As the first reviewer noted, The Overland is in danger of having its funding cut. I heard from…read moreresidents on the train that funding is guaranteed only through the end of December 2019. I went from Melbourne to Adelaide and paid extra for Red Premium. It was a good deal at about $113 at the current exchange rate from AUD to US dollars. I checked my bag at the general bag drop at Southern Cross Station in Melbourne. My bag was small so I could have also brought in on board. A few steps away was the entrance to Track 2. Staff were on to check me in and let me know my car and seat number, and when boarding would begin. There are seats on the platform. There are also vending machines and restaurants, but if you are Red Premium, you don't need anything. They keep bringing you food. (More on that momentarily.) There's a small step up into the cars. In Red Premium, the configuration is 2 x 1. I made reservations well in advance. I requested a window seat since I really wanted to sightsee, and a seat near the restroom, which was safer for me. Less chance to fall or knock into others. They gave me a great single seat in the row nearest the restroom. I could hold onto seat handles and railings to reach the restroom, which is large and has railings. If you use a wheelchair, notify them in advance so they have the ramp ready and space for your chair. But the door isn't huge, so a wide chair or scooter probably wouldn't fit. Contact them for sure. The aisles in Red Premium are wide and there's lots of rooms between seats, even when the person in front reclines. Seats can flip around if you have a group or family and want to be face-to-face. There's an overhead rack and space around your feet and a little ledge by the window. The windows are big with adjustable shades you may need when the sun hits you in the eyes. Now, the windows and shades take in two rows of seats. Before pulling the shade all the way down, please check with your neighbor. They may really want to watch. I would have been really upset if the shade was down; I came specifically to look outside. If you want to sleep, I suggest carrying an eye mask. The trip is around 10 hours, but may take more or less time. My trip took nearly an extra hour because we had to slow down several times and had to stop completely at one point when there were signal malfunctions. I actually enjoyed it. I watched the butterflies flit about in the bushes and flowers. If you are on a tight schedule, this is not the way to go. If you get bored looking at farmland, ranchland, and cattle and sheep and horses and llamas and kangaroos and wild animals, bring a lot of reading material, or consider flying. These are mostly what you will see, accentuated with little bits of city views (much of it industrial) at the bookends of Melbourne and Adelaide. I went on the second day of spring when there were magnificent yellow fields of canola flowers interspersed amongst green crops and grazing land. Springtime is lambing time, so there were many small marshmallows amongst the bigger puffballs. There were a lot of twins ("twinnies") and I even saw several triplets. There were some calves, too. I've noticed that kangaroos (I saw some joeys, too) tended to be spotted closer to urban areas, about an hour or two out. The same was true on this trip. Some residents are not too keen on them because of the dangers. In parts of the US we are concerned about hitting deer; here, it's kangaroos. There is a cafe car. You can buy food and drink here, or it's free if you are Red Premium (except alcohol, which costs extra). You can bring your own food. But as I mentioned earlier, with Red Premium, they bring you so much food. Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options are available. It's best to specify your special needs in advance. We chose from three breakfasts. I had a spinach and feta omelette, bacon, toast, and baked beans. Soon after came morning tea with a choice of drinks and a cookie. For lunch I chose a fancy ham sandwich, which came with a cucumber, tomato, and red onion salad. But they weren't done. Out came a walnut shortbread tart topped with clotted cream for dessert. About an hour outside of Adelaide there was afternoon tea with drinks and a sweet or cheese and crackers.

Okay, the only train that I've been on operated by this company is the Overland, the train that…read moretravels between Adelaide and Melbourne, so unfortunately I can't say much about their big ticket trains such as the Indian Pacific and the Ghan. The other thing is that I understand that the Overland may not be running for much longer, which is even a bigger shame, but then again I tend to fly most places these days, unless of course I want to take some time out while travelling. The train is pretty old mind you, but it was still quite nice, and air-conditioned. The staff were also pretty friendly, and they give you a story of all the towns that you stop at. Unfortunately you can't get off the train at the towns, unless you are actually departing. They do have a dining car, which also has wall sockets so you can plug your laptop in, though you do need to order something to use them. Unfortunately the seat I had didn't have power sockets, so one my battery went flat I ended up having to restort to the dinning car and endless cups of coffee. Still, it was fun, especially if you want to take your time getting to Adelaide.

