The Ghan versus Indian Pacific – which train to choose?

The Ghan or Indian Pacific? It’s a tough choice between Australia’s two most epic rail holidays. No fear, Megan Arkinstall (The Ghan) and Steve Madgwick (Indian Pacific) will help you decide which train journey is best for you.

Which route is best for you?

The 2979-kilometre, 54-hour Ghan journey heads straight up the Red Centre from Adelaide to Darwin (and vice versa). It takes three days and two nights north-bound (four days and three nights south-bound).

The 65-hour Indian Pacific trip traverses the continent, from Sydney to Perth (via Adelaide), covering cross sections of many and varied regions including the famed Nullarbor Plain crossing. The 4352-kilometre journey takes three nights and four days.

What’s the physical difference between the two trains?

Besides the signage and livery, very little actually. Adelaide-based Great Southern Rail operates both The Ghan and Indian Pacific so the carriage and restaurant car interiors are identical (a carriage on The Ghan route may be on the Indian Pacific the following week).

The locomotives are different colours – Red for The Ghan, blue and yellow for the Indian Pacific – and external carriage signage is interchangeable.

The question of price – how much?

There are two classes on the trains: Gold and Platinum services. Indian Pacific fares (Sydney-Perth) start at $2269 (Gold) and $3919 (Platinum). Adelaide to Darwin on The Ghan starts at $1789 (Gold) and $3319 (Platinum) – see Great Southern Rail for fares in the opposite direction.

These are one-way fares so you will need to allow for a return airfare and at least a night’s accommodation at the other end too.

Book six months in advance to get a 20 per cent discount off Gold class.

Where do they stop?

The Indian Pacific stops at Broken Hill in outback NSW (where you have the chance to travel out to the sandstone sculptures of the Living Desert Reserve) and includes either an evening’s side trip to the Barossa Valley (or a walking tour of Adelaide). There are two stops along the Nullarbor; a whistle-stop rest at the tiny town of Cook and a trackside feast at Rawlinna, an expansive and remote sheep station.

A stop-off at the quirky South Australian town of Coober Pedy (south-bound only) has recently been added to The Ghan’s classic Red Centre stop at Alice Springs (where you can go for a camel ride and experience some local indigenous culture) and Katherine, where there is an option for a boat cruise through Katherine Gorge.

The view: Which scenery will I prefer?

The Indian Pacific warms up through the windy, dramatic bush-scape of Sydney’s Blue Mountains and then flashes past tiny towns into the NSW outback. The view turns a little more fecund as the train heads past Adelaide (and near to the Barossa Valley) before the Nullarbor pancake begins. Greenery returns as you coast into Western Australia’s verdant Avon Valley, followed by the ’burbs of Perth.

On The Ghan (from Adelaide) rolling green hills flatten into wine country and farmland, then dry rugged terrain and the jagged peaks on the Flinders Ranges. The rural landscape out this way is marked by abandonment: farming apparatus, crumbling buildings.

Keep an eye out for the small Iron Man monument between Tarcoola and Alice Springs – which marks the one millionth concrete sleeper laid in the track – and Finke River, which depending on season can be just a dry sandy river bed lined by red river gums. By the time the train enters Katherine, lush green foliage intersperses the arid land and then you know you have arrived in the tropics.

Who are your fellow passengers?

Obviously every trip is different, but as a rule there will be more of an Australian contingent aboard the Indian Pacific whereas The Ghan attracts more foreign tourists attracted to the Red Centre outback experience and a taste of indigenous culture.

Gold versus platinum class

Besides cost, the biggest difference between the classes is space (a Platinum cabin is about twice the size of the Gold) – and size can matter over a several-day train journey. The bed in Platinum class can fold into a double whereas in Gold class you get two single fold-downs.

The extra premium of Platinum gets you a larger en-suite (the Gold class one is little snug), bigger windows, free transfers (within 50 kilometres of the terminal), more luggage allowance and access to the Platinum Club Car where there are more comprehensive wine and food options.

