I spent four days on a train in the Australian outback — it was my idea of hell

When friends speech astir enjoying blissful weekends with nary plans, I cannot relate.

I request to beryllium doing things, lest I americium near unsocial with my thoughts.

Which is why, arsenic I arrived astatine Sydney’s Central Station, I was much than a small apprehensive. I was astir to embark connected a 3 night, 4 time travel connected the Indian Pacific, 1 of ‘the world’s large rail journeys’.

Travelling from Sydney to Adelaide and onto Perth, the bid spans 4,352 miles and 3 clip zones — for a fewer confusing hours, you adjacent acceptable your clocks to ‘train time’.

There are immoderate opportunities to disembark, connected excursions specified arsenic winery and assemblage tours, but lone for a fewer hours astatine a time, and connected a strict schedule.

For some, this is heaven. Like a cruise connected the tracks. But for me, it was definite to beryllium an endurance test.

The information that truly alarmed me? The bid passes done the Nullarbor Plain, a vast, semi-arid country of the outback, 4 times the size of Belgium.

Translating to ‘no trees’ successful Latin, Nullarbor is simply a near-deserted scenery with the longest agelong of consecutive railway successful the satellite — 297 miles without truthful overmuch arsenic a kink.

What the hellhole had I signed up for?

Life connected committee the Indian Pacific

I prepared arsenic if I was going into precise slow, precise boring battle. You tin lone instrumentality manus luggage connected board, but I managed to compression successful 2 books and a crippled of Monopoly Deal.

I was staying successful a duplicate occupancy compartment with an ensuite. The country is modest, but not basic, with luxury toiletries and a furniture that vanishes into the partition during the day, reappearing freshly made successful the evening.

This soon became a taxable connected committee the train: things conscionable happen for you.

Only of course, they don’t. The 30-strong service of unit (who slumber and devour onboard too), support this 1km-long bid moving conscionable arsenic overmuch arsenic its engines.

Thomas Treloar, aka the nicest antheral successful Oz, swapped accountancy for his relation arsenic impermanent acquisition manager. He says helium has ‘the champion occupation successful the world’, contempt answering to the whim of the 200 positive guests. Journey manager Brittney Howe says she’s been moving connected the trains for 14 years due to the fact that ‘there’s thing astir railways, it gets successful your blood.’

While hospitality attendant Holly Wright resigned to enactment successful caput office, but aft missing her colleagues and passengers, was backmost wrong a week.

And slowly, but surely, you commencement to recognize wherefore they emotion it truthful much.

Life is casual connected the Indian Pacific — there’s nary denying this is simply a travel for the ‘silver’ traveller (I was 1 of a fistful of guests nether 40). You’re called for three-course meals 3 times a day, and the all-inclusive barroom means erstwhile the archetypal solid of Pinot is poured, everyone other follows suit. A dependable done a talker periodically tells you which broadside of the bid to look retired of, whether that’s to respect Sydney’s Blue Mountains oregon spot a kangaroo.

Sitting backmost and watching the outback walk by, similar the repetitive inheritance of a cartoon, becomes comforting, not boring. You get a beauteous bully remainder arsenic the bid rocks you to slumber (although granted, the archetypal nighttime felt a spot similar a tumble dryer), and adjacent a bid ablution tin beryllium enjoyable if you disregard the information that 1 bump could nonstop you flying.

Despite small to nary Wifi, my books and paper games were near untouched, arsenic I chatted with different passengers. Yes, determination were immoderate you actively swerved to debar sitting successful the barroom cart until sundown, but astir had fascinating stories to archer of a beingness well-lived, embarking connected their archetypal solo trips aft kids had flown the nest oregon partners had passed away.

Exploring the outback

I was arsenic amazed by what I recovered erstwhile I stepped disconnected the train.

Shelita Buffet was our usher successful Broken Hill, an aged mining municipality that’s enjoyed an improbable rebirth arsenic the ‘drag superior of Australia’. Shelita looked impossibly glamorous for an ungodly clip of the morning, and aboriginal told maine it takes her 3 hours to get ready.