There are few things you review that can be called 'experiences of a life-time', but this is one of…read morethem. From Perth to Sydney via Adelaide, this is a three day, 2,900 mile (4,600 km) epic featuring mountains, outback towns, kangaroos, silver and gold mines, and desert. Huge great horizons of desert. My other half thought I was mad, of course. What? You're paying more than four times the cost of a flight, for a three day journey you could fly in four hours?. But that's not the point. How else can you experience the vastness of this continent on a three week trip, and read a novel or two, all in one go? And acquire a natty complimentary wash-bag decorated with aboriginal art? (Which, I might add, I am still using). I boarded at Perth's East Station, finding my sleeping compartment in one of its fifteen (!) carriages. I shared a cabin - which was very compact indeed. These have now been upgraded, though there will always be be limitations on the space. But then, you're only sleeping here, and there are roomy and comfortable lounge, bar and restaurant cars. Note: Do not, under any circumstances, go for the 'Daynighter' reclining seat, as all you get is a seat, and access to a shared shower. It might be cheap, but after three days it'll make the 22hr flight to Australia seem like paradise. After clearing the sprawling Perth suburbs, the train heads 400 miles east to Kalgoorlie, home to one of the largest open-cast gold mines on the planet. The trains stops here for an hour or two to load on cars and provisions, and on some runs they offer a night-time tour of the town by bus if you want it. It's well worth it the mine (300m deep, 1.5km wide and 4km long) is undeniably impressive, but not nearly as impressive as seeing the tarts waving to the bus in the red light district (presumably essential given that miners outnumber the local female population by an order of magnitude). Our woman bus driver was very matter-of-fact and defensive of them: We're right proud of our girls here in Kalgoorlie Boulder. They're kept real clean and the local GP gives them a health check every month. Without them, all our local girls would be up the duff. And this all said in a voice betraying a 60-a-day habit of Navy Rough-Cut Extra Tar. Priceless. After an excellent dinner in the Dining Car - wonderful fruit salads - and a restful night's sleep, comes dawn over the Nullarbor Plain. One of the hottest and driest places on the planet, and four times the size of Belgium, Nullarbor is bad Latin for 'no trees'. The train makes a beeline straight across it literally including longest piece of dead-straight track in the world, all 297 miles (478km) of it. (Geeks, ahoy!). Crossing this vast expanse takes a whole day at 70 mph, an astonishing experience. You are well advised to bring some good books. The train makes one short stop on the way, to refuel at the desolate and isolated railway town of Cook. Now almost a ghost town (it has a resident population of around four), this place regularly experiences temperatures of over 50C (now you know why Aussie beer is always served chilled). After another few hours, you enter South Australia's bushlands. Cue kangaroos (no-one tells you they are nocturnal, though, as you try to photograph them) and dusty outback towns, before settling into the wine country of South Australia and, after another night, its lovely, leafy capital, Adelaide. The train then strikes north, towards the picturesque silver-mining town of Broken Hill, famously portrayed in the film 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'. Depending on the schedule, you can take advantage of an hour or so to stroll into Broken Hill, and visit the famous 'Mario's Palace' hotel with its murals, featured in 'Priscilla'. Another another night's kip, and you awake to the spectacular scenery of the Blue Mountains, named after the blue-tinted mist caused by plant oils evaporating from the eucalyptus forest. (And it really is pale blue). A few hours later, and you arrive at journey's end at Sydney's splendidly grand City Terminal, a suitably impressive gateway to this most iconic of cities. Facts: it is expensive, but then this is the trip of a lifetime. To get the Gold Service with access to a lounge car and full board (drinks extra), you need to pay upwards of £800, depending on the exchange rate. The Red Service with a cabin and access to a snack bar only is around £650 (NB No meals are included in Red Service, so factor that in). Once you've experienced the enormity of the country, you will need a good book and MP3 to while away the time, and take advantage of the tours and opportunities to get off the train and stretch your legs. I booked through at Trailfinders in Kensington, who were very knowledgeable and helpful, and packages are available, so it's worth asking. You can book directly via the web-site. Bear in mind that booking ahead is a necessity.

