Planning the Trip of a Lifetime
In the fall of 2023 we began to plan for our 25th wedding anniversary in 2024. When thinking of what kind of trip we would like, we turned to a long-standing wish, a travel by luxury train. (it wasn't hard to convince Dale, a long time train buff) Such trips represent a return to the golden age of rail. Think of "Murder on the Orient Express" without the murder! We had a brief taste of this when in Singapore. The Belmond Eastern and Oriental Express had a day trip, living from Tanjon Pagar in Orient Express cars, and headed up to Malaysia and then returning to Singapore. En route we enjoyed a wonderful champagne lunch. When hunting for train trips, it was readily apparent that the Orient Express (both the Asian version and the revived Turkey to Paris version) were wildly beyond our means, as was the Indian "Palace on Wheels." We turned our gaze to the Pacific and found two viable tours. The first was Indian Pacific, which left from Perth on the Indian Ocean and traveled east to Sydney on the Pacific Ocean. The ultimate cross-country trip! Alas, it was already booked for the entirety of 2024, so we decided to take the trip in 2025.
Leaving Kuala Lumpur and arriving in Perth
Traveling on the Indian Pacific
The map to the right (which can be enlarged by clicking
on it) shows the route that the Indian Pacific follows. As you
can see, after departing Perth you are truly traveling through
the Outback, as the next major city is Adelaide, nearly 2/3's
of the way across the country. Below is a travelogue of our 5
days and 4 nights aboard the Indian Pacific. The
trip is chronicled day-by-day in the links below.
Clicking on the photograph or the day (example: Day One:)
will open that day's travelogue in a new window. To return
to this page, simply click on the icon above "Return to
Train." Alternately, there are arrows at the bottom of each
day that will advance you to the next day's experiences or
return you to the previous page. Enough instructions, please
enjoy the tour!
Day One: Leaving Perth--it's
all about the train
Day Two:
Kalgoorlie &
Cook
Day Three: Barossa Valley
Day Four: Broken Hill
Day Five: Blue Mountains &
Sydney
Continue to Great Journeys NZ Day One: Leaving Perth--it's
all about the trainDay Two:
Kalgoorlie &
CookDay Three: Barossa ValleyDay Four: Broken HillDay Five: Blue Mountains &
Sydney