The Quinntesential Blog

My alarm woke me up at 05:30, and I was glad to have prepared my suitcase the night before. I took a shower and then made my way across the street to the Adelaide Bus Terminal, where I would be taking a coach to Bendigo. Upon entering, one of the homeless people inside sensed I…

I started the day by taking the tram down to Glenelg, Adelaide’s touristy beach suburb. I was meeting up with the parents of the teacher who switched jobs with my mom in 2009, and they suggested to go there so I could try out the tram. I made my way to Victoria Square, which was…

It was the last morning on The Ghan, so I made my way down to the lounge car after showering for breakfast. I ended up sitting with a couple from Gippsland in eastern Victoria, and the husband had spent his entire career working on the railroads. We talked about trains and he mentioned that one…

It was another early morning, and I was woken up by the sun coming through my window as I had forgotten to close the blinds the night before. I had been looking forward to visiting Coober Pedy as I had heard about it when we lived in Australia, but it was too far for us…

I woke up shortly after sunrise having had a restful night of sleep. The bed in my cabin was very comfortable, and the motion of the train was quite comforting. I was a bit worried that being near the front of the train would be loud, but it didn’t prove to be an issue, as…

It was another early morning as I needed to be ready to catch the bus transfer to The Ghan at 06:30. Of course, I was incredibly excited and hardly slept the night before. The Ghan is one of the great train journeys of the world, and certainly Australia’s most iconic. It takes four days to…

I got to sleep in a bit today as we were expected to be on the bus by 08:00. It was another jam packed day, and I was ready to see the sights. The afirst stop was Ubirr, another Aboriginal art site in the northern part of Kakadu National Park. The main story here was…

My 05:00 wake-up call came early. I was leaving Darwin for a two day tour of Kakadu National Park. The bus left my hotel bright and early at 06:30, and I was surprised to see my tour guide fro from the day before, Anthony, waiting to greet me. We made our way out of Darwin…

I was booked on a tour of Darwin this morning, so I made my way to the lobby where the coach was waiting. Normally I prefer to do things on my own, but Darwin and the Top End isn’t as easy to get around, especially without a vehicle. Plus, it’s also nice to get some…

I was up well before my 05:00 alarm, as is often the case when I have a morning flight to catch. Unfortunately I wasn’t as well rested as I had hoped, but I got ready and checked out, and was on my way to the train station before 06:00. It was interesting to see the…