Cross our heart ... Santa's a hit with children in Watson.Credit:Andrea Francolini
Santa's overdressed for the Nullarbor,but the show must go on,and on,writes Mal Chenu.
THE gig at the railway siding of Watson,near the old Maralinga nuclear test site,is one of the toughest of the tour and Santa waits nervously in his cubicle. When the warm-up act,singer Shannon Noll,finishes his set,it will be show time. Santa adjusts his beard and belt,double-checks the lolly bags and shuffles his shiny black boots. He stares out the window as endless red-brown desert and skinny baked trees fly past.
Bruce Dent,68,has been playing Santa on the Indian Pacific's annual Outback Christmas Journey from Sydney to Perth each December since 2000,when his support act was Nikki Webster. One of his most prized possessions is a photo of himself in full Santa regalia kicking a footy with Jimmy Barnes on the Nullarbor Plain in 2004. Other acts who have opened for Bruce include John Williamson,Marcia Hines and Human Nature.
Leaving Sydney at 3pm,the trip starts with a tour of the city's graffiti hot spots but quickly turns into a bucolic treat as we wind our way up the Blue Mountains.
About 4½ hours after leaving Sydney Central,we reach Bathurst station,where about 100 people have turned out for the show. Kids in Santa hats,bubbling with pre-Christmas anticipation,sing a couple of carols and then Noll and his two-guitar accompaniment take the stage and perform a four-song show. The kids love it,joining in the chorus to his hit song What about Me with gusto.
Santa Bruce then de-trains (they really call it that) and struggles to make an impact as he is jostled by autograph-hunters crowding Noll;but he bravely pushes on - the lolly bags must be delivered.
In 25 minutes,it's all over. We re-train and head to Broken Hill for a 7.30am repeat performance. And then Adelaide,Watson,Cook,Rawlinna,Kalgoorlie and finally Perth - nine concerts,67 hours and 4352 kilometres from Sydney. It's a gruelling road trip for any Santa,let alone one pushing 70.
Life on board is fun but the Indian Pacific's greatest gift is time,which seems to stretch out like the infinity of the track ahead. Relaxation is impossible to avoid and there's no better place to curl up with a good book. Time is relative,with regular clock changes as we head west. These are announced along with reminders about when dinner is ready if you can't keep up with all the watch-winding.
Time is spent between the lounge (bar) car and the restaurant car,where the bonhomie and the food are both excellent. There is no gym car in which to work off what they serve you in the restaurant car but the in-train magazine,Platform,offers some useful exercise tips,including:"Push your bottom back into the seat. Lift one buttock. Repeat three times each side."