Monday 16 August
It might seem strange to learn that one of the highlights of the Indian Pacific experience was several hundred kilometres of virtually nothing, but we'd been told that was the way things were before we hit the Nullarbor, and actually there's nothing I can think of that would prepare you for the discovery that several hours of a 360-degree vista where the horizon is totally unencumbered and uncluttered by protrusions of any kind is an enjoyable experience.
At 6:00 when the wake up call and the cups of tea and coffee arrived, that was still all before us and we had little real idea of what was in store apart from a very long stretch of unbending railway track.
Since the sun wasn't quite with us and the cabin only delivered a view to the left, the Club Car, with views to both sides seemed the way to go, and we arrived to find the place surprisingly packed with people obviously there in anticipation of the Red Service call for breakfast since the area emptied remarkably quickly when the call arrived.