Train Ride to Kiama

Local train travel in Australia is ridiculously cheap so yesterday Paul and I took a train ride from Sydney to Kiama (a journey that cost just $2.81 or £1.75 each).  Kiama is a quaint little seaside town, famous for its blowhole and pelicans. More about that tomorrow.

We departed from Sydney Central and travelled through the suburbs of the city, industrial units and scruffy back yards. Then the quieter residential streets, over a large estuary (Georges River) and suddenly we are speeding through the Royal National Park (also known as the Nasho). 

Our seats were on the upper deck of the train (Australian trains are double deckers!) and so it felt like we were flying above the forest canopy, gum trees and bush as far as you can see.

About an hour later we went through a series of short tunnels before shooting out onto the coastline track with fantastic views of the ocean.   

 a bad photo but I couldn't resist a crafty snap of this one-armed Crocodile Dundee character

 

As we approached Port Kembla and Wollongong the landscape flattened and we left the scenic views behind. Lots of stops and starts before eventually rolling past the dunes of Bombo Beach and arriving at the terminus in Kiama.  I was ready to get off the train after two and a half hours; I don’t think I’m ready for the Trans-Siberian yet.