Indian Pacific Train
 

Has anyone done the trip on the Indian Pacific from Sydney to Perth in Gold Kangaroo Service. Any comments on this journey by rail would be appreciated.

Hi, DJE!
I have done only part of this journey, and I would have to say that unless you are a true train fanatic, this is not a very good way to spend the best part of a week. For a start, it's horrendously expensive -- much more so than getting a cheap VirginBlue flight from Sydney to Perth. Secondly, what do you plan to do with your three or four days? If you were going across Europe, I would say "look at the constantly-changing scenery".... but, to be honest, there isn't much to look at in the centre of Australia! You'd be fascinated for the first couple of hours.... all that flatness, all that red dirt, the kangaroos.... but you would soon become aware that it hadn't altered one bit in two days. You could see plenty of flatness and red dirt by, say, flying Sydney-Perth, hiring a car for two days, and driving to Kalgoorlie and back. Or, if you didn't really want to go to Perth at all, you might get some of the Indian Pacific experience by taking it from Sydney to Broken Hill and then flying back from there. Do the full journey, however, only if you have a lot of time on your hands and you have already seen the rest of the country.

Hi, again, DJE! Please also check Janese's comment on the nearby thread "Blue Mountains Train Question".

I took the Indian Pacific from Syd to Perth in 1995. I had a first class "room" (single, I was traveling alone). It wasn't called Gold Kangaroo Service at that time.

I thoroughly enjoyed the trip. I was looking for peace and quiet and interesting coversation and found it! Did you know that the longest, straightest stretch of rr track is on the Ind/Pac line? Yes, the scenery isn't constantly changing, BUT the people on the train are always interesting. We had two honeymoon couples on the trip... one from Houston and one from Chicago area. I thought it interesting that they had selected the Ind/Pac train trip but they were having a marvelous time.

Alan & simpson,

Thank you for your comments and suggestions. We just thought that this trip might be an enjoyable alternative to flying and altho it will take 3 nights it could be a very relaxing way to see the landscape even if it is mainly desert area. I have never spent more than one day on a train so this would be a new experience.

We have previously done a 5 week driving trek through a large portion of the eastern half of the continent and found this most interesting even the drive from Adelaide up to Tennent Creek, which is pretty flat and straight. Again thank you for your replies.