Not surprisingly, few from Australia's east coast have ever crossed the continent to Western Australia despite its many attractions. It would be a hard slog driving west through Outback New South Wales and South Australia and then traversing the empty treeless plain that is the Nullarbor just to reach the state capital, Perth.
The alternative has been to fly, but to cover the great distance -- almost as much as the distance between the east and west coasts of the United States -- isn't exactly cheap.
Not without reason, Perth is known as the most isolated state capital in the whole of Australia. The state capital nearest to it is Adelaide in South Australia, and that's 2750 kilometres away, at least two days by car.
Still, itself a tourist destination, Perth is very much a jump-off point to such places as Rottnest Island, Shark Bay and Monkey Mia, Ningaloo Reef, Broome and Cable Beach, the Kimberley, and the Bungle Bungles in Western Australia. Those traveling to the Australian continent are chalking in Perth as a place to visit.
Optional off-train tours
While not necessarily cheaper, the transcontinental train Indian Pacific offers a less hectic way to enjoy mountain and desert in a journey lasting 65 hours, with three nights on board, from Sydney to Perth, or vice versa. For many, riding the Indian Pacific is itself an adventure.
The transcontinental rail journey covers 4352 kilometres. There are scheduled stops at Broken Hill in Outback New South Wales, Adelaide in South Australia and the mining town of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. At these places, optional off-train sightseeing tours are available to Indian Pacific passengers. There's also a brief stop at a place called Cook (population: 2) in the Nullarbor Plain.
- Those coming from Sydney or Perth and continuing north to Darwin take the connecting Ghan in Adelaide.
There are two classes of service on the Indian Pacific: the Gold Kangaroo Service and the Red Kangaroo Service.
Bookings on the Indian Pacific should be made in advance. Check out more Indian Pacific information, including fares and timetables.
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