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I love trains.

Travelling on them that is. I’m not really interested in when and where the engines were built.

My dad was an engine driver back in the days of steam so maybe it’s in the blood.

I love them all from commuter trains (but not in the rush hour) to multi day, long distance, luxury sleepers. This journey on the Indian Pacific was one of the latter and it certainly lived up to all expectations and hopes.

The Indian Pacific crosses Australia from Sydney to Perth leaving on a Wednesday and reaching Perth on Saturday. It then heads back on Sunday and arrives in Sydney on Wednesday where it is re-stocked ready for the next journey.

It’s operated by Journey Beyond. This tourism company also runs the other iconic train journeys of Australia (The Ghan, The Great Southern and The Overland) as well as Outback Spirit adventures to remote areas of the continent. All in luxurious style.

Bucket list material.

The IP has two classes, Gold and Platinum.

Single and twin cabins are available for up to 182 passengers in Gold class. Platinum has just ten cabins with either a double bed or two twins.

The Platinum cabins sell out very quickly, in fact right now there are none available until January 2024 and precious few after that.

We booked in January 2022 for travel in April 2023!

So, a long time to look forward to it and then it’s over in a flash. (OK four days and we did do a few other things in Oz.)

And, it’s expensive.

Prices range from $2,345 in Gold single to $6,900 in Platinum depending on the month. That’s Sydney to Perth in 2023. Perth to Sydney is a little bit cheaper (but not a lot). In 2024 it’s going to cost a bit more.

Was it worth it? Absolutely.

In the beginning

The Platinum experience begins with a limo ride from your hotel to Sydney Central Station.

The first railway station in Sydney was built in 1855. This is the third. It was completed in1906 although the clocktower tower came later in 1921.

The Grand Concourse is large, airy and very photogenic and Journey Beyond staff are on hand to check in luggage.

The regular departure time for the Indian Pacific is 3pm and we enjoyed snacks, soft drinks, wine, beer and spirits while we waited. And waited. And waited.

There had been a fatality further up the line. The Indian Pacific wasn’t involved but all traffic was delayed while the police investigated.

We eventually left at about 5pm meaning it was going to be too dark to see the Blue Mountains.

In our cabin were nibbles and a couple of glasses of Bollinger and dinner was due to start at 6.15pm.

There is a great deal of eating and drinking on the Indian Pacific.

The Platinum class has a combined lounge and restaurant. All twenty travellers can be seated at once for meals. Gold class Queen Adelaide Restaurants have different meal sittings to cater for the 180 or so guests.

That first night was the only dinner we had on the train. The other two were off-train experiences.

The food was fabulous and the drink flowed freely and when we returned to our cabin the bed had been made up and there was a nightcap (we had Baileys) and a luxury chocolate waiting.

Now, the bed itself was comfortable but the rail track in New South Wales is rough so the train shakes, rattles and rolls all night long with accompanying creaks and groans. And it’s not a regular movement. Sway to the side, surge forward, check and jerk, repeat. Not a good night’s sleep.

Fortunately, the tracks are much better maintained in South Australia and Western Australia.

Journey beyond doesn’t own the tracks and must fit in with the many freight trains that cross the country. We left Sydney two hours late and so arrived next day in Broken Hill too late for an off-train excursion – there were several different ones on offer. Mind you, it would have started at 6.30am so at least we were able to have a lie in.

Changing scenery

About 70% of Australia is arid or semi-arid.

Once we’d crossed the Blue Mountains the scenery was mostly brown and dusty, yellow and dusty or red and dusty with low shrubs. Now that might sound boring but in fact I found it fascinating and very peaceful to watch rolling past the windows.

The verdant wine country around Adelaide was a stunning contrast as was the forest and farmland as we got closer to Perth.

Having missed out on Broken Hill, our first off-train excursion was in Adelaide. There were several options to choose from including wineries, a market, a museum and a German heritage village. The excursions are different on the Perth to Sydney trip.

We opted for the McLaren Vale tour as we’re both quite fond of wine.

McLaren Vale is full of wineries as well as olive oil farms. The one we visited was Coriole. Lovely setting and a most enjoyable wine tasting session.

We then moved on to Gulf St Vincent and the Star of Greece restaurant for dinner.

The Star of Greece was a three masted ship that sank in a violent storm in 1888. The restaurant itself is not Greek but serves fresh local food with a Mediterranean flavour.

When the weather is fine it has beautiful views of the gulf but unfortunately as we left Coriole the clouds broke and the rain came down in sheets. It was dark, wet and windy when we arrived, and we could barely see the restaurant let alone the bay or the beach. You would definitely see more on the summer excursions.

Dinner was very pleasant though. Long group tables with shared plates including squid rings, trout ceviche, salsa and some other stuff. I had whiting for my main and it came with veggies – roast potatoes and beans. I’d been rather missing vegetables so far. My fault, they are available, but I’ve chosen the wrong options.

Coconut ice-cream dessert was lovely.

On to the Nullabor

Back in Adelaide it was still raining and we had to wait to board the train because the carriages had been shuffled around, some passengers had left and others joined us. But about half past nine it was all aboard and off we went except that it wasn’t really half past nine as we’d had a time change at the South Australia border and it was now just 8pm.

So another early night. But the nightcap and choc were waiting in our cabin.

And the track is in great condition. No more shake, rattle and roll. A much smoother ride. Sweet dreams.

Next day, our third on the train, we came to the Nullarbor.

Along the way we passed through more scrub and low bushes.

The highlighted sign (at about 6:57) seems to be in a wilderness area, the Barton Sandhill system, possibly being studied under the auspices of IMMANA – Innovative Methods and Metrics for Agriculture and Nutrition Actions although most of these projects take place in Africa or Asia.

The Nullarbor is about 600km wide along the path the train takes. Between Cook and Rawlinna is the longest stretch of straight track in Australia at about 480km. We had stops at both those places.

Cook is an ‘almost’ ghost town with only four residents. Before the Second World War, it boasted a population of several hundred.

There are also usually a few railway crewmen staying in the houses along the “main street” in between their shifts.

The station is unattended but is a principal stopping place for freight and passenger trains to take on diesel fuel and water.

It is named after Australia’s sixth prime minister, Joseph Cook.

And it’s nice to get off the train and stretch your legs for half an hour or so.

Sadly we were not allowed to head to the front of the train to take photos of the Indian Pacific engine.

Our second stop of the day was at Rawlinna where we had dinner under the stars. That’s a summer off-train experience on the Sydney-Perth run and I think we were lucky to get dinner rather than drinks and canapes.

We were greeted by a white horse named Lou who apparently comes along every time the train arrives.

The temperature was a bit nippy but most people wore jackets or cardigans and the food, wine and singing kept us all warm.

Journey’s end

And so, on to Perth, our last day on the train.

We left the Nullarbor behind overnight and now the scenery was greener as we travelled past forests, farmlands and towns.

Our last meal on the train was lunch.

Then back to the cabin to pack and stare out of the window for the slow run into Kewdale, an enormous freight handling terminal. A coach ride to East Perth station and it’s all over.

The fat lady has sung.