The bottom line – Battle of the Highlights

Megan: Alice Springs, a town of extraordinary character and intrinsically Australian landscapes of deep-red dirt and sage-green scrub. Here we enjoyed a trek at Pyndan Camel Tracks with the majestic MacDonnell Ranges as our backdrop.

Steve: Crossing the Nullarbor, indeed the whole country is a highlight in itself. A traditional trackside outback lamb roast dinner under the stars at Rawlinna, a seriously remote sheep station on the Nullarbor, will blow your senses – especially the tastebuds.

More details: For more information on The Ghan or the Indian Pacific see Great Southern Rail

Located just an hour north-west of Melbourne, the largely undiscovered Macedon Ranges quietly pours some of Australia’s finest cool-climate wines and serves up some of Victoria’s best food.

Mention the Macedon Ranges and most people will think of day spas and mineral springs around Daylesford, cosy weekends away in the countryside or the famous Hanging Rock (of enigmatic picnic fame). Or they won’t have heard of the Macedon Ranges at all.

But this cool-climate destination has been inconspicuously building a profile as a high-quality food and wine region and is beginning to draw serious attention from oenophiles and epicureans alike.

The rise of Macedon Ranges wine

liquid gold barrels at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — Barrels of liquid gold at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

With elevations ranging from 300 to 800 metres, Macedon Ranges vineyards are among the highest in the country. This altitude, combined with significant day/night temperature swings, makes for a slow ripening season, in turn nurturing wines that embody elegance and structure. Think crisp chardonnays, subtle yet complex pinot noirs and delicate sparkling wines, along with niche varietals, such as gamay and nebbiolo.

Despite the region’s natural advantages – which vary from estate to estate, as each site embodies unique terroir depending on its position in relation to the Great Dividing Range, soil make-up and altitude – the Macedon Ranges has remained something of an insider’s secret. Unlike Victoria’s Yarra Valley or Mornington Peninsula, you won’t find large tour buses here and there’s no mass marketing drawing crowds.

Many of the 40-odd wineries are family-run operations with modest yields, meaning the wineries maintain a personal touch (if you visit a cellar door, you’ll likely chat to the owner or winemaker themselves) and a tight sales circle that often doesn’t go far beyond said cellar door. And that’s part of the charm.

Though wines from the Macedon Ranges are just starting to gain more widespread recognition in Australia, the first vines were planted in the 1860s, with a handful of operators then setting up business in the 1970s and ’80s. The industry surged again in the 1990s and early 2000s with the entry of wineries, such as Mount Towrong, which has an Italian slant in both its wine and food offering, and Curly Flat , now one of the largest estates.

Meet the new generation of local winemakers

the Clydesdale barn at Paramoor. — The Clydesdale barn at Paramoor. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Then, within the last 15 years, a new crop of vignerons like Andrew Wood at Kyneton Ridge Estate , whose vineyard in 2024 was the first in the Macedon Ranges to be certified by Sustainable Winegrowing Australia; Geoff Plahn and Samantha Reid at Paramoor , who have an impressive cellar door with a roaring fire and studded leather couches in an old Clydesdale barn; and Ollie Rapson and Renata Morello at Lyons Will , who rapidly expanded a small vineyard to focus on top-shelf riesling, gamay, pinot noir and chardonnay, have taken ownership of local estates.

Going back to the early days, Llew Knight’s family was one of the pioneers of the 1970s, replacing sheep with vines at Granite Hills when the wool industry dwindled. Knight is proud of the fact that all their wines are made with grapes from their estate, including a light, peppery shiraz (some Macedon wineries purchase fruit from nearby warmer areas, such as Heathcote, particularly to make shiraz) and a European-style grüner veltliner. And, as many other wineries in the region do, he relies on natural acid for balance, rather than an additive, which is often required in warmer regions. “It’s all about understanding and respecting your climate to get the best out of your wines,” he says.

