Any advice for an Indian Pacific Rail (Australia) trip?

[Ziv]

I am taking a long RTW trip starting in late September and should be arriving in Sydney in November. Are there any events in Sydney, Adelaide or Perth I should try to time my trip to complement? If I want to do a stopover part way through the trip, is Adelaide the best place to stop off? The extra train in the summer is no longer running, I believe, so if I stop I have to wait a full 7 days to re-board, so there is that.
My first visits will be Ecuador, Peru, Chile, New Zealand and Fiji, so there are a lot of ways I could speed up or slow down my trip if there are any events like Riverfire (not too likely!) in the October to December timeframe. I don't usually plan my trips too much, but I like to have an idea of what month I am going to be where, though I frequently take off on a tangent...
Thanks for any suggestions/advice!

 

[haroldo]

Side trips to Melbourne and especially Tasmania are recommended. There's a ferry from the new terminal just outside of Melbourne in Geelong to Devonport, TAS. ( Spirit of Tasmania ) Renting a car and circumnavigating TAS is very enjoyable. Or just take a bus from Devonport and hang out in Hobart, a top flight city.

 

[Ziv]

I crewed aboard a ship with a young lady from Tasmania and she was pretty proud of the place too. I probably should take my time in both NZ and Australia and see as many of the sights as possible…

 

[Bob Dylan]

I crewed aboard a ship with a young lady from Tasmania and she was pretty proud of the place too. I probably should take my time in both NZ and Australia and see as many of the sights as possible…

I haven't been to New Zealand, but everyone I know who has Loves it!

Australia is a Fascinating Place with Wondrrful People!

What a great Trip, I'm envious!