Category Archives: Transport

Early morning, Abu Dhabi airport

Monday 27th May 2013, 1.05am (day 641)

Abu Dhabi airport, 27/5/13

The title of this post is used with a mild sense of irony. Because of the role this airport wants to play — a bridge between Europe and East Asia/Australia as well as a destination in its own right — many of the flights seem to land and leave here between midnight and 3am, to fit in with flight schedules to and from countries that have stricter controls on when planes can come in and out. As a result, Abu Dhabi airport was as busy at 1am as anywhere I’ve ever been. I didn’t deliberately get a shot of these two, but was taking something of the decorative pillar in the center of Terminal 1 — as many other people were doing to pass the time — as she turned around. Cropping did the rest, it’s a bit out-of-focus but never mind, I quite like this shot.

And so, thanks to a three-hour stopover, another country, the United Arab Emirates, technically makes it onto the blog, though I don’t consider I visited the place. However, I think this shot is a little more representative than the dull one, technically of Singapore, that I got on the stopover during my flight out just over four months ago. This shot also becomes the earliest on any of the 641 days so far, and one of only four taken before 6am.

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My luggage, at Circular Quay Station

Sunday 26th May 2013, 11.25am (day 640)

Circular Quay, 26/5/13

Here is my luggage awaiting what amounted to the second leg of my 9,000-mile journey home: the train journey from Circular Quay station to Sydney airport. Circular Quay must have one of the best views of any railway station in the world — accepting stiff competition from Durham in the north-east of England (look it up…) – so you’d think they might clean the windows now and again.

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Sydney Harbour Bridge

Sunday 31st March 2013, 4.25pm (day 584)

Sydney Harbour Bridge, 31/3/13

I know I did the ‘crossing a bridge’ thing a few days ago, but no offense to Brisbane, this is one of the world’s truly great bridges so needed to be shown on here (and I like the various lattices on the shot). And it is a very impressive piece of engineering. Eighty years old now but I am sure it will still be looking as good into the next century (though by then, who knows, it might be called the Hancock Westpac News International Bridge or something like that).

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Crossing the William Jolly Bridge, Brisbane

Tuesday 26th March 2013, 12.40pm (day 579)

William Jolly bridge, 26/3/13

Sometimes you see a shot coming just in time to get it lined up, focused and taken. Played for and got. I’m very happy with this one.

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Katoomba Station

Wednesday 13th March 2013, 9.15am (day 566)

Katoomba station, 13/3/13

Start of the first leg of my journey back to Brisbane, where I now reside. (Well, second leg, if you count the walk up Katoomba’s main street to reach the station.) I like the various curves of the platform, and do wonder what the guy in the background is actually up to.

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Dallas, my personal pilot

Saturday 2nd March 2013, 3.55pm (day 555)

Dallas the pilot, 2/3/13

Karamea is not an easy place to reach and as I have to be back in Australia by Monday morning I shelled out a few hundred NZ dollars for a flight out, with Golden Bay Air. This turned out to involve not just one, but two chances to have my own personal pilot, as both legs (Karamea – Takaka, then Takaka – Wellington) involved me being the only passenger on a tiny little Cessna. On the first plane I rather meekly sat in the back but here I am on the second flight, sitting up front next to Dallas the pilot as she flies us both over the islands of the Marlborough Sound. It was really cool to be able to talk to her during the flight and hear her conversations with air traffic controllers. I could become quite a convert to this light plane flying actually. Thoroughly worth the money, a really excellent experience.

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In-flight entertainment

Sunday 17th February 2013, 3.40pm [New Zealand time] (day 542)

In flight entertainment, 17/2/13

 

Could have offered up photos taken from the plane, but there will, I’m sure, be plenty of New Zealand landscapes coming up over the next few days, and I also got a good shot of Auckland but that’s also a theme used a few days ago. So here’s a photo taken of the plane. Here is everyone plugged into their little worlds as we fly over the Tasman Sea.

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Melbourne, under the thunderstorm

Thursday 14th Feburary 2013, 5.40pm (day 539)

Melbourne storm, 14/3/13

 

Things you don’t necessarily want to hear from the pilot as you’re coming into land: “Ladies and gentlemen, we’re turning the seatbelt sign on, there seems to be some thunderstorm activity around the airport”. Cue one of the bumpier landings I’ve ever experienced. But we made it.

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Brisbane Central Station, Sunday

Sunday 10th February 2013, 12.20pm (day 535)

Central station, 10/2/13

 

The east exit. It does get busier than this during the week. Taken as I returned from the airport having transited (on a very bumpy flight) back from Adelaide. The lonely ‘wet floor’ marker – placed there for no reason I could discern – gives it a sense of pathos I think…

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Platform 4, London Bridge

Tuesday 11th December 2012, 11.10am (day 474)

Platform 4, London Bridge, 11/11/12

I seem at the moment to be spending most of my life on the move. Just as well that I don’t mind taking photos of railway stations, then, even if it does sometimes make me look like a trainspotter. I got quite a few photos today that were nearly very good, and even though there’s nothing spectacular about this one, I quite like it; this gentleman just looks very chilled out. All in all it does encapsulate what was another very beautiful day with great light, one on which it was far more pleasant to be hanging around outside than one has a right to expect in mid-December.

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