Fishing village of San Remo: Phillip Is.

Sharing coffee and cake in a cafe at San Remo this morning, was a great way to catch up with our close friends Paul and Heidi, who were returning to Melbourne after a weekend away. Located on the mainland side of the Phillip Island bridge, the small fishing village of San Remo is a popular place -- especially at this time of the year.

The San Remo fishing fleet is small, mainly fishing for school shark, with one boat equipped for squid fishing. Today the tide was low; however, the rush of water flowing through the Eastern Passage was clear to see.

Phillip Island's reticulated water supply is delivered by means of a pipe located beneath the bridge structure (you can see it in the photo). Electricity from the Victorian grid crosses the water just south of the bridge. Both are like major arteries.

The seaside village of San Remo; the jetty with its fishing fleet, yachts and motor boats; and the massive structure of the bridge -- all make up a dynamic entrance to Phillip Island.

From Island to Melbourne and back again

It's a 2 1/2 hour car trip from our part of Phillip Island to inner Melbourne -- add to that two medical appointments, some shopping and lots of waiting around and I'm exhausted. Doug is too, because the concentration required to drive in heavy city traffic is considerable.

The expertise I received from my two specialist doctors was, however, worth the trip.

In between appointments, I wandered along Glenferrie Road in Malvern -- a very trendy area. I felt a bit like a fish out of water. All those 'beautiful' people; the roar of traffic; all that 'stuff'. I found myself longing for outback Queensland -- -- -.

One of the best parts of today was a conversation I had with a woman I met in the Cabrini Hospital Cafeteria. We shared many interests and spent half an hour in easy, warm conversation.

After a day in Melbourne, our arrival back on the island was like stepping into another world -- that huge expanse of bridge; all those blues and greens; and finally, a wonderful welcome home from Major, Del and Katie

PS

Whenever we go out -- leaving the dogs at home for more than 20 minutes or so -- we give them each a huge juicy bone. Major settles on the grass to crunch and gnaw his bone, while Del sits close by guarding hers between her paws. However, Del doesn't eat her bone until we return.

Railway bridge over the Maranoa River opened in 1885

Every Wednesday and Friday evening, at about 10 p.m., the Westlander (which begins its journey at Charleville) stops at Mitchell Railway Station to pick up passengers bound for either Toowoomba or Brisbane.

You can sit up or choose a sleeper which includes a bed, wash basin and cupboard. In the corridor there are toilets and showers. Doug travelled by train to Brisbane last year, and by booking a sleeper, found the journey pleasant and an interesting experience.

Livestock are also transported by rail, with Quilpie the usual loading point. In many ways this seems a more humane method of transport than road trains.

The railway bridge over the Maranoa River is upstream from the road bridge. It was opened in 1885 and was one of the first bridges built on concrete piers. There are three bridge spans of 32 m (100 feet) on concrete piers with timber approaches. The total length is 218 m (688 feet). The coming of the railway revolutionised the transport of livestock, wool, mail and passengers between the coast and outback Australia.

The sound of the train whistle (as the train crosses roads within Mitchell) on cold frosty nights is a rather mournful sound, yet it also means people are travelling, and it always gives me pleasure to think of people enjoying a train journey.