From the WA to the SA, and everything in between

WA = Western Australia; SA = Southern Australia

 

Fremantle, Western Australia

For two weeks, I lived and worked at an Ashram and Yoga Studio in a hip suburb south of Perth called Fremantle (the locals call it ‘Freo’).

 

The ashram is located in a 1950’s hospital/old people’s home (above). The cement block building was full of high ceilings, creaky floors and ghosts!  Right off the bat I knew my stay at the ashram wouldn’t be complete without reading multiple scary books in bed. I found an op-shop, secondhand shop, in Freo and bought Silence of the Lambs  and I’ll be watching you. The books kept me on edge each night which made for good sleep and lots of memorable dreams. My friends at the ashram thought I was crazy to read scary books there, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself and would even recommend others to try it next time you’re taking cover in an old cold creepy hospital.

      

Freo, as a town, offers the lonely traveler just about you anything you’d ever desire. A hip farmers & crafts market (above), sunset beaches (Indian Ocean), Mexican hot chocolate (Aussies have yet to learn about the joys of Mexican food…I’ve been enlightening my hosts as I’ve travelled), microbreweries and fun gals [like Kerry Ann & Marie (you can see I came across too loveable goofballs!)] to hangout with. I can see why so many people venture to Freo for a holiday and wind up never leaving.

After two weeks, one swami visit, two scary books, lots of free wireless internet, two good friends, plates full of vegetarian food, meditations and some yoga…I boarded the Indian-Pacific Train in Perth and began the two night journey to Adelaide.

Indian-Pacific Train: Western Australia to Southern Australia

  

In case you ever board the trains or planes in Australia, be sure to pack your own snacks, drinks and meals because they don’t serve free food. Luckily, Marie and Kerry-Ann helped me prepare for my trip by whipping up a calzone, chili, fruits and granola bars. All of which were delicious! (and better than anything the train offered)

I highly recommend the train ride across Australia! You will get to see a transect of Australia that most people never see. Not only did the landscape change from coastal, to valley, to rolling hills, scrub, dry scrub, plain, scrub, rolling hills to forest, but I also saw numerous big red kangaroos, wedge-tail eagles  and koalas. Plus, two marvelous sunsets over the great outback! One of which was on the Nullabor Plain (center pic below with wildflowers along the tracks) where we traveled on the longest stretch of straight railroad track in the world. We made two longer stops (not more than 3 hours) during the trip. The first was a mining town, Kalgoorlie (pic below of me a gold miner’s statue) and the second was Cook (pic below of an outback jail hut in the middle of the outback…can you imagine how hot it would get in there?).

After two nights of sleeping in a reclining chair, which was surprisingly comfortable, my legs yearned to stretch and move. Good thing Adelaide, Southern Australia, was just around the bend.

    

Adelaide, Southern Australia

After a quick 3km hike from the train station to my hostel, I dropped off my bags and took to the streets to explore Adelaide. My favorite spots in Adelaide are the Central Markets (left pic below), botanical gardens (center below), Southern Australia Museum and State Library. The city as a whole has the charm of a country town, but the amenities of a large city. I wish I had had more than 15 hours to spend exploring Adelaide, but at 6:20am the next morning I boarded another train and began to make my way to Melbourne and ultimately Fish Creek for my next home stay…a chook and dairy family farm.