For 42 blissful hours, my only concerns were which dishes to select from an ever-changing roster of 5-star menus, how many glasses of (all-inclusive) Bollinger I’d consume in the Outback Explorer Lounge afterwards, and whether I’d develop a repetitive strain injury from the number of photos I was manically snapping.

For 2 short, sweet days, the rest of the world simply ceased to exist.

When it comes to luxury train travel, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s (supposed) words, “It’s not the destination. It’s the journey,” ring true, especially when getting from A to B involves a sumptuous, regionally inspired menu, all-inclusive fine wine, stunning Art Deco décor and quality conversation with colourful characters.

In every sense, the Indian Pacific embodies outback opulence.

I was lucky enough to spend two days and two nights aboard, travelling from Adelaide to Perth across the extra-terrestrial Nullarbor Plain.

Here are just some of the highlights from my journey.

Quality company

Never before have I shared a table with such a varied group of people. Under the stars at Rawlinna – a remote locality on the Trans-Australian Railway – I tucked into roast lamb with a private investigator, two bird watchers, a finance officer who lived on Christmas Island and an ex-member of Sinead O’Connor’s band.

As expected, the food and wine were sensational, but it was the effortlessly flowing conversation, struck out of nowhere, that kept me buzzing well into the night.

Surprising encounters with fascinating people became a theme throughout my trip. Conversations would start out of nowhere, at the bar, over dinner, in crowded corridors, taking me out of my head – a place I tend to spend a lot of time – and into the lives of my travel companions.

I met Colleen and John – a retired couple travelling from Sydney to Perth – while nibbling on a quandong tartlet next to a whale skeleton.