Monday, May 25th, 2009, Train and Bus from Sydney to Dubbo
Bob: We had such a comfortable situation with Neville and Lyn, but it was time for us to take off on the next stage of our Australian adventure. So we packed up our freshly-washed clothes into our old kit bags and headed off to the Hornsby train station just down the street. There we reluctantly took our leave of Neville and Lyn and boarded a local train down to Sydney's Central train station where we transferred to the long-distance train headed West. |
Monika: We were sad to leave Lyn and Neville, but we had places to go. So by ten we were at the railroad station for our 10:34 express train into town. Lyn had checked on the Internet which train would get us to the central station at a good time. The advantage of an taking an express train downtown was also that it would stop close to were the "Countrylink" inter-urban train would start and that really worked out well. The train to Lithgow, where we would catch the bus to Dubbo, was already sitting on the other side of the same platform waiting for passengers, although it was still 40 minutes before departure. The Countrylink train was a double decker, but each coach had a regular section with 12 seats right at the beginning of the carriage, and only there did they have overhead luggage racks and a small place behind the last seat for a suitcase or two. We were the first ones on the coach and so stowed our luggage and sat down to lunch. Lyn had given us the ham sandwiches she had prepared for yesterday's trip and which we had not eaten, having substituted meat pies for that meal. So now we gladly munched on them. A little later a group of 5 couples with lots of luggage came into our compartment. They had obviously just come off a P&O cruise ship. They had quite a time stowing all their luggage, but they finally did and the train took off. |
Bob: The first part of the trip into the Blue Mountains actually followed pretty closely our driving route of the day before. It was nice to see it from the viewpoint of the train, however, because we felt much closer to the scenery than in a car. Of course, that also made it harder to take pictures, but we still managed to photograph some of the valleys and cliffs of the Blue Mountains as we went rolling by. At Zigzag we found a curious old railroad that literally zig-zags its way up or down the mountain. Our fellow passengers told me it was designed that way to lessen the grade and make it possible for the old steam locomotives to pull carriages up the slope of the escarpment. They also informed me that the old steam locomotive is still used to haul the carriages, now filled with tourists, up and down the mountain but only on the weekends. On weekdays that chore is performed by diesel locomotives, so if you get to visit the Blue Mountains and want to try the Zigzag railway, I would advise that you do it on the weekend to have the steam locomotive. |
Monika: We followed pretty much the route we had taken yesterday with Neville and Lyn only this time we saw it all from the train. Again there were gorgeous views and Bob had fun trying to take pictures between trees that liked to obscure the view. Once past Katoomba we kept going across the mountains and finally reached Lithgow. |
Bob: About the point where the Blue Mountains end at Lithgow, we transferred from the train to a bus for the rest of the journey to Dubbo. Economically, I can understand that if you only have about 50 passengers or so running a bus is far more cost-effective than running a train, but the ride afforded by the bus was noticeably worse than the ride afforded by the train from Sydney to Lithgow. The bus segment of our trip was about 100 kilometers further West and then 200 kilometers or so North to reach Dubbo, and that took us the rest of the afternoon and evening. |
Monika: There a bus was waiting to take us to Dubbo. The trip from Lithgow to Dubbo was about four hours and slowly we descended into the plains. The towns were farther and farther apart with fewer and fewer houses in between. |
Bob: The sun set around 5:30 and although we had twilight and dusk until 6:00 p.m. or so, it was quite dark by the time we reached Dubbo. As we debarked from the bus and collected our luggage, a local resident strongly advised us to take a slightly longer but better lit route through town to get to our Formule 1 Hotel. He was just the last of about 10 friendly folks that had chatted with us during the train ride and the bus ride to tell us about the local sights. I usually trust the judgment of local folks, so we walked the way he had indicated and zeroed in on our hotel by using it as a goal point in the GPS. The walk did take about 40 minutes, however, due in part to our hauling our luggage, and we were pretty tired by the time we checked in for the evening. Our room was Spartan but clean and neat, so we made a dinner of the rest of Lyn's sandwiches while we watched the Australian version of Top Gear, a British sports car program. That was fun as it had a distinctly Australian twist or flavor to it, which gave it a rough and ready directness rather than the slightly condescending and supercilious tone of the British original. After that we worked on our journals and read a bit until it was time to turn in for the night. |
Monika: When we got to Dubbo it was dark and although it was only 6:30 the town seemed to have closed down for the night. A young man asked us where we were staying and wether we knew how to get there. I told him that Bob had a GPS but he told us that he was local and advised us of the safest route which was through the lighted downtown area. Again I was startled by the helpfulness and friendliness of the Australian people. We took his advice, and indeed the route seemed safe. Although most stores were closed, there still were people on the street and everything was well lighted. The motel was a little farther than I had hoped for, but after 30 minutes we did arrive. It was a Formule 1 motel. We had stayed in one in France and this one was similar, Spartan but cheap. The room was small, but the bathroom was en suite. There was room for three people, with the third one sleeping in a bunk bed which is across the head of the queen sized bed underneath. This meant, of course, that tired or careless people will bump their head every now and then. But after two bumps, even I learned to watch my head, an unusual occurrence for me. We finished the last of the sandwiches and just headed to bed. |
| Index |
| Prolog | Map of Australian Walkabout | Epilog |
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