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Michael Portillo embarks on an epic rail adventure aboard the transcontinental Indian Pacific Railway, from the southern port city of Adelaide, south Australia, 1,700 miles deep into the desert, to the gold rush town of Kalgoorlie, and finishes in Perth, Western Australia.

First, Michael explores McLaren Vale, where an enterprising early 19th-century Briton with a murky past began to grow vines. Michael enjoys the fruits of his labours and hears his story from his great great great granddaughter.

Boarding the mighty Indian Pacific, Michael embraces the luxury of a previous age as he travels across Australia’s notoriously remote and inhospitable Nullarbor Plain. He discovers the 100-year-old history behind the ambitious line and the tremendous feat of engineering it took to deliver it. In the ghost town of Cook, Michael helps to top up the train’s water and is rewarded with dinner under the stars at Rawlinna. He then pays a flying visit to the doctor to hear how patients in remote Western Australia are cared for.