chapter 2 helene continued

They got up very early the next day. The bus was going to pick them up from the hotel at quarter past nine to take them to the railway station which was situated near the docks. That didn’t leave much time for shopping! Luckily, the hotel was situated in the city centre, so they didn’t have to travel anywhere, but they wouldn’t have time to try anything on or be too selective.
In the mean time, they had a good breakfast to look forward to.
Helene could not believe her luck! How could she be getting all this for free? She was going to make the most of it!
She started with coco-pops with whole milk and a glass of fresh orange juice. Then she piled her plate high from the hot buffet with a selection of bacon, sausages, hash browns, baked beans, mushrooms, tomatoes and scrambled eggs with freshly filtered coffee.
Brigitte was more selective from the buffet. She chose plain cornflakes, skimmed milk and pineapple juice, then a selection of sliced fruits, cooked meats and cheese. She stood by the grill and made toast for both of them. Helene had not realised. She had moved on to a croissant. She did not want to miss out on the meat and cheese either, so she’d put a few slices on her plate. Now she also had two slices of toast to consume as well! She would have to have more coffee to wash it all down.
It was a struggle, but she managed to get the toast down, smothered in butter and jam. She had overdone it! She was certain of that! Brigitte must think she was a real pig! But she’d not had a proper meal for weeks. She was afraid her bones were going to be sticking out of her skin soon.
Brigitte watched the younger woman’s greed, but did not try to stop her. They’d come down in plenty time to eat well. Upstairs, everything was packed, so they didn’t have to worry about that. When they came back from their quick dash to the shops, all they had to do was grab their stuff and go! She was surprised by how much Helene had consumed, but she had come across plenty backpackers to know that many of them lived on the verge of starvation, so that they could continue traveling. It showed that Andy had, once again, chosen well. She would probably do well on the farm.

They were still able to get to the shopping mall by half past eight. There were a few souvenir shops that were open early to take advantage of the cool of the morning. Helene was feeling sluggish after her huge meal and wanted to browse. Brigitte just grabbed stuff off the rails. An approximate size would do. She didn’t look at colours or patterns. A sun dress, a hat, tee shirt, shorts, sandals, another tee shirt and a pair of trousers would do... they ran back to the hotel with their arms full, checked out and waited in reception for their bus.
They were the last pick up point, so it did not take long to get to the station. What took a lot of time was checking their bags in and then being shown to their cabin on the train. There were so many others who were waiting to do the same thing at the same time.
Eventually, the courier showed them to their gold standard cabin. It had double seats on either side of a table beside a large picture window to watch the scenery. Everything else was extremely compact and folded away to give more space. Even the sink folded away into the wall!
They sat down in awe of the luxury in miniature on the historic train. A book on the table introduced them to their cabin facilities. There were details about the historic train and the places it visited. This was certainly no ordinary train journey!
They had time to relax after boarding before the train moved off and out of the station. Then there was a couple of hours before lunch in the restaurant carriage. Helene made herself comfortable. Did she have time for a quick snooze?
The mile long train pulled out of the station slowly and smoothly. Within minutes it was snaking away from the docks and the city and into the Kakadu National park. It was the wet season. The flora on the mostly flat land was green and luscious, but patches of red dirt were still visible in between.
Helene thought she must have slept for at least an hour. When she woke, they were still in the National park. No artificial structures were visible outside the window. They were deep into ancient aboriginal land. This was the way it had been for thousands of years. Only the silvery streak of the train on it’s tracks disturbed the view.
Lunch in the dining car was a three course fine dining affair with bespoke gold edged crockery and gold plated cutlery. There was a lot of people to serve in a short space of time. Each of the courses was small but delicious, the staff were pleasant and courteous, but very efficient. Brigitte and Helene were seated with an Australian couple from Sydney, who had sold their house when they retired and bought a motor home. They intended to spend the rest of their active lives traveling around Australia. They had already been to Adelaide and Perth, then they had taken the coastal route north to Darwin. They were going to get off the train at Alice springs, stay there a couple of days, travel to Uluru and then back to Alice to catch the train south the following week. They would spend a few days back in Adelaide. They had a winery tour booked - oh an a visit to kangaroo island, then they would get back in the motor home and head east around the coast to see what the state of Victoria had to offer before heading for Melbourne.
Helene was jealous of their wealth. She had yet to see the places they had been to, but they were able to maintain a decent standard of living throughout. If she was to experience the same thing, it would take months of traveling on cramped, hot, dusty buses, sleeping wherever she could and working in seedy roadside cafes on the way.
She was getting to the stage where she yearned to go home. She pictured her family in her mind. At this time of year, they would be sitting around a roaring fire in the living room in the depths of winter. It seemed strange to think that they were wearing thick jumpers, coats, hats and scarves when she was wearing shorts, tee shirts and sun hats at the same time.

Lunch was just enough to satisfy without getting too full. Then it was back to the cabin for an hour or so before the stop in Katherine.
It was a compulsory stop for the train. It took a couple of hours to refuel, restock and refill with water. The passengers used the time for a tour around the town and have a cruise up the nearby gorge.
When they returned to the train, they had more time to relax and rehydrate as their journey south continued.
Brigitte found some sweets and biscuits at the bottom of her bag. She put them out on the table to share, but Helene ate the majority of them.
Later, there was dinner to enjoy. Another three course meal in the restaurant car, served with wine. The portions were slightly larger than at lunch, but the quality was just as good and tasty. Afterwards, Brigitte took Helene into the lounge where they could relax with other passengers and have a drink from the bar. Brigitte made sure Helene’s glass never got completely empty and she was well and truly drunk by the time they went back to their cabin. The courier had been busy while they had been away. Their seats and their table had been converted into a comfortable bed. Brigitte made sure Helene was safely tucked up in bed, then brought some breakfast muffins that she had sneaked into her bag at breakfast. She told Helene she must be hungry after such a busy day. In her drunken stupor, she agreed. Brigitte unwrapped the first muffin and tore a little off, placing it in her open mouth. Helene ate six muffins before falling asleep.

In the morning, Helene woke up with a cruel hangover. She felt so bloated, so tired, yet she was still excited about being on the train. She opened the blinds. The sun was only just rising over a flat desert landscape. The courier knocked on the door and passed in a cup of coffee. It was time to get up and ready for breakfast.
Brigitte was already up and in the shower. Having a shower on a moving train was certainly an experience!
Breakfast was a moderate high quality meal. When they returned to their cabin, the beds had been folded away, the bed linen had gone and they could sit in their chairs once again.
Helene still felt woozy from her hangover. If it wasn’t for Brigitte, she would have stayed in bed and missed her stop at Alice springs.
However, Brigitte encouraged her to eat well for her breakfast. It would help her sore head, soak the alcohol up, she said. Back in their cabin, she found even more snacks for her. Helene didn’t think about it. Her brain was not working properly, she just ate.

Andy was there to meet them at the station. He helped Helene with her bags because she did not look very well. She probably needed to get a decent meal inside her. He took them to a burger joint for lunch. Andy and Brigitte had small regular sized meals. It would still be enough to see them through until dinner. Helene’s meal was bigger than both of their meals put together. A huge burger, with large fries and an extra large shake and an apple pie. She would feel better if she ate it all. She did not want to disappoint them. She ate until she felt full, then pushed herself on further until she felt completely stuffed! Her belly had never been so full and tight. The waistband of her new shorts was uncomfortably tight.
Andy had to help her to get onto the truck and make sure that her belt was safely fastened. As the truck pulled out of Alice, Helene drifted off to sleep.