On Saturday 17 July, we embarked on our overland train trip from Sydney to Perth. The journey really begins at Circular Quay station, where Julie breaks her tooth on a candy bar. Luckily it doesn’t seem to cause too much pain but is not a good omen for our 63 hour transcontinental journey that is coming up.

We stumble under our baggage upstairs to make the Sydney Metro connection with the main rail station. We wait on the platform next to a tall man with a shaved head and camouflage gear. He’s with his father, and the tall man is angry and paranoid and quite possibly completely insane.

He keeps raving on about “civilians” and stalking about glaring through his aviator shades. We make a point of getting on the next metro carriage in case “Jungle Boy” goes troppo. I make a joke that he’s probably going to be getting on the train with us to Perth, to go to a survivalist training school or skinhead national front light arms training school.

Sure enough, at Central Station he’s there in the Indian Pacific queue with Dad. Being a slow learner, I joke that he will probably be in the same carriage as us. Touch wood I say, with a sinking feeling. Too late.

We board the train and settle into our seats on carriage S of the Indian Pacific.

Jungle Boy gets on with his Dad after us. At least he’s travelling with someone sane I think. Then Dad gets off the train and says goodbye to Jungle Boy, who is now on the loose.

Jungle Boy stows his luggage and I hear him asking some Japanese backpackers “What is your favourite choice of weapon?” and bowing.

It’s going to be an interesting few days in carriage S.