There’s something truly magical travelling across a country by rail. Nearly ten years ago I zigzagged India on many over night sleeper trains, weaving my way from Delhi around to Mumbai in just under three months. I’ve never taken an interstate train in Australia so on Easter Sunday 2014 I left my hometown of Perth to head east aboard the Indian Pacific train.
The Indian Pacific Train ready to leave.
My parents were over from England visiting Australasia for the first time in seven years. I wanted to give them a special experience to remember & to do something new myself. This was the perfect opportunity to do so.
The Indian Pacific travels it’s way from Perth to Sydney via Adelaide twice a week. Its name derives from the oceans it leaves from & departs too – the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Our journey ends in Adelaide, South Australia & will take us just under two days.
Day One – Sunday 20th April
Leaving Perth at 11:55am right on time from the East Perth rail terminal we check in & are welcomed on board an hour before departure. As usual I have slight stresses about all the rules & regulations over luggage. My on board luggage is 2kg over & is split into three different bags instead of one. No one batters an eyelid or even inspects my bags. However, my check in bag barely weighs 8kg, an all time record for me.
I’m very blessed to be travelling Gold Class in a twin cabin all to my self. (I’m in berth #11 for those who follow Angel numbers!!) My cabin consists of a large sofa type chair which folds out to be the lower bunk. It can easily fit three people very comfortably. I have a compact en-suite with WC, shower & sink, towels, pillows, extra blankets, a safe, cupboard, table, sound system, power points & two fold down bunks. All this just for me! I feel like the Queen of Sheba. There is self-serve tea & coffee in each carriage & filtered cool water. The bar is open from 10:30am & well into the night. Our meals & drinks (including a good selection of local alcohol) are all in with our fare.
My home for two days, berth 11 & 12
After the usual welcome spiels, meeting the train staff, being shown where everything is & booking dinner sitting times etc. it’s time to settle in. I leave my parents in their own cabin two doors down to return to mine to cleanse & clear it. Have Reiki will travel. It’s something I like to do is clear the space I’ll be living in. Especially in a public shared environment like a train cabin/hotel room. You never know who’s been in there before you. Once that is done, it doesn’t take long its time to relax into the experience.
To see if the universe has any guidance for me I pull three oracle cards from my Magical Times Empowerment cards. Destiny, Dreamer & Prosperity comes through. All very appropriate for me right now. Everything I am doing I feel is part of my destiny & I’m on course with my life plan. I’m a huge dreamer. As Einstein said “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” Our outer worlds are created from our inner worlds. Which leads perfectly to prosperity. If I keep following my path life will flow, as it should. I must though make sure I stay positive, as the law of attraction is strong. What you think you become.
Divine guidance for the trip
By this time I’m pretty tired & rather hungry. It’s very unlike me to not have packed any sort of snacks apart from water. The excitement of the morning & the whole adventure must have made me forgetful. Lunch isn’t till 2:15pm so I’m starving! To take my mind of it I meditate. Spread out on the lounge chair, two fluffy pillows under my head, a wool blanket on top & my eye pillow I’m ready to plug in my iPod & get to it.
Wow there is something really special about meditating to the ebb & roll of a train’s motion. Surprisingly I don’t fall asleep. I’ve very conscious & come out extremely refreshed & ready for lunch.
Lunch is served at set times in the Queen Adelaide Restaurant. We’re four cars down & its fairly challenging squeezing through the narrow corridors & crossing the connections between carriages.
We wait for our table (all of 3 minutes) in the comfortable lounge bar. Negotiating walking through the dining car to our table is a task. I nearly end up in someones food. Lunch is three courses. Starting with traditional Aussie damper bread, pepper butter & chilly jam. I select the vego goat cheese & vegetable tart. Washed down with local Vasse Felix sparkling wine. (I’m on Divine orders to let my hair down & be off duty!)
Eating lunch as the Western Australian farmland rolls by is very awesome. Its scary dry out there, brown, sandy & very dead looking. Despite the harsh reality of the season what a view it is. We’ll be travelling through ghost towns, bush & desert, the ‘real’ Australia.
A room with a view!
At lunch I manage to spill water everywhere (no it’s not the wine!). Just as I pour we go round a corner. I’m sure the staff are used to it. It must take great skill to be the serve staff on a train with the constant rock & wobble.
Feeling nicely full & replenished I return to my cabin to write. It will take ten & a half hours to reach our first stop for a whistle-stop tour of the mining town Kalgoorlie. Home of the massive Super Pit mine.
My intention for this trip is to take some me time to fill my Soul cup. Four hours in I am already feeling topped up. Quiet time sat at my laptop with presentations to plan & blogs to write, all with amazing scenery rolling by. There is no Wi-Fi & sporadic mobile signal so I disconnect from the world. With a whole cabin to myself I can’t complain. I wonder what’s for dinner?
Left: my bunk for the night. Right: the Outback Explorer lounge
Highlights:
- A very nice, clean & well equip cabin with everything at arms reach to call home for two days
- Space for 100% Soul nurturing
- A good selection of food on the menu (Only one veggie, unless you eat fish)
- Friendly & happy staff
- Organic toiletries provided in the bathrooms
- Ever changing views of the Australian countryside
- Inspiration, inspiration, inspiration!
- Nearly falling arse up negotiating walking through the carriages
Not so highlights:
- Too good of a light in the bathroom perfect for picking at blackheads. So much for my pre-trip home facial. (Great for plucking over due eyebrow’s though!)
Check back on Thursday for Part Two of my overland adventure.
Love K xx