Life on one of the most famous trains in the world for four days and three nights, all meals and all drinks included. Not a bad way of experiencing a unique part of Australia!
Day 20, Wednesday, September 25: Indian Pacific
Australia is a country of long distances. Today, we started our transcontinental crossing between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, from Sydney to Perth through Adelaide, on the famous Indian Pacific train.
From our hotel – shortly before noon – we were transferred via car to the Sydney Central Station, where we checked onto the train. Then enjoyed some refreshments in the lounge designated to all 189 passengers.
Just a little before 2 pm, we boarded the 1 kilometer long, 29 car Indian Pacific. An hour later, the train began its epic journey, heading to the Blue Mountains and beyond.
Our Gold service B4 cabin included a sofa for daytime use, which folded away to become an upper and lower bed for the evening. (Steve volunteered to sleep on the upper bed.) There was a little wardrobe to hang your jacket in, a small table by the window, a few pillows to help you relax, and a compact private bathroom with a shower, small sink, and toilet. The experience on the train included three-course meals, fine wines, beers, and other beverages.
One of the car attendents explained how things worked in the cabin, another scheduled the dinner times with us for the three evenings. We learned that we could go for breakfast and lunch at any time during designated time periods. Also, that the beds would be made by the train attendant while we had our dinner. We had to decide what type of off train experiences we wanted to attend on Thursday and Friday. There were a variety of activities to choose from.
Because we are traveling so light, we had all our stuff with us in the cabin. At the train station, we saw many huge luggages that had to be placed in the luggage car, and which were not accessible during the train ride. So, passengers had to bring to the cabin a small bag with the essentials needed for the duration of the trip. Another reason why it’s a good idea to travel just with a carry-on.
After settling into our cabin, we enjoyed some refreshments in the lounge car. Internet was available only there and in the dining car, but when I tried to upload a blogpost and some photos into my blog, it didn’t work for that purpose. Oh, well, it will need to wait until later.
Our dinner, which included grilled saltbush crusted kangaroo loin (delicious!) and native pepperleaf spice crusted beef eye fillet, was served at 6:30 pm. The funny thing was that they gave us four knives! One for the butter for the roll, one for the kangaroo loin starter, one for the main course, and one specifically for the steak. Good thing that we remembered our manners: to use the utensils from outside toward the inside. I felt I was practicing for dining with the king.
Unusual for us, 9 pm found us already in bed. We were ready to find out what sleeping looks like on a rumbling train.
Day 21, Thursday, September 26: Indian Pacific
After a bumpy ride and not too much sleep for me, they woke us up at 6 am for the first off train experience. The train stopped in the mining town of Broken Hill. We boarded a bus and were taken to Broken Hill Trades Hall, which is one of the most significant workers’ halls in the world. We learned that currently it’s being nominated for the UNESCO World Heritage List. Here local actors showcased the life and struggle of the miners. From the hill, where the miners memorial was located, we could see the train in its entire impressive length.
A tasty breakfast awaited us back on the train, followed by reading (and blog post writing) in our cabin. Then more eating (lunch) around 1 pm, and more relaxation until a little after 3 pm. At that time, the train stopped in Adelaide, and the day’s second off train experience started.
A bus took us to Cleland Wildlife Park, where we learned from our very knowledgeable young guide about their conservation efforts, and where we got close with kangaroos as we hand-fed them.
The Tasmanian devil was hiding, but we saw many other unique animals: potoroos, swamp wallabies, yellow-footed rock-wallabies (due to their bright coat, they were hunted to near extinction), emus, red kangaroos, western grey kangaroos, pelicans, cockatoos, and koalas who just had their ”beauty sleep.”
After the wildlife adventure, the next destination was Mount Lofty. Here we took a short discovery walk around the Mt Lofty summit, which is situated on the native lands of the Kaurna people. We spotted three kangaroos in the wild, experienced the sunset, and had an incredible two-course dinner at the restaurant called The Summit while listening to live music.
We re-boarded the train around 9 pm, changed the setting on our phones and watches to the Adelaide time zone, which is one and half hours ahead of the previous time zone, and were ready for our second night aboard.
Day 22, Friday, September 27: Indian Pacific
Today, we slept in longer (and better) than yesterday. Breakfast at 7:30 am, then enjoying the view from our cabin and later from the lounge car as the train traveled through the unique Nullarbor Plain. Yes, almost no trees or big bushes, just the seemingly endless expanse of the land, twice the size of England.
Just before noon, the train stopped at Cook (to get water and other supplies), and we got a chance to walk around the deserted ghost town that once was a vibrant place with 200 inhabitants, a school, swimming pool, general store, post office, train station, even jail cells. It’s an isolated place, 1138 kilometers from Adelaide and 1523 kilometers from Perth. Because it was hot (27 degrees Celsius) and windy, we re-boarded the train after a short 20 minutes.
After our lunch, we noticed on the map displayed in the lounge car that we were traveling on the world’s longest stretch of straight railway track, 478 kilometers.
We were scheduled to stop at Rawlinna, the largest sheep station in Australia, and have appetizers and drinks under the stars, but the weather turned into rain and lightning, so this stepping off the train was cancelled. Some folks stayed in the lounge with their drinks listening to live music (a guitar player/singer was performing), but Steve and I opted for reading in our cabin, then for a restful night.
Day 23, Saturday, September 28: Indian Pacific
Time on the train was spent – you guessed it – reading, relaxing, talking to fellow passengers, and eating. We had lots of great food to choose from for every meal.
Arrived in Perth in the afternoon. From the train station, we were transferred to our hotel, the Pan Pacific Perth, where we will be spending five nights.
The past few days and nights spent on this unique train allowed us to see part of Australia differently while relaxing and enjoying our comfortable accommodation. We saw contrasting landscapes, endless horizons, mountains, desert plains, and wine regions as the Indian Pacific crossed 4352 kilometers on its journey between Sydney to Perth. An unforgettable experience!
