little tiger on the tramp: The Overland

On the next morning I had to get up at 6 am to catch the shuttle at 7 am and make it in time for the departure of the Gahn at 9 am. On the train I had a very interesting conversation with a guy from NZ looking after the legal side of properties and being on holiday. Following his recommendation I went to the Police in Alice Springs reporting the stolen goods instead enjoying an interesting stroll through the Alice Springs desert park as planned.

Back in Adelaide I told the receptionist at the YHA my troubles (of course a German ;). He recommended me a great place to buy a new laptop and now I cure the loss of the old one by having a 2008 produced Acer. Yay! (Intel Centrino orocessor 560/ 2.13 GHz/ 533 MHz/ 1 MB/ L2 cache/ 1 GB DDR2/ 120GB HDD/ WLAN/ Webcam – I do not know what any of this stands for, but is working well. :) So far.

Left Adelaide again with the Overland for a quick trip to Melbourne. The Overland connects Adelaide and Melbourne in 10.5 hours covering a distance of 828km with a speed of 85 km/hour. The train goes three times weekly in both directions, is approx. 200m long and has a guest capacity of up to 300. The symbol of the Overland is an Emu – “this truly Australian bird is recognised for its speed and grace as it runs through the wide open lands”.

Whatever - the train has been recently refurbished and is really compf! ;)

Rollin' green Hills.

Poultry I believe.

Melbourne is the second most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 3.8 million (2007 estimate) and serves as the state capital of Victoria. Melbourne was founded by free settlers in 1835, 47 years after the first European settlement of Australia, as a pastoral settlement situated around the Yarra River.

Today, Melbourne is a major centre of commerce, industry and cultural activity. The city is referred to as Australia's 'sporting and cultural capital and it is home to many of the nation's most significant cultural and sporting events and institutions. It has been recognised as a gamma world city by the Loughborough University group's 1999 inventory. Melbourne is notable for its mix of Victorian and contemporary architecture, its extensive tram network and Victorian parks and gardens, as well as its diverse, multicultural society. Melbourne has hosted multiple international conferences and events, including the 1956 Summer Olympics and the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Politically, it was the location of the 1981 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and the 2006 G20 summit.

After visiting the German Embassy and taking first steps towards my Canadian Visa I stroll through the Botanic Gardens. Not sooo impressive on a cloudy day of course.