the Ghan

The Ghan is the train from Adelaide to Darwin, bisecting Australia.  Like the Indian-Pacific, a wonderful train ride across a beautiful continent.  A 2 day journey through a part of Australia that many never see.  I rode in the basic Red coach class and spent most of my time in the lounge car, very nice, a lot of fun, meeting interesting fellow travelers and great service!

Our locomotive.

The famous logo.

Logo on the side of my carriage (coach).

Scenery out the window.

Stopped in Alice Springs

Sunset over the desert.

The Lounge car, where I hung out.

Great service, with a smile!

Manly, a Sydney suburb with a beach

Dave, Kelly and I rented a condo at the beach in Manly for 10 days and really enjoyed it!
We stayed on the 6th floor of the Trident building right across the street from the beach.
Bondi may be more famous, but Manly is just as nice.  Long, sandy beach with trees and grass and a boardwalk.  Lots of beach volleyball too. Great for people watching, surfing and swimming.  Nearby bars, resturants and things to see and do.  Plus a great ferry ride from downtown Sydney!

The Corso, a lively pedestrian street with shops & bars.

The Trident building, our home in Manly.

A beautiful beach!

Dave & Kelly

Busy place, love to people watch.

Never needed rescue, thank goodness.

Amazing scenery...

BONDI

Bondi beach, iconic Sydney.  And as close to heaven on earth as I've found.  I was there on a hot sunny day with no wind and it was a busy place.  A great place to swim, surf and people watch.

Bondi Pavillon.

Bondi Beach.

Lifeguard station.

A busy place.

SYDNEY!

What an amazing place, a vibrant city with awesome beaches, friendly people and great food.

Fishin'

Clock tower at Central.

Central, train and bus station.

Cool Sydney Aquarium.

Opera House.

Bridge and ferry.

Commuters.

53 Maxwell St.

Doyle's Fish & Chips, the best in Sydney.

The Pacific Ocean.

Trident towers across the road from Manly beach, we were on the 6th floor.

NZ TranzAlpine

Days later I took the TranzAlpine across the country from Christchurch to Graymouth and back, over the Alps.  By mentioning my days working for the Alaska Railroad, I was able to wrangle a cab ride!

TranzAlpine cars (carriages) with big windows.

The open carriage.

My locomotive, one of two pulling us over the Alps.

My view out the front window.

The control stand.

Front window view.

Mark, the excellent driver.

Scenic Cass on the way to Arthur's Pass.

Lots of tunnels.

Handbrake on the open carriage car.

NZ TranzCoastal

I love the NZ trains, so comfortable and the views, a great way to travel!  I took the TranzCoastal from Christchurch to Picton and back, spending the night in the port town of Picton.  The coaches (carriages) were brand new and have extra large windows and an open platform car for great viewing. You can guess where I spent most of my time.  A beautiful 4 hour trip along the coast and thru wine country.

View of the train heading north to Picton.

The open platform carriage, where you could find me.

EMD build locomotive on 3' - 6" gauge track.

A week in New Zealand

After 5 months in Antarctica, it was amazing to see all the colors and smell the air in NZ.

Leaving on a jet plane in the cold, wind and blowing snow. 

Sunset on Antarctica, and the coolest job ever.

The Central YMCA, where I stayed in Christchurch.

A beautiful home for sale in NZ, I almost bought  (not).

Rebuilding downtown retail area with containers.

Botanical gardens, across the street from the Y.

River valley to the north of Christchurch.

Mountains near Kirkoura.