Friday 13 November 2026
Highlights: Exploring the ‘living ghost’ town of Cook, Crossing the Nullarbor Plain, Dinner under the stars at Rawlinna
After a much easier night sleeping on the train, I woke to find we had entered the mostly barren Nullarbor Plain. Today was a very easy morning travelling and watching the landscape.
Breakfast for me today was cereal (cornflakes) and a full breakfast (grilled eye bacon, roasted tomato, sautéed mushrooms, baby spinach and scrambled eggs. Lovely.
After relaxing in our cabin, observing the world, and reviewing travel plans for the next few days, I realised it was time for lunch. Today’s main course options were: 1) Grilled Lemon Myrtle & Honey Chicken Bowl, 2) Buffalo & Sweet Potato Massaman Curry, 3) Goats Chees and Beetroot Salad. The dessert options were: 1) Vanilla Cheesecake, and 2) Chocolate Fondant. For my main, I went for Buffalo curry and for dessert, the vanilla cheesecake (which was lovely).
Our first stop was the ‘ghost’ town of Cook, where the train could take on water, and passengers could explore.
Once a very significant railway hub, it is now mostly abandoned, with a permanent resident population of just two people plus a small number of staff to support the train operations.
At its peak, Cook housed around 50 railway workers and a total population of around 200 people with a school, a hospital, and a pool. This started to decline around 1997, following the privatisation of the Australian National Railways Commission.
It’s remarkable to see the old building in the middle of nowhere. I liked the short time we had to explore, and I had the opportunity to go to the front of this extremely long train to look at the long rail tracks stretching into the horizon.
Back on the train, we next travelled the 488 km to Rawlinna in Western Australia. The Rawlinna Station is Australia’s largest operating sheep station, covering approximately 2.5 million acres. The Rawlinna Station houses between 30,000 and 40,000 sheep.
Due to the train’s length, we had to walk to the carriages nearer the front. This allowed me to see the Platinum Carriages with the restaurant and bar looking very luxurious. Dinner was shared plates; this started with a charcuterie board that included emu, cheddar and saltbush damper, sheep’s milk gouda, soft cheese Breb D’Arental, and lavosh crackers. The main course included lamb shoulder, lamb rump skewers, roasted potatoes and mixed leaf salads.
The highlight of the night was exploring around the train and enjoying the nights skies. However the desert does get a little cold so we headed back to the train and the bar carriages where are chatting with a few passengers we got to enjoy desserts with three options: 1) baileys brule, 2) macadamia, white chocolate and sultana blondie, 3) profiteroles filled with salted caramel cream. I went for the profiterole which was rich and amazing. Another relaxing day travelling on the Indian Pacific.
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