8. Queenslander Class on the Sunlander Train to Brisbane

Had a great time in Townsville! Said Goodbye to our new friends, then headed into town. Found an internet cafe that was so hot I thought we were going to die. Even Lindsay was hot. Still, we spent a couple of hours, updated the blog, checked email, then ran. Had a great lunch and headed for the train station.

Wow. This is pretty nice. After working out the luggage (only 20k allowed, not 25 like the airlines -- so they gave us a small zip bag for the overweight... which we also checked!) we boarded the train with our host. A lovely cabin to relax in, as well as a club car and a dining car. We settled in, headed for the club car, had drinks and then to dinner. Very fancy, gourmet dinner! All we have done is EAT on this trip! It has all been wonderful. After dinner, despite the staff's request that Lindsay lead the other passengers in a Zoomba class (exercise dancing?), we headed off to bed at our usual 9 pm. The bunks were marginally better than sleeping on the floor, but much better than an airline seat!

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Up early for breakfast (again, too much, but wonderful) and then back to our cabin. Lindsay took an after-breakfast nap, I knitted and wandered around. We passed on the shower -- we thought it would be too hard with all that movement...

Great scenery, but would have been better if it hadn't been so rainy. Lots of info from the staff about what we were passing. All in all, a great experience!

Arrived in Brisbane, settled in, headed out for dinner at the Eagle Street Pier. Fun!