We Kiwis tend to talk about Australia as though it’s one destination.
We’ve had a weekend in Sydney, visited family in Melbourne, taken the kids to the Gold Coast and decided we’ve more or less “done” it.
But Australia isn’t one holiday. Tropical Queensland, the Red Centre, the Nullarbor and the food-and-wine regions of the south could hardly feel more different.
And one of the best ways to understand just how much lies between the familiar cities is to travel through it, rather than flying over it.
Australia Is Bigger Than the Places We Keep Revisiting
There’s nothing wrong with returning to Sydney, Melbourne or the Gold Coast. Familiar can be easy, comfortable and exactly what you need.
But those places represent a very small part of a very large country.
Australia stretches from tropical rainforest to red desert, remote outback towns, vineyards, beaches and mountain ranges. Much of it remains invisible to the average visitor because we leave one airport and arrive at another without seeing anything in between.
Rail turns that space into part of the holiday.
You don’t need to be particularly interested in trains. The appeal isn’t memorising locomotives or getting excited about railway gauges.
It’s watching the landscape change outside your window, waking somewhere completely different and stepping off along the way to experience places that are otherwise surprisingly awkward to reach.
Depending on which railway line you follow, you can discover four completely different versions of Australia.
Red Centre Australia — The Ghan
The Ghan may be famous for crossing Australia’s Red Centre, but you won’t experience all of it from behind the glass.
Depending on the journey and direction, you could take a cruise through Nitmiluk Gorge near Katherine, explore Alice Springs or discover the underground world of Coober Pedy.
On the extended southbound Ghan Expedition, one of the signature experiences is dinner beneath the stars at the historic Alice Springs Telegraph Station. Red earth underfoot, crisp white tablecloths, champagne in hand and the Southern Cross overhead—it’s not exactly your standard railway meal.
Back onboard, regionally inspired meals are served with Australian wines and included beverages. Gold guests dine in the art deco-style Queen Adelaide Restaurant, while Platinum has its own lounge and dining carriage. At the very top end, the new Australis and Aurora suites include butler service, in-suite dining and Bollinger La Grande Année.
But the real luxury is spending the day somewhere as remote as Katherine or Coober Pedy, then returning to a proper meal, a comfortable bed and a train already carrying you towards the next experience.
One important clarification: The Ghan does not travel past Uluru, and you cannot see Uluru from the train.
Uluru is approximately 446 kilometres by road from Alice Springs, a journey of around four and a half hours, so it needs to be planned as a separate stay, not treated as a quick excursion from the railway station.
The clever way to include it is to leave The Ghan at Alice Springs and build a proper Red Centre stay before joining a later train departure.
Depending on the timetable, that may mean around a week between trains, but that time certainly doesn’t need to be wasted. You could spend three or four nights at Uluru, then return for another two or three nights exploring Alice Springs before continuing your rail journey.
It takes some careful planning, but it turns The Ghan into a much broader Red Centre holiday rather than a rushed there-and-back.
The Immense Australia — Indian Pacific
Southern Australia — Great Southern
Tropical Australia — Spirit of Queensland
Four Trains. Four Very Different Holidays.
Final thoughts
Perhaps you haven’t “done” Australia after all, you may simply have found the part you want to experience next.
As an Aussie Specialist Premier, I can help you choose the right train, cabin and experiences, and plan what to add before, during or afterwards.
Image credits: Journey Beyond & Queensland Rail Travel
