All aboard the Sunlander

Since my return to Canada, there have been several instances that reminded of my incredible experience down under. One particular moment occurred over Halloween weekend when I traveled to visit my best friend Katie in Kingston. 

I knew November would be filled with reports, presentations, and far too many exams for my liking, so I needed to be productive during this 6 hour mission from London, ON to Kingston, ON. I decided I would purchase a highly inflated Via Rail ticket to capitalize on their free wi-fi and comfortable seating. I knew the Greyhound bus would be considerably cheaper but I was insistent on taking the train. $200 later, I arrived to find out there was a problem with the train and we would all be downgraded to a Greyhound bus which meant no Internet and definitely no plugs to charge my laptop. It’s safe to say I was slightly annoyed.  

How does this remind me of my wonderful experience in Australia? Throughout the four weeks I took several flights to travel across different states of the country; however, there is no direct flight from Cairns to Airlie Beach. I had the opportunity to take the Queensland Rail which was a refreshing break from the security and waiting times associated with flying!

Check out their website !

The train was called The Sunlander and it was a quite beautiful view from my window of the countryside along the way - I was used to seeing nothing but clouds!

It was also great because there was plenty of food on the train - something you don’t get when you take the bus. The food wasn’t typical airplane food either, I purchased a gourmet veggie burger that took me a good hour to finish - it was huge! 

They had different rooms in the train that you could walk through - one room playing movies, one to serve food, one for sleeping, and even one that served alcohol! 

I ended up meeting an older gentleman, who of course recognized me by my ‘accent’. He informed me that he was also born in Canada and is actually friends with the father of ultra dreamy Canadian actor, Ryan Reynolds. 

Overall, the Queensland rail experience was more than I was expecting - I thoroughly enjoyed my time with them.  

.. I’m thinking they need to bring Queensland Rail to Canada, Via Rail is so overrated !