and V-Line bashes, I can’t lie. That was one of the benefits of being on my own, as someone not particularly comfortable with being known for liking railways, I would NEVER have done such a thing having been with my friends! I’d rather have died than ask to go on a train for the sake of going on a train.

The next day would see me visit St Kilda and then fly to Sydney, my home until June, so please do tune in for that report. Don’t worry, a return to Melbourne is pencilled in, I’m well aware I wasn’t there for long!

Thanks so much for reading.