The Indian Pacific

The Indian Pacific is one of those railway journeys that is on the bucket list of many Australians as well as international visitors. In our case the journey started in Perth on a Sunday morning and ended 2000 km and 2 sleeps later in Adelaide, although if you want to go the full monty it is another 2300km to Sydney. We loaded our car onto the train and settled in for the ride, wending our way up through the Perth Hills, across the WA wheat belt and eventually onto the Nullarbor Plain which stretches for many a monotonous mile to the east. That’s not to say it isn’t interesting, to experience the vastness is inspiring, although the distraction of a good book and the continuing procession of great food is also welcome and an important part of the experience. A stop in Kalgoorlie late at night to visit the gold mining super pit (3.5 km long, 1.5 km wide and 570 m deep) and mining museum are of interest and then it’s off to bed as we head across the Nullarbor. We stop early next morning at Rawlinna for a coffee and to stretch our legs with a walk around the station and surrounds. This is one of a number of whistle stops across the Nullarbor that in days gone by were the very isolated homes of the railway maintenance crews and their families. Today they act as service points for pastoral leases like the local Rawlinna Station which is the largest sheep station in Australia covering an area of 8000 square kilometres. Day 2 is spent reading, eating, sleeping, watching the flat plains roll past the window and eating and …………… Late in the afternoon we stop at the slightly more substantial siding of Cook to refuel and rewater, and then watch as the country slowly changes from the vast open plains to the yellow sand dune country as we follow the northern boundaries of the Nullarbor National Park and the Yellabinna Nature Reserve further east. Then it’s dark again, must be time to eat. During the night we pass through Tarcoola which is the junction of the Trans Australian and the Adelaide-Darwin rail lines, and then it’s south through Port Augusta at the head of Spencer Gulf and through to Adelaide arriving early on a rainy Tuesday morning.

Ready to roll

Mining for gold in the super pit, Kalgoorlie

Early morning at Rawlinna, WA

Coffee on the platform

Living at these very isolated sidings would have been challenging-Rawlinna, WA

Nurses house, Rawlinna

Seen better days, nurses house, Rawlinna

Definitely not a winding road but certainly a long one. The line includes a 478 km (297 mi) stretch of dead-straight track, the world's longest, between the 797 km (495 mi) post west of Ooldea in SA and the 1275 km (792 mi) post west of Loongana in WA.) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Australian_Railway).

A room with a view, somewhere on the Nullarbor

Forrest is another of those small sidings, although this one is a bit different. Adjacent to the hamlet is a substantial airport which serves as a refuelling point for smaller aircraft without the range to cross the country in one hop and as an emergency strip, being able to land jumbos. All part of the safety net for flights traversing this desolate and arid part of the country.

Refuelling and re-watering in Cook, SA. Water and fuel to keep the passenger and freight trains running is shipped by road from Port Augusta more than 800 km to the east.

Easy rider

Collect the car and head south from Adelaide spending a day or two enjoying the food and wine delights of the iconic South Australian wine regions of McLaren Vale and Coonawarra. Cross into Victoria and head for the Royal Mail Hotel in the small rural town of Dunkeld for unexpected culinary delights. Highly recommended and a tour of the kitchen garden is a bonus.

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