While I’m definite Shelita is the archetypal resistance queen astir of the guests had ever seen, she talked with pridefulness astir the past of the municipality she grew up in. A period agone it had a colonisation of astir 33,000; today, it has dwindled to 19,000.

Broken Hill’s resistance credentials are acknowledgment to its starring relation successful 90s movie, Priscilla Queen Of The Desert, but erstwhile asked, Shelita doesn’t talk of a thriving LGBTQ+ scene. You person to respect her for striding confidentially astir a municipality wherever she is definite to garner attention, invited oregon not.

That afternoon, we made it to Adelaide, and into the Barossa Valley, vino state celebrated for its Cabernet and Shiraz. Locals archer maine this is simply a must-visit, but a travel during August – Aussie wintertime – was not the champion clip to go, with bare vines and drizzle.

It was the stops successful the deepest depths of the outback that person stayed with maine most.

The municipality with conscionable 5 residents

There’s Cook, built successful 1917 arsenic a enactment municipality for the railway. Today, it has conscionable 5 imperishable residents, who enactment determination for 4 to six weeks astatine a time.

Wandering astir is eerie; a motion reminds you you’re successful ‘the mediate of nowhere’. The abandoned schoolhouse gathering inactive has colourful murals connected the walls and schoolhouse rules successful the playground, and a swimming excavation has been filled up with rubble. Another motion reads: ‘Our infirmary needs your help, get sick’.

The enactment of houses looks similar it was plucked from a picket obstruction thoroughfare and dropped into the outback. There’s Australian flags flying and potted succulents – presumably the lone plants that turn here.

As we wonderment around, I bump into Brady Bennet, 52, who is primitively from Sydney, but has been surviving successful his four-bed location successful Cook since February 2024.

‘I similar the quietness,’ Brady tells me. ‘When I sound off, I spell location and perceive to my records. I bash a spot of gardening, cleanable the house, bash the washing, person a mates of tinnies.

‘Sometimes you spell and person a portion with the different guys, person a occurrence retired the beforehand and beryllium astir and person a yarn.’

And Brady says helium prefers Cook to his off-weeks backmost successful civilisation.

‘I hatred metropolis beingness – particularly the postulation jams,’ helium says. ‘I tin get from A to B here, nary worries. No lights, nary traffic. No roundabouts. No crime. I tin permission my keys successful the car.’

And the champion spot astir surviving successful Cook? ‘We’ve got the champion entity here,’ helium says. ‘You tin spot the stars.’

Saying goodbye

That evening, we halt successful Rawlina, different outpost 5 hours thrust from the nearest town. In the summertime months, Indian Pacific passengers tin bask meal nether the stars, but instead, we were treated to drinks and unrecorded euphony successful a makeshift barroom illuminated by twinkling fairy lights.

Being truthful acold from everything feels strangely comforting. Your satellite shrinks down to the bid and the radical connected it, and someway your worries look to interval away. After all, what tin you bash astir them here?

I looked up astatine the starriest I’d ever seen, conscionable similar Brady had told maine astir backmost successful Cook, and I turned to a chap passenger: ‘It’s foggy,’ I said. ‘No,’ they replied. ‘That’s the Milky Way.’

Maybe it was the 4th (fifth?) solid of wine, the outback particulate successful my eyes, oregon possibly I truly was conscionable moved to tears.

As I disembarked successful Perth, it was wide I had been converted.

I felt a small anxious, arsenic it dawned connected maine that I would person to commencement fending for myself erstwhile more. No Thomas? No three-courses for each meal? How would I cope?

Yes, the Indian Pacific is cleanable for older generations, but I got to spot a broadside of Australia truthful fewer bash connected gap yahs oregon surfing trips to Byron Bay.

And possibly for the archetypal clip ever, I genuinely got to admit a slower gait of life.

If you tin spare a fewer days – and you privation a unsocial mode to question crossed Australia’s parts chartless – it’ll beryllium an escapade you ne'er forget.

Kristina Beanland was a impermanent of Journey Beyond. Indian Pacific, Sydney to Perth, 4 days 3 nights costs from £1510 per person. For much accusation sojourn Journey Beyond.

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