nullarbor plain, or arrid extra dry etc

trains -- when we were moving to perth, after landing in sydney, we had to cross the nullarbor plain.   the route includes the world's longest straight stretch of railway track, a 478-kilometre (297 mi) stretch of the Trans-Australian Railway over the Nullarbor Plain.  thank you, wiki.  

i don't remember how long it took, but i do remember our family had one or two sleeping berths.   and nearly as awesome as the delicious meals served in the dining car was the fact that when you used the toilet anywhere on the train, upon flushing, you got an ever so brief view of the railroad ties motion blurring underneath.  we were downright giddy knowing it went right onto the tracks.  i suspect the 122*f high temps on the nullarbor takes care of any waste pretty efficiently and quickly.    dodeska-den dodeska-den dodeska-den dodeska-den... for 2,400miles.

i remember slamming my fingers in the really heavy bathroom door in our berth.  i remember my younger sister having incessant nose bleeds as a result of all the dust and the incredibly arid conditions.  never saw kangaroos hopping across or any aborigines on walkabout, although later nic roeg and peter weir would be on my favorite directors list. 

i will go back to austraila and see the cat and the fiddle arcade in hobart (merci, blanche) and eat spumoni ice cream at the italian restaurant nearby.  i will climb mt wellington above the lenah valley like my dad did and look for tasmanian devils. i'll rent a car and visit the tiny house on the cul de sac at  4 kalang avenue; i never realized we were so close to the derwent river. and i might even forsake vegetarianism for a half day to eat a meat or two.