The Antipodean Express - by Gregory Hill (Paperback)

About the Book

An epic train journey from New Zealand to Spain, across 19 countries in 89 days on 33 different trains. From New Zealand's Northern Explorer to the Eurostar, the book captures the romance of rail travel, exploring cultures, cuisines, history and people along the way.

Book Synopsis

An epic journey from New Zealand to Spain, celebrating the enduring romance of travel by train.

The journey of The Antipodean Express takes in 89 days of travel, on 33 trains, through 19 countries. It begins in New Zealand's North Island, weaves past the volcanoes of Java, through East Asia and on into Europe. From hilarious miscommunications in China to cultural immersion at the Bolshoi Ballet, there are stop-offs with half a worlds worth of impressions, people, history, food, music and culture. Hill also describes most of the great trains of the Eurasian hemisphere, from New Zealands Northern Explorer to the Eurostar, and everything in between.

The culmination is a day spent in the obscure Spanish village of Alaejos, locating the exact antipode of the authors living room. The perfect end to a vast adventure.

Review Quotes

"Inspiring and unexpected, The Antipodean Express is a delightful account of a New Zealand couple's extraordinary adventures to reach the other side of the globe."

- Kristen Rabe, Foreword Review

"Gregory Hill accurately details a truly epic railroad journey from New Zealand to Spain. As a celebration of rail travel "The Antipodean Express" is a fun, informative, and inspiring read from start to finish. Ideal reading for the armchair traveler, and an unreservedly recommended pick for personal, community, and college/university library Travel Guide & Railroading History collections."

- Kirkus

"Hill displays an infectious enthusiasm and engaging wide-eyed innocence. The Antipodean Express provides an amiable dollop of armchair travel with a genial companion who ends his long expedition with... what else but a refreshing sangria and victory dinner in Salamanca."

- NZ Listener

"Hill's book is well illustrated, and he writes in a highly engaging and descriptive style with a wonderful irreverence for which the word flippant might be generously mild, of the numerous towns and villages one would never see any other way"

- The Otago Daily Times

"The trip was not about getting to the destination. It was about the journey itself,"

- author Greg Hill

"Well illustrated with maps and photos, The
Antipodean Express is a fun armchair journey with Gregory and Anne, with
musical interludes, and a vivid travel chronicle filled with surprising global
insights and fascinating railway anecdotes. A
captivating travel log has been converted into an expressive reminder of the
privilege and enjoyment that can be derived from setting out on a grand railway
exploration. Always making sure to keep on the right track(s) - so to
speak!"
- Public Service News

"The most
interesting book I have read for a long time."
-

Flax
Roots

"Well written and a thoroughly enjoyable story.
Gregory Hill has a most wonderful sense of humour as he describes situations
and people's foibles that they met on this epic journey. There were many times
that I laughed, smiled or was sitting on the edge of my seat. It certainly is
an enjoyable page turner."
- School
Days Magazine

"For lovers of
train travel it's all about the journey. And what a journey Gregory Hill and
his wife Anne Loeser took - 89 days of travel, on 33 trains through 19
countries.

The journey is chronicled rather beautifully in
Gregory's book The Antipodean Express which is subtitled A Journey by Train
from New Zealand to Spain.

To my mind this trip is
right up there with some of the great rail journeys I have followed involving
Michael Portillo, Paul Theroux, Joanna Lumley, and, among others, Michael
Palin."
-InReview

"A railway adventure tracing a journey from the author's home in New Zealand to
its exact antipodes in rural Spain. The narrative recounts 89 consecutive days
of travel with 33 trains through 19 countries. It describes most of the great
trains of the Eurasian hemisphere, from New Zealand's Northern Explorer to the
Eurostar and everything in between. Full of people, memories, history, and
places - anyone interested in travel, trains, food, music, and cultures will
love taking this armchair journey."
-

Our Generation
Magazine

"Enjoy travelling vicariously with some quirky
companions? How about a journey from New Zealand to Spain undertaken
almost entirely by train? Meet amusingly eccentric French horn player
Gregory Hill and his German violinist wife Anne. Well-illustrated with
maps and photos, this is a fun armchair journey with Gregory and Anne with
musical interludes including the Bolshoi Ballet and the Paris Opera.
- Gourmet On The Road

"The Indian Pacific and the Ghan are like luxurious cruise ships on rails"

-ABC Melbourne Afternoons with Trevor Chapel (Broadcast Statewide in Victoria)