The Indian Pacific Ride and the Nullarbor Plain
I like to travel by rail to see the landscape and traced the route on the map.
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| Nullarbor Plain Rainbow |
I floated the idea of traveling on the Indian Pacific to cross the Australia continent.
"What can you see?" ~ the Australian outback...
"Why?" ~ because it is there?
"So expensive to do nothing?" ~ must we always do something?
"You sure or not?" ~ I am quite sure....
"Oh, there is such a train?" ~ Yes
"Too boring?" ~ .....
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| Great Southern Rail Routes |
The Nullarbor Plain (Latin: nulls arbor "no tree")
I couldn't tell where exactly the Nullarbor Plain started. As the train pulled away from Rawlinna, the landscape was already a flat orangey-red rocky plain with short shrubs stretching into the horizon.
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| Nullarbor Landscape |
We had requested for the train crew to leave the upper bunk in its open position. That way, it would be more comfortable for the both of us to relax and enjoy our individual beds. Obviously, the upper bunk occupant spent a good amount of time watching drama series and the like on his iPads. (3G service is patchy/non existence(most of the time). We did not ask if the train has wifi service, lets really get isolated for 2 days?). The upper bunk was obviously well-used.
The landscape continued to stretch out beyond. We passed a double track with cargo and a pick-up van driving beside the train for a while before turning off. I paused to wonder if the dirt roads and junctions were created organically by the vehicles passing by or whether they were conspicuously pathed out. Based on the patchy nature of the paths, I think it could be the former.
I overheard that there was a little rain recently, thus the rare sight of green mixed into the landscape. We also caught sight of some pretty unique looking flora along the way, such as the red flowers we caught fleetingly as seen below.
Brunch and the ever-changing yet uniform landscape
At 10:30AM, we had brunch and spent a good hour enjoying the food and the expansive landscape.
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| Monday Brunch |
The train passed Forrester. At this point, it had been more than three hours since we left Rawlinna. Most passengers were either in the lounge or their cabins, but I walked up and down the aisle quite frequently to check 'variations' to the landscape and to stretch my pair of legs.
Riding into South Australia
The captain announced over the intercom that we were traveling into South Australia just as I took the photo below. I wonder if the sign-post below marks the border?
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| Crossing into South Australia? |
The sky was cloudy after we left Cook. It seemed to be raining in the distance, painting the landscape in a slightly darker shade. The landscape stretched on still, and flocks of birds flew by.
After some time, a beautiful rainbow came into view against the afternoon sky, not long before we were greeted by a magnificent sunset view.
Day 3 and the End of the Ride
We were awoken by the intercom of our pending arrival into Adelaide the next day. We had overslept a little so we rushed to have our breakfast. The carriage was empty as we were the last ones! Soon, we arrived at Adelaide.
I enjoyed the trip not only for the scenery and experience but also the history regarding the towns, people and the rail line. My utmost admiration to the pioneering generation and workers that make it possible to travel continuously across the Australia continent. I'd really like to experience the Ghan Train.
Indian Pacific Train Ride:
Day1 : Perth and Start of Indian Pacific Journey
Kalgoorlie Excursion
Day2 : Breakfast at Rawlinna
Off Train Excursion : Cook