farm animals atKyneton Ridge Estate — Curious residents at Kyneton Ridge Estate. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Throughout the Macedon Ranges, there’s a growing focus on sustainability and natural and low-intervention wines, with producers, such as Brian Martin at Hunter Gatherer making waves in regenerative viticulture. Martin previously worked in senior roles at Australia’s largest sparkling winemaking facility, and now applies that expertise and his own nous to natural, hands‑off, wild-fermented wines, including pét‑nat, riesling and pinot noir. “Wild fermentation brings more complexity,” he says. “Instead of introducing one species of yeast, you can have thousands and they add different characteristics to the wine.”

the vineyard at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — The estate’s vineyard, where cool-climate grapes are grown. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Most producers also focus on nurturing their grapes in-field and prune and pick by hand, thus avoiding the introduction of impurities and the need to meddle too much in the winery. “The better the quality of the fruit, the less you have to interfere with the natural winemaking process,” says Wood.

Given the small yields, there’s also little room for error, meaning producers place immense focus on quality. “You’re never going to compete in the middle [in a small region] – you’ve got to aim for the top,” says Curly Flat owner Jeni Kolkka. “Big wineries try to do things as fast as possible, but we’re in no rush,” adds Troy Walsh, owner and winemaker at Attwoods . “We don’t use commercial yeasts; everything is hand-harvested and everything is bottled here, so we bottle only when we’re ready, not when a big truck arrives.” That’s why, when you do see a Macedon Ranges product on a restaurant wine list, it’s usually towards the pointy end.

Come for the wine, stay for the food

pouring sauce onto a dish at Lake HouseDaylesford — Dining at Lake House Daylesford is a treat. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

If wine is the quiet achiever of the Macedon Ranges, then food is its not-so-secret weapon. In fact, the area has more hatted restaurants than any other region in Victoria. A pioneer of the area’s gourmet food movement is region cheerleader Alla Wolf-Tasker, culinary icon and founder of Daylesford’s Lake House.

For more than three decades, Wolf-Tasker has championed local producers and helped define what regional fine dining can look like in Australia. Her influence is palpable, not just in the two-hatted Lake House kitchen, but in the broader ethos of the region’s dining scene, as a wave of high-quality restaurants have followed her lead to become true destination diners.

the Midnight Starling restaurant in Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — The hatted Midnight Starling restaurant is located in Kyneton. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

It’s easy to eat well, whether at other hatted restaurants, such as Midnight Starling in the quaint town of Kyneton, or at the wineries themselves, like Le Bouchon at Attwoods, where Walsh is inspired by his time working in France in both his food offering and winemaking.

The beauty of dining and wine touring in the Macedon Ranges is that it feels intimate and unhurried. You’re likely to meet the winemaker, hear about the trials of the latest vintage firsthand, and taste wines that never make it to city shelves. And that’s worth getting out of the city for – even if it is just an hour down the road.

Delicate dishes on the menu at Midnight Starling. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

the accommodation at Cleveland Estate, Macedon Ranges — Stay at the Cleveland Estate. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Soak up vineyard views from Cleveland Estate near Lancefield , embrace retro charm at Kyneton Springs Motel or indulge in lakeside luxury at the Lake House .

Eating there

Enjoy a four-course menu at the one-hatted Surly Goat in Hepburn Springs, Japanese-inspired fare at Kuzu in Woodend or unpretentious fine dining at Mount Monument , which also has a sculpture park.

Drinking there

wine tasting at PassingClouds Winery, Macedon Ranges — A tasting at Passing Clouds Winery. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Settle in for a tasting at Boomtown in Castlemaine, sample local drops at the cosy Woodend Cellar & Bar or wine-hop around the many cellar doors, such as Passing Clouds .

the Boomtown Winery and Cellar Bar signage — Boomtown Winery and Cellar Bar. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Playing there

a scenic river in Castlemaine — Idyllic scenes at Castlemaine. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Wander through the seasonal splendour of Forest Glade Gardens , hike to the summit of Hanging Rock, or stroll around the tranquil Sanatorium Lake.

purple flowers hanging from a tree — Purple flowers hanging from a tree. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

The Ghan versus Indian Pacific – which train to choo-choose?