The Overland
Adeliade - Melbourne, Australia
Friday, July 19, 2013
Compared to its two big brothers the Indian Pacific and The Ghan, the Overland is a complete tiddler at only 828km but nevertheless it is still a mammoth 10.5 hour journey linking Southern Australia with Victoria. Again we could have flown or taken a bus but opted for the train which in our opinion is far more comfortable.
Without gold or platinum classes, just red and red premium we didn't feel like peasants when it came to boarding. The only difference between the two classes is premium has slightly more leg room and has an at-seat service, although food isn't included in the ticket price. As the standard red class has a trolley service and the train is only 5 carriages long with the café in the middle, why you would pay extra for an at seat service is beyond us.
The seats in standard red class were comparable to those we had on the Indian Pacific although they didn't recline quite as much. But this wasn't an issue as we spent the vast majority of the time in the Matilda Café watching the world go by and grabbing valuable time on the power sockets! The train is a fantastic way to travel and a great way to catch up on essential planning. Our only complaint about the Overland would be the lack of power sockets, everyone needs power these days. 3 sockets for a 5 car train is simply not enough! Our Anker Power Pak has been far more useful than we ever imagined it would have been and to think we nearly sent it home to save weight after the Trans-Siberian.
Next stop Melbourne for another 4 action packed days before we head to Sydney, then Brisbane and finally Cairns. We must be enjoying our time in Australia as it doesn't seem possible that we have been here for 2 weeks already. We have a lot to pack into the next 2½ weeks before we head to New Zealand.
Ta Ta for now
Team Chip
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