The time my travel plans went wrong

 A few years ago I took the Ghan Train trip from Darwin to Adelaide, Australia, and loved every moment of it so I made it my mission to take the Indian Pacific train from Perth to Sydney.   I would then have travelled from the top to the bottom  and from the West coast to the East coast of Australia. I always enjoy making a plan and then carrying it out.

This was the plan but in reverse ( Photo Indian Pacific Publicity)

In high anticipation I duly booked the trip and flew the seven and a half hours to Perth from Auckland.  Perth is a fresh, modern city and I liked the look of it immediately but things went wrong as soon as I arrived.  Firstly I couldn't find a taxi or get an Uber, it being a busy Saturday night, so I set out to walk to my hotel from the railway station. Unfortunately I walked back and forth along the street I thought it was on several times before finding it tucked away down a side street.  When I went to check in I was told they had no record of my booking and the hotel was full, despite the fact I had received an email confirming my booking. The only room available was right under the hotel's very noisy air conditioning unit.  No sleep at all for the next two nights!

Fortunately I was booked to go on a 3 day tour of the Margaret River region on the third day.  That tour was wonderful (I have written about it in previous posts)  Run by the McLeod family tour company it was faultless. 

The Bell tower, Perth.  Interesting architecture

We returned to Perth for a two day stopover before catching the train.  Would you believe it? Hotel reception once again told me they had no booking for me and, yes, once again I had an email confirming that they did. Fortunately I stood my ground and managed to get a better room this time.  I spent the next couple of days sightseeing and enjoying Perth.  The night before the train trip was to start I went to the hotel bar to have a drink with some traveling companions I had met on the Margaret River trip. When I arrived one of them asked me "Have you heard the news?"  I hadn't.  Turned out the train trip had been cancelled due to flooding on the tracks.  What a disappointment, that had been the whole purpose of my trip.  So new plans had to be made.  

Janine and Steve, great companions making 
a trouble shared a trouble halved

Since the train was meant to go to Sydney and I had booked my flight home to New Zealand from there I needed to book a flight to Sydney which I did early the next day. Fortunately two of my fellow travellers booked the same flight.  I also contacted my hotel in Sydney and extended my stay for three nights.

The three of us duly went to the airport for our flight and guess what?  The flight was cancelled.  Talk about a comedy of errors.  We were told our flight would be the next day so needed to book a hotel near the airport for the night which we did.  To top it all off we exited the airport to find a taxi queue about a hundred yards long but none of the drivers wanted to take us because the trip was too short and they would lose their place in the queue for a possible longer trip.  Then the taxi drivers started arguing with each other, shouting and fists were raised.  Oh my goodness, by asking for a taxi we had started a riot! Finally a taxi from a long way back in the queue came to our rescue.  As we drove away we could see the taxi drivers still shouting at each other. Phew! We all had a good laugh about it later.

Lovely view of the Swan River and Perth from an unexpected stay at the Aloft Hotel 

The hotel we spent our night in was lovely, we all enjoyed it and were quickly refunded the cost by the airline. The next day we flew to Sydney with no problems and I spent a few days sightseeing in and around Sydney before flying home. We all agreed that we would be unlikely to book the Indian Pacific again.  I don't think cancellations of it are rare but who knows, maybe one day

Cocktails in Sydney

The very last insult was that my hotel in Sydney charged me for the night I wasn't there due to my flight being cancelled.  I had contacted them immediately the flight was cancelled but apparently that wasn't soon enough.

The question is "Did I have a good trip?"  Yes I did, I had a fabulous time. I met and spent time with some lovely people, I saw spectacular places I had never seen before, the weather was beautiful and evening cocktails at the hotel bar overlooking Darling Harbour in Sydney were a special treat.  I didn't come home feeling disappointed at all.  The trip wasn't what I'd planned but I'd made the most of it.  I'm a great believer in just going with the flow.

Perth, West Australia -A sparkling, modern city

 I had a good feeling the moment I set foot in the large, airy, new railway station at Perth airport, it was a great first impression of the capital of West Australia.  And the good impressions continued, from the friendly, chatty locals on the train to the helpful people along the way when I couldn't find my hotel.  I had arrived mid evening on a Saturday night, the streets were thronging with good natured people out for the night and, as it turned out, my hotel was hidden down a side street.  There was a good vibe about the place and I was looking forward to exploring the city over the next couple of days.

Perth from King's Park

First off, the next morning I did as I usually do in a new city, I took the Hop On, Hop Off bus to orientate myself and see a few of the sights. Our first stop was at King's Park, reputed to be one of the largest city parks in the world at 400 hectares. It is perched high above downtown Perth with magnificent views of the city and the Swan River.  You could easily spend a day in the park with its beautiful gardens, bush areas, cafes, restaurants and shops, or you can take a walking tour with one of the volunteer guides.  I spent about an hour strolling around, enjoying the gardens and views before getting back on the bus.

The Perth Bell Tower

Below: The Anzac Bell

   

 Then it was off to the Bell Tower, located close to   the river in   downtown Perth.  It is a stunning   modern tower housing mainly   ancient bells.   Unfortunately I had just missed a guided tour and   the   chance to ring the bells which would have   been fun, nevertheless I   climbed  the tower and   viewed the set of 14th century bells which came   from St Martins -in-the-fields, London.  St Martins   had had a new set   of bells installed so these   were  restored and gifted to Perth to   commemorate Australia's bicentennary.  On the 5th level of the   tower   I saw the massive 6,500kg Anzac Bell, cast in Perth as a   tribute to the   soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.  It rings every   midday for one minute. On the 6th level there is a viewing platform offering panoramic views of the city and Swan River and a coin operated 26 bell carillion.  At night, when lit up, the tower looks like an enormous jewel in the city scape.

Perth Mint 

From there the bus took a winding route through the city centre, out to the casino and stadium and back to the Perth Mint where I got off to take a tour. This was a fantastic tour, it covered the discovery of gold in Australia, countless examples of gold nuggets, some very large, and the amazing one tonne gold coin which is 99.99% pure gold and is valued at 90 million Australian dollars. Needless to say it would be impossible to move. In one room you can view, and drool over, the glorious Argyle Pink Diamonds, some of the rarest diamonds in the world, and there are plenty of jewels and jewellery for purchase  The highlight of the tour, though, was entering the smelting room to watch molten gold being turned into a gold bar in a spectacular performance. I even had the opportunity to weigh myself to see what I am worth in gold.  I highly recommend this tour.  Make sure you include it in your trip to Perth.

The One tonne gold coin - at night it sinks down into a secure vault.

In the smelting room making a gold bar

And here it is

My weight in gold - who said I wasn't precious?

So all in all I was highly satisfied with my first day in Perth and looking forward to what the next day would bring.