Journey of a lifetime on the Indian Pacific

Find out the best things about travelling from Adelaide to Perth by train.

By Lauren Reid
Published: Monday, November 6, 2017

Travel in style. Travel with ease. Travel by train. And put your iPhone away; you won’t need it here. We explore the rugged outback of south and west Australia aboard Great Southern Rail’s Indian Pacific.

A UN peacekeeper, a botanist, a musical theatre producer, an emergency department doctor and a mathematician walk into a restaurant.

It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but it was actually the start of my trip on the Indian Pacific. My travel buddy and I were taking the train from Adelaide to Perth, and it all kicked off with dinner at the National Wine Centre.

We began with a tasting of some of SA’s best wines and cheeses among the wooden barrels, before settling in for a scrumptious three-course meal and an enthralling group discussion. This set the scene for the entire journey: delicious food and wine, fascinating company, and striking settings.

We’d been checked-in upon arrival at the Wine Centre and our carry-on luggage was already in our cabin when we embarked at Kent Town. The cabins are compact, so you’re advised to pack light, but they’re impeccably presented and well equipped.

Soon after finding our way to our cabin, we were greeted again by staff, introduced to our train manager Bruce (who basically became our bestie onboard) and offered a personal wake-up call for the morning – complete with tea or coffee.

This proved to be more than just a pleasant novelty, as we were determined to take in the sunrise each morning and that early caffeine burst was essential for making sure we could keep our eyes open before 6am.

Sunrise from the window of the Indian Pacific.
Sunrise from the window of the Indian Pacific. Image: RAA.

As for that sunrise, it was so worth the early wakeup. As a total city slicker – and a millennial at that – I’m ashamed to say I hadn’t seen much of Australia’s rural landscapes before. In fact, the last time I saw those iconic expanses of red dirt and scrub, I was a surly teenager resentfully trudging along with my class on a high-school camp.

This time, with my phone signal long gone, I simply had to wind up the blind on my cabin window, cradle my (idyllically strong) cup of tea in my palms, and watch. All I could hear was the persistent rattle and whistle of the mammoth 774m train and an occasional pair of footsteps down the passageway as others received their own wake-up calls.

Eventually, it was time for breakfast – the first of our meals on-board. We were pre-emptively ready to sit down to a dry piece of toast or a travel pack of cereal; after all, surely there’s not much you can safely cook aboard a rattling train. Right? Wrong.

Gourmet meals on Indian Pacific
Just some of the gourmet meals you'll get to try on the Indian Pacific. Image: Great Southern Rail

Freshly squeezed juices, tea and coffee were offered before the feast began. Bircher mueslis, omelettes with native saltbush and Avon Valley salami, French toast with double cream, baked eggs… these were just some of the gourmet breakfast options available in the Queen Adelaide restaurant on board.

The options available at other meals didn’t disappoint either. Dietary needs were catered for without a fuss, so if you’ve got allergies and intolerances – or just aren’t brave enough to try camel tagine for your lunch – you can be sure you’ll still have a delicious trip.

The second day of the journey – our only full day on-board – saw us stop off in Cook, a Nullarbor ghost town, to stretch our legs, breathe in some fresh air and snap some photos.

The best stop, however, was that evening at Rawlinna Station.

My travel partner and I booked our dinner for the last sitting so we could maximise our off-board time listening to an acoustic singer, catching up with our mates from that first night’s dinner and, most of all, stargazing.

There’s nothing quite like looking up at the Milky Way as it blazes against the pitch-black sky to make you feel excruciatingly insignificant, and yet also intrinsically connected to the world around you.

By the time we made it through our final dinner and back to our cabin, our beds had been set up for us – another little way the staff cater to your every need without being overbearing.

Indian Pacific Panorama
Image supplied by Great Southern Rail.

Everything is carried out with a sincere smile – and often a good chuckle, too. I laughed so hard on this trip (mostly thanks to train manager Bruce) that I felt tinge of disappointment on our final morning.

I had been told the Indian Pacific would force me to slow down, but I didn’t quite realise what a perfect antidote it would be to the insularity and franticness of city living.

As the vast red of the Nullarbor gave way to vibrant yellow canola fields and the lush green of the Avon Valley, I began to dread going back to the endless notification pings of my phone.

I already wished for just one more meal in the Queen Adelaide Restaurant, one more joke from Brucey, one more cup of tea in front of the stunning desert sunrise.

All aboard

Embark on a breathtaking rail journey across Australia with RAA.

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