The Ghan Experience - immersive display with artificial rock walls

Stunning artificial rock walls promoting The Ghan experience

How can you promote something as unique as The Ghan – a legendary train journey between Adelaide and Darwin? By providing a pop-up experience that transports people from the city to the outback!

Natureworks is proud to have contributed to this promotional exhibit by creating artificial rock walls for the interior display, replicating the natural beauty of outback rock formations.

Pop-up promotion for an iconic Australian train adventure

The Ghan Experience exterior - pop-up display
The Ghan pop-up experience transported passers-by from Melbourne Southbank to the outback – virtually, of course!

The Ghan Experience, installed at Melbourne Southbank for a week (21–27 January 2025), was based around a simulated Ghan train carriage. Stepping inside, passers-by were immersed in the iconic journey’s sights, sounds, colours and textures. Our artificial rock walls framed these elements and added a strong tactile dimension.

By giving people an intriguing taste of the real thing, the pop-up experience aimed to whet their appetite for rail adventure. In the process, it helped to promote tourism to the Northern Territory.

View inside The Ghan Experience pop-up display
Inside the carriage, artificial rock walls merge with visual and tactile elements of the outback to create an inspirational display

"Going beyond visuals of the train, the pop-up experience replicates real elements of The Ghan, from the window-framed walls to the all-encompassing rockface of Nitmiluk Gorge and the scents and crunch of the red desert dirt.”

Artificial rock walls – recreating the natural environment

For this project, Natureworks was commissioned by creative production designers Boom Studios, who worked with other agencies and suppliers to bring the experience design together. Our role was to create artificial rock walls that reflected the natural beauty of Northern Territory rock formations and gorges. 

Rock gorge image used as reference colour for Natureworks to build artificial rock walls
We used this beautiful image of the towering sandstone cliffs of Nitmiluk Gorge as reference for colouring the artificial rock walls

Creative design concepts

The artificial rock walls inside the simulated train carriage combined with other elements to form a creative interpretation of The Ghan experience. As you can see from Boom Studio’s concept visuals and our working drawings below, the wall consisted of various pieces. These were integrated with other visual and 3D elements to create the overall effect.

Creating the artificial rock walls

  • The artificial rock walls were made from lightweight polystyrene for easy production, transportation and installation
  • Our sculptors carved grooves and rough textures in the polystyrene to emulate a weathered rock face
  • We painted the rock wall in rich earth colours to match NT rock formations like the Nitmiluk Gorge (Ghan travellers can cruise the gorge as an off-train experience)
  • The rock sculptures were finished with a polyurethane hard coat for protection

The artificial rock wall was built as a temporary pop-up prop for this event. Natureworks also makes long-lasting artificial rock walls from fibreglass or GFRC (Glass Fibre Reinforced Concrete) for permanent displays, animal habitats, interior design features and climbing walls (just ask us!).

Installing artificial rock walls in the display
Installing the artificial rock walls (Image: Boom Studios)

"The installed rock sculptures look incredible and the client is rapt! Thanks again for your help with this."

Promoting The Ghan Experience

The Ghan pop-up activation for Journey Beyond was developed by Melbourne creative agency Town Square as part of a broader campaign to promote Australia by train. Watch the two-minute video below for a taste of the legendary Ghan journey experience…

"Many are curious about what extended train travel and life onboard The Ghan is like, and whether it’s right for them. This is a chance for visitors to experience it firsthand before making the decision to book.”

Project details

ClientBoom Studios, for creative agency Town Square and client Journey Beyond
ProjectArtificial rock walls for ‘The Ghan Experience’ pop-up activation
AudienceResidents and tourists in Melbourne 
LocationQueensbridge Square, Southbank, Melbourne (see map)
(limited-time pop-up activation from 21–27 Jan 2025 to coincide with the Australian Open tennis tournament, which the client sponsors)
Date completedJanuary 2025
Related productsUniversal rocks, Rock wall panels, Siji rocks, Artificial rock caves
Related cataloguesArtificial Rocks
Similar projectsRock caves for Riverleigh World Heritage Centre, University of Wollongong cave experience

Creating experiences that attract visitors and celebrate nature

The Ghan Experience project shows it is possible to provide an interesting nature-based experience even in the middle of a city. It just takes a bit of creative thinking (thanks to the innovative agencies we worked for) and a touch of Naturework’s natural magic!

Combining interactive audiovisual elements with 3D replicas of nature like our artificial rock wall helps to inspire people to get out and explore the natural world. In this case, they’ll explore by train, but similar pop-up experience concepts can be used to promote other experiences or tourist destinations.

A few examples of artificial rock projects

Custom artificial rock walls, caves and rock sculptures

Natureworks can supply lightweight artificial rocks and plants for nature-based displays, or build a custom artificial rock wall, faux rock cave or sculptural rock feature. We also have a range of prefabricated Universal rocks, pebble seats and children’s climbing rocks.

If you’d like more info, ideas or a quote, please don’t hesitate to contact Natureworks. We’d love to help bring your project to life!