My sad journey west began on Thursday the 6th November 2008, when I boarded the
Indian Pacific at 11pm with my eldest daughter to attend the funeral of my friend's 25 year old daughter and to try and bring some comfort to the rest of the family as they mourned their great loss.
The journey took us 36 hours of travelling time, one day and two nights. We were glad, to say the least, to reach our destination at the Perth Railway Station. This is our first stop at Cook on the Nullabor. We had a 20 minute break to get off and walk around Cook.
This was the view from my seat. We went sit up all the way. This is the shower end of the carriage, down the other end was the toilet. This doorway lead to the main locomotives on the train.
The Nullabor Plain outside the window, absolutely nothing to see, some places didn't hardly have a blade of grass. We spent the whole day of daylight looking at this on both sides of the train.
Nothing exciting out there.
or there
Rawlinna in Western Australia, my hubby lived here in the middle of nowhere in his younger days as a Shunter.
After 10 hours we arrived at Kalgoorlie to be told we had to get off the train and find something to do for three and a half hours. This is the first thing we saw outside the railway station. We went for a walk around and then returned to the station and waited until it was time to leave.
A war memorial.
I should have taken more photos but my heart wasn't in it.We arrived in Perth at 9.10 Saturday morning on the 8th November.
The funeral was held on 11.11.08 at 11.00am.
Appropriate for the family I think, it is a day they will never forget. I won't go into details as this family is a very private one and would not want to share with the world.
When we left there were a lot of tears as I hate living so far away from them. We made the choice to return to Adelaide by plane, so much quicker than the train, arriving at 6.00pm on Saturday 15 November, to a husband and son that were very pleased to see me. It's nice to know I am appreciated and now they know how much I really DO do around this place. We spent Sunday going to markets and son's athletics in Adelaide.
I have promised to go to my friend at anytime if she needs me to. I am calling her every couple of days to check how she is coping.
Now I have to get my life back in order, it has been hard as death changes ones outlook on life. Things and stuff are no longer important.
Family is!
Best wishes to you and your families,
Tania
Tania, thanks for dropping by my place and adding my to your links,I will do likewise. How sad to have to make such a trip. The loss of a loved one is heart breaking, especially one so young. My daughters best friend died in a car crash in her early 20s, it is still hard to belive she is gone. I don't know if you are a religious person but there are words of comfort in the bible,2nd corinthians 1 vs 4 is a good one.I won't quote it as I don't want to preach but it is there. Please accept my condolance and sympathy. You are so right about family It is what holds us togeather and gives us hope and strenght to face what each day gives us. Take courage. TTFN Wanda
ReplyDeleteSo hard for you and your friend, not sure how and when or if nayone gets over something like this.
ReplyDeletedaisymum
Tania,
ReplyDeleteI am glad you are back home. Never do things like this happen without affecting us and our outlook on life.
I am still praying for your friend.
What a hard journey. This world/land can be so harsh.
ReplyDeletevery nice photos:)
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