Zeb and Eider Duck and the humans are still on the Indian Pacific Railroad. The train is slowing down.
We stopped at Cook.
When we, ducks and our 2 humans, entered the town, we doubled the population of Cook, Australia Yes, there are only 4 permanent residents of Cook. Cook was established in 1917 to support the Trans Australian Railway. That was the fist name of our train Cook formerly had 200 residents. This was the school in Cook, Australia.
We like the painting on this tower at the school.
More Cook art to see.
There was a swimming pool near the school.
Doesn’t look like we could swim here now. Here is the train station.
These buildings are not outhouses; they are jail cells,or gaol cells.
One is for females and one is for males. The prisoners did not stay here long; they were sent out of town on the next train.
Being in jail in these metal cells was like being in prison in a cooking pot. The city of Cook was built on the Nullarbor Plain, which is known for the lack or absence of trees. This rock with the plaque, commemorates the effort of men trying to defy this idea. These were the Men of the Trees.
In 2006, 100 trees were planted in Cook. The surviving trees are the tallest on the Nullarbor Plain. When the railroad was privatized, most people left town, and now with only 4 permanent residents, Cook, Australia is almost a ghost town.
We, Zeb and Eider Duck, and our humans are glad we were able to visit Cook.
If you travel on the Indian Pacific Railway, you may visit Cook also. Back on the Indian Pacific Railway, we are still crossing the Nullarbor Plain. This is called the Southern Outback. Although at times we see water holding ponds,
and some spots of green landscape,
do not be fooled. We are still on the Nullarbor Plain, a huge limestone plateau and desert.
Now we are nearing the end of our ride and we see these sheep and that pipe is for transporting water.
All this riding on the train makes humans hungry, so they snacked on Snickers. The candy bar tasted just like the Snickers at home, but the writing on the package was a little different.
SnickersWe are almost at Perth, so it is about the end of our train ride. This is a great train and we hope you will ride it soon.