Page 54 - DreamScapes Magazine | Winter/Spring 2026

G R E A T E S C A P E S
AUSTRALIA
Coast To Coast
Indian Pacific: the food trainBY ELLEN HILL
and a guitarist strums and sings while
you tuck into roast meat, sausages, veg-
gies and salads.
> MUST TRY Other off-train experiences
include winery visits, Australia’s oldest
surviving German settlement town
(Hahndorf) and the Blue Mountains.
FREMANTLE DINING
The Indian Pacific journey ends in Perth,
but it’s worth staying on to explore
nearby historic Fremantle. There are
dining options galore within walking
distance of accommodation such as
Hougoumont Hotel or the Esplanade
Hotel. Serving coffee, bites and drinks,
Gimlet is a hole-in-the-wall cocktail bar
that’s part of a row of 1851-era limestone
prison warders’ cottages now the
Warders Hotel.
> MUST TRY Republic of Fremantle gin
bar is the go-to for a refined beverage
over a casual bite to eat. You can even
make your own at Gin School.
The distance from home makes visiting this
Great Southern Land seem impossible; its size
makes meaningful exploration daunting. But
a coast-to-coast transcontinental Indian
Pacific rail journey gives a snapshot of the
continent in just four days. The Indian Pacific
departs from Sydney on the east coast and
travels through the Blue Mountains, Central
New South Wales goldfields, the outback, and
the vast Nullarbor Plain. The 4,352-km
journey ends in Perth and includes the
world’s longest straight stretch of rail—
477 km without a single curve.
ON-TRAIN MENU
All meals feature modern multicultural
Australian cuisine and include native ingre-
dients. The grilled Pacific Ocean swordfish in
a green lemon myrtle curry sauce, Asian
greens, pickled daikon and cucumber salad
with jasmine rice is one example. A nod to
the Afghan cameleers who came to the out-
back (1860s to 1930s), the mildly spiced camel
curry with Afghani rice pilaf, minted yoghurt
and pappadum is another.
> MUST TRY Between meals, the lounge
carriage is the social hub of the train, great
for relaxing, chatting with fellow passengers,
playing board games or reading.
CHEESE AFTER DARK
It’s just as well that the Adelaide Central
Market off-train experience involves walking
because it also involves eating. A sliver of
three-week aged salmon here, a piece of
Turkish delight there and swirling all
around, fragrances of Indigenous herbs. Ven-
dors from 40 cultures operate 72 stalls
brimming with local produce, flowers,
chocolate and cultural delicacies like native
foods, artisan baked goods and the only
seafood provedore that knows where each
fish was farmed. Once a month, when the
hordes have gone, there is a cheese and wine
tasting workshop—blindfolded, followed by
dinner made from local ingredients sourced
from the market.
> MUST TRY Flanking the main market,
Saudade (a Portuguese word meaning melan-
choly yearning for absent things) bakes
traditional Portuguese custard tarts.
UNDER THE STARS
The Indian Pacific grinds to a halt alongside
Rawlinna, Australia’s largest sheep station,
400 km east of Kalgoorlie in Western Aus-
tralia at dusk. Stepping into this trackside
outpost under a shimmer of stars is magical.
Lanterns are strung over long trestle tables
TRAVEL PLANNER
For more information, visit journeybe-
yondrail.com.au/journeys/Indian-pacific/
54
DREAMSCAPES WINTER/SPRING 2026
PHOTOS: JOURNEY BEYOND RAIL | ELLEN HILL