Letter from Sydney: 12-hour rail odyssey from Melbourne is essence of a Lions tour

Interstate train journey offered the chance to spot kangaroos, the rocky landscape and even a World Cup-winning Wallaby

LONG JOURNEY: You feared for any British & Irish Lions fans that had not got their celebrations out of the system before the 12-hour train journey.  Pic: ©INPHO/Tom Maher

IT IS 2.54pm and the interstate train from Melbourne to Sydney screeches to a halt. Sheep on the line. 

It is enough to jolt you forward and you fear for any British & Irish Lions fans who have not quite got out of their system the celebrations of the night before. We are five-and-a-half hours into a 12-hour journey, the road less travelled on this odyssey around Australia, navigating the rocky landscape around Cootamundra Creek and disaster is narrowly avoided.