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| photo by Julie R Butler |
By Jamie Douglas
Australia, the far away continent, if you are anywhere but there of course, offers a couple of fabulous train rides that truly rank amongst the last great rail adventures. There are several options available on the Great Southern Rail, but for the purpose of this article, we’ll assume that you are starting Sydney.
From the main train station in this modern metropolis, there are twice weekly departures of the Indian Pacific line, which travel across the entire continent to Perth, a distance of 4352KM (2705 Miles). The train stops for short breaks at Broken Hill, Adelaide, Cook, and Kalgoorlie, before ending up in East Perth about 65 hours later, midmorning on the third day, where after a chaotic return of your luggage from the luggage car, you still have to find your own way into the center of Perth. Be aware that the weight of your baggage is limited, as the baggage handlers are restricted to lifting 20KG (44 Lbs), and each passenger is limited to two pieces of that size, which they check. You must bring supplies for the journey in a hand carried bag, which you can stow in the overhead bin or your cabin, depending on which service you select.
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| Broken Hill photo by Julie R Butler |
After this short break, it’s off to Adelaide, a lovely city that is the capital of the state of South Australia, and it is a very clean and inviting city. (On our trip, we came back to visit for a couple of days, later.) Again, the train station is not really within the boundaries of the city, but is a short cab ride away. The major thing to not miss here is the central market, which has offerings to please just about anyone. This is the chance to stock up on fresh fruit and beverages before returning to the train, which leaves in the late afternoon.
Your next stop is Cook, which is an abandoned town, where only a few Aboriginals now live and operate a store where candy and refreshments can be had. In the summer time, the temperatures here are brutal, well over 45 degrees Celsius, with the winds literally sucking the moisture out of your pores. Be sure you start your return trip to the tracks in plenty of time, as this is not the kind of place where you want to have to run to catch the train.
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| Rain on the Nullarbor Plains - photo by Julie R Butler |
The scenery out the air-conditioned cars is absolutely spectacular in its vastness. You really get a feel of the outback. After the train departs for Kalgoorlie, you enter the longest stretch of straight rail travel in the world, 478 KM (300 miles) across the Nullarbor Plains, so named because there were no trees found in that region by the early explorers. We did see a few, along dry riverbeds, but most all of it is just devoid of major vegetation. During our journey, which was on the Christmas train, we experienced a major thunder/lightning/rain storm, with very high winds that forced the train to stop for a couple of hours while we witnessed an incredible display of nature’s fury in the middle of the desert. After the journey resumed, we arrived in Kalgoorlie too late to take in any sights, and we ended up sleeping through it on the train. Our train mates returned somewhat disappointed, because everything except one pub was closed.
In the morning we woke up in the wheat belt of Western Australia, which went on for several hours. It was close to ten when we arrived in East Perth, where we had to wait for quite a while to sort out the baggage mess. But all in all, it was certainly one of the great adventures of my life. Many friends were made, good times were had, and life experiences were shared with strangers that became friends, people from all over the world.
There are several other options available as well. You can travel from Sydney to Adelaide, or Perth to Adelaide, spend as much time as you like in that lovely city, and then take The Ghan, another transcontinental train that crosses the Australian continent from south to north, also with several stops along the way, including side trips to Uluru aka Ayers Rock, ending up in Darwin on the Timor Sea.
Early bookings will get you the best prices and selection, but regardless of your choice, you are guaranteed to have an adventure of a lifetime.
Travel, because the world is round! Hurry, it might flatten out.
Jamie Douglas
Patagonia
To contact Jamie regarding this article, email: jamie@expatdailynews.com
Jamie Douglas is an Adventurer, Writer and Photographer with an amazing array of Nikon equipment, and a lifetime of experience traveling and documenting. To contact him for assignments and new adventures. email: jamie.douglas [at] yahoo.com
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