Brilliant Experience…read more We were platinum service, and had a delightful time. We went Perth to Adelaide and put our car on the train which was no problem at all! Cabin with double bed, shower and toilet. Beautifully comfortable bed. Nice clean large picture windows. The Platinum long and dining car were also comfortable. (People came from Gold Class to sit in our lounge as it was less crowded - could have made ours crowded!) Food and wine delightful. Only down side was the unevenness of the tracks and so although the beds were great it was very difficult to sleep with the noise and bumps all through the night - but maybe this is to be expected. It still did not detract from the whole experience!

Any southern suburbs Op-Shop/Second-hand aficionado worth their salt knows about this shop/sale…read more Every first Sunday of the month (unless a public holiday conflict should postpone it until the following weekend) the sale Brigadoons the sheded area by the train tracks, bringing mystical treasures with it. The Lions Club of Brighton volunteers are friendly and helpful and wander around in yellow and navy uniforms to pay and assist. Although most are quite a bit older than me, they're all fun and easy to talk to, always ready for a chit chat or a joke. They're good eggs. The sale operates for fundraising purposes for the club and the many charity and motivational programs that it runs. They can give change but I'd bring some. If you want some absolute steals then I suggest getting there as close to 9am as possible, as along with op-shop enthusiasts, antique/second-hand dealers also know about this sale and tend to get in right on the gate's opening. This place has a massive range of bric-a-brac, furniture, tools, books, records and clothes (see photos), so chances are if you are looking for something in particular it will be there, or show up one Sunday. Despite the place having everything, it also has a big turnover of goods/donations and each Sunday it'll have one of a kind items (the like of which you will not get elsewhere). It's not the place to consider buying something, it won't be there again when you go back. For example, Sunday a month ago I considered buying this giant Statue of David alcohol bottle and this Sunday looked, nope, not there. What was there this Sunday for me was a vintage chrome and formica sewing table for $5, a hat with a $250 tag still inside also for $5, and an amazing jacket that makes me look the business. I also bought a replacement guitar hero guitar for my brother which they've said if it doesn't work I can return to the bookshop on Thursday. On Thursdays during the week the Lions Club of Brighton run the bookshop portion of this sale. Some hard to find books are here and everything is labelled and in separate sections for easy browsing.

This toy shop has a great range and some really fantastic specials sometimes. There's lots of stuff…read moreeverywhere and unless you want to spend the whole time running around after your child best to leave them at home if you can. If they are old enough to understand "look but don't touch" then there is definitely heaps for them to look at. I got some really great deals here on a leapster electronic game console as well as games for it as cheap as $10 for some titles. Recently I went here because I was looking for a Harry Potter outfit for my child for the book week parade. I had already visited the department stores and cheap shops and not found anything, even anything I could work with. Found an actual Harry Potter costume here and not too expensive (plus it was what he really wanted). A good place to look when you want to get something different to the ranges they stock in your usual toy departments. They also have a great range of wooden toys and trains. Always able to find a gift for a child in this store even if you have no clue what you are looking for when you walk in.

Soooo very sad to hear that this place is going be closing its gates for good after this summer…read moreseason has ended... this place has been a family destination for many many years. Walking through the gates from when i was a child to just recently this place hasnt changed at all, but i kinda like that about it. Keeps my memories alive. So enjoy this place while it lasts cause it wont be here for much longer. Thank you for so many memories xoxo

Greenhills is iconic in Adelaide - I am amazed at being able to write the first review for this…read moreplace. This is without a doubt the ultimate family destination - the Gold Coast may have all the theme parks you can imagine, but Greenhills is the South Australian answer - it has everything you could need to keep kids entertained for a day. Greenhills is open everyday of the year, except Christmas day, and August. Don't ask me what's wrong with August, I really don't know, maybe the staff all belong to some odd religious cult that doesn't work during August, it's definitely beyond me. There is everything here - from moon bikes to paddle boats, bumper cars and mazes, every variety of childrens play equipment you can imagine. The kids will have a ball here, and I absolutely dare adults to not enjoy themselves, too. It costs some $110 to bring the average family of four here - If you're thinking of coming more than three times a year get an annual pass, it's worth it.

