Hi there Looking Glassers, Sorry I’ve was MIA for a couple of weeks. I really thought I’d got myself on top of everything before leaving on our grand across Australia train journey but I didn’t have a post locked in for here. Thought I’d done it but had not. No excuse. Sorry all.
Here’s a few pics and some commentary on our trip. After being locked down, postponing this trip three or four times because the borders to Western Australia remained closed et al. We FINALLY got on the Indian Pacific. It was worth the wait.
Indian Pacific Rail Adventure 2022
First pic is me catching the train to meet everyone at Central Station. Jin had his car at work and it’s so much easier to leave mine at home. Also, I even love riding the suburban trains.
Here we are at Central station. Martin came with us on the trip and his partner Jane stayed home to look after the dogs.
We always like to have a sneaky champagne as the adventure begins.
These pics are all taken from the train as it’s moving. They do no justice to the majesty and fabulous colours of central Australia.
We stopped at Cook, population 4! The boys did photography and I wandered around. It was once a thriving town but now mainly desolate.
The Bar Car and Dining Car were VERY social on this trip. We loved hanging out and getting boozy with everyone.
Once in Perth we met up with my childhood friend Eve and her daughter Lola. We did Rottnest Island together. I don’t know why I took hardly any photos. It was a lovely day. We took the Hop On Hop Off Bus around the island, met Quokkas and saw loads of fauna including dolphins, seals and birdlife. We also wandered around the last km or so on the way back to the jetty. Definitely worth a visit.
Back in Perth we took in the AGWA. They are having a month dedicated to First Nations artists called Blacklight. The guide was less than good, bummer. Upstairs we loved the permanent sculpture garden.
Also art but not at the galleries, the Prickly Pear mosaic mural caught my eye.
Jin, Martin and I drove a couple of hours to see the natural rock formations of the Pinnacles. Left over from a time when the area was sea bed, I think they are the calcified, petrified leavings of coral reefs. We had SPECTACULAR skies to add drama to every photo./ I was driving and the boys jumped out taking incredibly artistic shots. Mine were all taken on my iPhone from the car. None of them have been doctored in any way, that is exactly as the camera saw them.
It was a wonderful adventure and if you ever get the chance, jump at it.
Where will you be holidaying next?
Portia xx
Undina's Looking Glass 
Loved hearing about your trips Portia.
Australia is so huge train journeys must be ideal.
I want to see a Quokka!
Need to figure out where to go for my 50th next April.
LikeLike
OMG! You’re going to HAVE to do something special. Keep us in the loop, we will move heaven and earth to get there. No promises but we will try.
Portia xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
OMG! I just remembered. YOU DID meet a Quokka at Featherdale Zoo. They are so friendly and we can pat them there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We’te planning a long road trip across Canada (sadly not by rail) from British Columbia to Quebec in Juna & July. Should be interesting! My husband has never seen the central & western parts of the country. Will visit several perfume friends along the way and spend two weeks in Montréal.
Love your photos! Australia is beautiful.
LikeLike
Hey TaraC,
I love a road trip too. Doubly exciting when you are taking a first timer. EVERYTHING will be shiny and new.
You are going to have a ball.
Portia xx
LikeLike
I’m so envious, those skies! The petrified rock formations look like the teeth of Australia itself!
I long to do a sleeper train journey, please tell me this was a sleeper. There is something so “olde worlde” & romantic about sleeper trains….sigh.
LikeLike
OOOHHH! Such a good analogy Alityke! They are like the teeth of Oz.
Yes, a very comfy sleeper train. Each room with its own small shower bathroom. A dining car and bar car for each end of the nearly one KM long train. It’s very olde world.
Portia xx
LikeLike
Thanks for sharing all the great photos. It sounds amazing! I’ve always wanted to see Australia.
LikeLike
Hey RR,
Australia is wonderful to see. we have so much diversity.
We are here awaiting your visit.
Portia xx
LikeLike
I want to go to London but travel still is so hard and experiences not the best; so, I am keeping it domestic and going to Las Vegas in October to see three Cirque du Soleil shows, Blue Man Group, Red Rock Canyon tour, Hoover Dam tour and eat at some Michelin-star restaurants run by famous chefs. No gambling planned.
LikeLike
Hey GinaT,
VEGAS! We love it there, and we love the Cirque shows.
Not even $10 on ther roulette table? My fave
Portia xx
LikeLike
Oh so spectacular Portia! You guys had a wonderful time xx
Hopefully next Johnny’s 60th we will go to Broome WA for some spectacular sunsets also .xx
LikeLike
YES! Can’t wait for Broome.
Don’t forget we have TASMANIA in May!
Portia xx
LikeLike
Fabulous photos! Thank you for sharing.
I’m glad you had a good time. I’m surprised though that you haven’t mentioned any perfumes. Did you report that part back somewhere else? (These days I have barely time to read my own blog, so I could have missed it).
I hope to have a short vacation in the next couple of months, but with everything that is going on I’m afraid to jinx it – so, I’ll tell after I know that it’s happening.
LikeLike
Thanks Undina,
Yes, there was a post with perfume elsewhere on Posse. I only took one fragrance for the trip; Caron Pour un Homme. It was perfect.
Portia xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fantastic trip, Portia! So glad you and Jin had a wondeful time. I adore the photos! Hope to have the opportunity to travel to Australia in the future. Such a beautiful place!
LikeLike
YAY! So nice to see you PL67,
Thank you, it was wonderful.
PLEASE come to Sydney. We will have a locals sniffy and I’ll get Jin to do his famous Korean BarBQ.
Portia x
LikeLike
no holidaying for me but I can live vicariously through you :)
LikeLike
Glad to be of service Brigitte.
Portia xx
LikeLike
Thank you, Portia for sharing your trip with us. Photos are amazing.
LikeLike
Hey Matty,
You’re welcome.
Taking the photos and then picking the best few to use in a post is such a fun part of the holiday. It’s like I get to relive the experience again.
Portia xx
LikeLike
What a fantastic trip, and a wonderful way to travel! I was also struck by the skies and the Pinnacles. So many striking sights to remember. My mother was born in Fremantle, so I am always interested in anything Perth-related though I have only been to NSW.
LikeLike
Hey Vanessa,
Perth and its surrounds are bloody gorgeous. We had dinner down at Freemantle after catching the ferry from there to Rottnest Island.
If ever you head back down to OZ we should go see Perth. It would be very cool fun.
Yes, those Pinnacles were breathtaking and we arrived right after a storm so there was loads of dramatic and intense light, with none of the dustiness. We were so fortunate.
Portia xx
LikeLike