The Outback by Train

The room gradually brightens from the light between the blinds and I become aware that we are moving. A turn of the knob and the outback passes by outside the window. For the past eight hours we have been gently rocked to sleep by the Spirit of the Outback, the train the runs from Brisbane to Longreach.

The first part of the 20-hour journey, up the coast from Brisbane to Gladstone saw the sun dip in a red orb. A bite to eat and a drink in the Club Car were all we needed before heading to our first-class cabin. Our room has a folding basin and seats that changed to comfortable bunk beds with the assistance of a cheery attendant. The gentle rocking motion did the rest until the sun began to light the world outside.

An ever-changing panorama moves past the window including some of Australia’s native wildlife. Kangaroos hop away and emus and their chicks race away through the long grass. Flocks of grey and pink galahs or rose breasted cockatoos feed on the ground, rising up as we pass, then settle just metres away.

The motion of the train is negligible, but then the tracks are dead straight and flat. The colour of the dirt beside the railway line changes. One minute it’s the brilliant orange we expect from the Outback, then grey, then brown. The trees change with the colour of the dirt, from short stubbly bushes to tall stately ghost gums.

It’s no effort showering on a moving train, before heading to the next carriage called the “Tuckerbox”. The smell of food cooking in the small kitchen is a real enticement for breakfast. As we eat the wildlife show continues alongside the train.

The only high point is a few trees on the horizon and the plains are dominated by Mitchell grass with cattle resting under the few stubbly bushes.

The decor of the Club Car is distinctly western with cowbells, horns and saddles. Thoughts of the trains in the American west of yesteryear come to mind. Rather than watch the wildlife, those passengers, armed with rifles almost brought the buffalo of the American Plains to extinction. Luckily no entrepreneur in the Australian outback thought of a similar venture with emus or kangaroos.

Two graceful brolgas, similar to very large storks, fly parallel with the train as the sun rises and the wildlife diminishes as the kangaroos and emus seek the shade of trees away from the tracks.

After a short break at the Emerald Train Station we continue closer to the road and the wildlife changes. There are birds of prey, kites and wedge-tailed eagles. They battle with flocks of black crows over the previous night’s road kill of kangaroos.

“Those are wassaroos,” one of the carriage attendants grins as he passes. It takes a while for the subtlety of the comment to catch on. Yesterday they were red or grey kangaroos or wallabies but after meeting a road train, they’re wassaroos.

A bustard lifts off from the grasslands, 50m away, one of the heaviest flying birds in the world. Another flock of galahs moves across and into a stand of gums.

Near Longreach the birds we’ve been watching are overshadowed by a giant man-made bird. Longreach is the home of Qantas and has a museum of the airline’s history. The original hanger for building planes is next to the Boeing 747 that was donated to the museum by Qantas. The giant red tail dominates the approach to the town.

The train slows as we pass and the aircraft’s sheer size becomes apparent. The plane seems larger than the airport and landing it on an airfield build for light aircraft would have been a major achievement. It’s really impressive alongside the smaller aircraft that service the outback.

Flying across the outback plains may be the quick way to get to Longreach, but we would have missed the wildlife show. 
More info at Queensland Tourism