In abstract, a steam locomotive doesn't seem like a very exciting piece of machinery. An archaic…read moremode of transportion that makes a lot of noise. Yawn. However, I challenge anybody to stare one in the face and to not be a little in awe. What a fascinating contraption. What an understandable one--coal, fire, heat, steam, movement... They don't build them like that anymore. I spent a lot of time down at Victor Harbor as a kid but had never been on the Cockle Train. My opportunity came recently when my father, a volunteer of the Australian Railway Historical Society (aka SteamRanger), invited me along for a ride. This is a seriously splendid way of viewing the coastline. The journey meanders from beautiful little village of Goolwa (checkout the weekend markets) to Victor Harbor via Middleton and Port Elliot. Feeling touristy? The Cockle Train is a must.

Great day out for the kids! Got in at Goolwa and enjoyed…read morethe scenery along the coastline to Victor Harbour. Not too many places in the world you can ride a historic steam train.

I am so glad that this railway station is still here, but it looks like it has been purchased and…read moretransformed into something else. I guess that is a bit of a shame because it means that it is unlikely to be turned back into a railway station, but then again this is Adelaide and they really don't seem to like trains here. However, it is still pretty cool that this really old station is still standing, just don't expect to catch any trains from here.

It has been a very, very long time since the last train stopped here to let off passengers…read more However, despite that the railway station still remains, which is good because it is actually a really, really nice station, not like many of the others scattered about the Adelaide Metropolitan area. A part of me would really like the trains to start running through here again though.

Was given a voucher for a 30 min Jet flight simulation by my brother and his wife. After finally…read moregetting off my arse and logging on to the automated booking service I found myself thinking if only I knew it would be that easy I would've booked it months ago! Upon arriving for my booking, you walk into a small waiting room, unfortunately there isn't anyone to welcome you on your arrival however is clearly signed that "your pilot will be with you shortly". Right on time the flight instructor arrived and ushered me to the flight deck. We quickly were into a crash course in flight controls then within 5 minutes were taking off from Adelaide airport. After a loop over our house then over Belair we joined the approach from the North East and eventually landed at Adelaide. We then tried a the same from Hong Kong airport in a Thunderstorm, very interesting (you will need to do it yourself). The half hour went very quickly, the instructor was very relaxed and knowledgable. Although the experience isn't for everyone would highly recommend it to those interested in flying or things of mechanical nature.

From the owner: At Jet Flight Simulator Adelaide you'll take control of this state of the art flight simulator…read morebased on the world's most popular airliner, the Boeing 737. As soon as you enter you'll be sitting in the Captain's seat. Your personal instructor will act as your First Officer, guiding you throughout your entire journey. Perform as many take-offs and landings as possible, or fly a real-world route in real time - the choice is yours Captain! You could take off from Paris at night, fly under the Sydney Harbour Bridge at dusk, or try the infamous Kai Tak airport in Hong Kong. Sounds too easy? How about a touch-and-go landing on an Aircraft Carrier in the middle of the ocean, or adding an engine failure to see how you perform under pressure! First we'll start with some basics, then it's up to you to decide where we fly. We have 22,000 airports to choose from. Not sure? Don't worry, we have some great suggestions. We cater each session to each customer. So whether you have no previous flying experience or you're a seasoned pro, we're there to ensure you make the most of your flying experience. Want to know more? Just give us a call.

I went into Hobby Habit hoping to find a specific lipo battery product, only to be told (rather…read moreabruptly) that they didn't stock it and to not stand behind the counter and look at the model airplanes. I completely understand that not every store can carry everything -- that's fair enough -- but the way it was handled left a bad taste. Instead of a polite "sorry, we don't have that," I was spoken to quite rudely, as if I was a nuisance for even asking. I've been to plenty of hobby shops where staff are friendly and happy to point you in the right direction, even if they don't have what you need. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case here. I get that people have off days, but when customers come in excited about their hobby, a little courtesy goes a long way. Definitely not the experience I was hoping for especially from an amazing hobby store.

This review is an independent comment about Ashleigh, who is the owner of this store. He runs an…read morehonest and trustworthy business. The prices that he set for his goods are extremely reasonable and he has kept his profit margins low. There was a most recent purchase which I made from his store, and I can highly recommend this local business to all Aussies! Good man!