The World Famous Indian Pacific Train

13 Aug The World Famous Indian Pacific Train

Fremantle and Perth, Saturday 3rd May 2025

After leaving the Crown Princess Cruise we were met by Maggie’s brother (#4) Patrick and his wife Kerry, and taken to Perth’s Botanic gardens for a relaxed morning coffee,

This pesky, but friendly crow was pecking at everything to find even a morsel of food.

Coffee was followed by lunch at the Royal Perth Yacht club with Patrick, Kerry and their son David.

It was then time to find the East Perth Railway Station to board the World Famous Indian Pacific Train.

The inaugural journey of the Indian Pacific was in February 1970. Prior to this, a cross-continental train journey in Australia required multiple train changes, as each Australian state had a different rail gauge. So February 1970 marked the first time a train could travel unbroken from coast to coast in Australia. 

The Indian Pacific’s journey covers approximately 4,352 kilometres (2,704 miles). the 25th longest train journey still offered in the world. (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longest_train_services

East Perth Station

We were travelling in carriage “A”, GOLD Class single cabins 13 (me) and 14 (Maggie). (we booked too late to score a twin share cabin). Note, Gold class is the lowest class on the train.

What I haven’t told you is, Maggie was sick with a virus she caught on the Crown Princess Cruise. (I caught it also, but was almost virus free by the time we boarded the train.) This meant that most of our drinks and meals were consumed together in one of our single cabins, travelling 4 carriages behind the lounge car. The staff were fabulous, especially Kate the Maitre D, delivering our meals to us and showing genuine care and consideration.

Sunday 4th May

KALGOORLIE

Our 6 am Sunday wake up call seemed far too early. But we needed to be ready to leave the train at 6.30am for an excursion into Kalgoorlie and Boulder. Maggie was too unwell, so she went back to sleep, while I learnt how to ready myself in a space just big enough in which to stand (I hadn’t yet worked out how to raise and stow my bed).

I was ready at 6.30am and so was our coach and driver/tour guide, who drove us through the Kalgoorlie city centre enroute to the gold mine Super-pit.

I apologise for the quality of the following video and the cameraman, but hopefully it shows you how interesting the Main Street of Kalgoorlie is.

Kalgoorlie is famous for gold, which was discovered here in June 1893 and has been continuously mined since then. The Super Pit was started in 1989 when several smaller mines were combined into one big open cut mine. Recently a massive new load of gold was discovered beneath the floor of the Super Pit, requiring new mining techniques to profitably dig it out.

Our next attraction was at the Chunky Timber Co., Home of the Nullarbor Beads.

These are Nullarbor Beads, small pieces for timber, shaped and lacquered by Chunky himself.

Then it was on to the old Boulder Town Hall, at which point I should explain that while Boulder and Kalgoorlie were separate towns, in 1989 they combined to become Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

The monument (shown below) was created to commemorate over 1,300 miners who have been killed since the gold rush of the 1890s. 

The following photos show the old Main Street of Boulder

Then back to the Kalgoorlie station to move to our next destination.

COOK SA

Cook is approximately 824 kilometres (512 miles) from Port Augusta and 863 kilometres (536 miles) from Kalgoorlie. This tiny town is situated in the Nullarbor desert. aside the longest straight railway track in the world, which stretches for 478 kilometres (297 miles).

Cook was established in 1917 as a watering and maintenance stop for steam engines. Around 9pm The Indian Pacific stopped here for a bonfire, entertainment and a nightcap.

Monday 5th May

Long Plains

The train stopped at Long Plains SA (3.25 pm approx.) for us to board coaches to Seppeltsfield Winery in the Barossa Valley. The train then headed to Adelaide Parklands Terminal for cleaning and servicing. The drive to Seppeltsfield took approximately 50 minutes.

Seppeltsfield Winery

It was a pleasant 50 minutes drive by coach to the winery and what an amazing place this is.

A welcome drink with finger food on one of the lawns, to start with ….

… Then a special tasting of three delicate wines and three food samples each. Between each wine the resident Seppeltsfield chef gave us background to the food, while the wine expert explained the wine/food pairing.

After the wine tasting we walked to the cellar for the meal.

The wonderful dinner menu for all Indian Pacific guests.

After all of the festivities at Seppeltsfield our coach took us to the Adelaide Parkland Train Terminal to board the train once again. Arrival time was around 10.30pm. We were exhausted, but grateful for such an amazing afternoon and evening.

Tuesday 6th May

Broken Hill approximately 8.15am

Shortly after our arrival in Broken Hill we were off the train for a Silver City Highlights excursion. The first destination was the Living Desert Sculptures on Sundown Hill. I chose to make photos of the sculptures that most interested me and added a few other photos of the landscape and the city. in the distance.

Back in Broken Hill we visited the Line of Lode Miner’s Memorial Redevelopment

Sulphide Street Railway and Historical Museum

Our last tour stop for the day was the Broken Hill railway museum, close to the Line of Load and our train.

Menindee Lake at Sunset (VIDEO 6th May 5.45 pm made with iPhone 8 Plus from moving train) (I apologise for the poor quality and the camera operator.

It was nice to see so much water in the lake as it has been rather empty in the past few years.

Wednesday 7th May

At 8 am we arrived at Mt Victoria in the Blue Mountains NSW. Those who were spending the day at Katoomba, for their final ‘off-train” experience, disembarked. We stayed on the train to go directly to Sydney.

We had a relaxing morning of viewing the scenery and resting.

For several years we had both wanted the experience of travelling on the Indian Pacific and we are very happy that we finally did it. It is unfortunate that Maggie was so unwell for most of the journey. However the staff went out of their way to make us feel comfortable and included. We can certainly recommend the experience.

All meals, drinks and excursions were included in the price (nothing else to pay).

Sydney Central Station – Arrived approximately 11.45 am to conclude our 5 day train holiday.

Thanks for reading and viewing. If you would like to leave a comment you can do this below.

All the very best until next time, when we cover our trip to meet the 12 Apostles on the Great Ocean Road.