Travel on The Ghan- February 11-12

Yesterday, Thursday, February 10 we took a taxi from the Crown Plaza to the Alice Springs Train Station. Our taxi driver told us there are about 5000 Americans who live in “The Alice” as part of a international information gathering facility- sort of a spy community. He said there is no static here and it is a perfect location for collecting information electronically. Also learned that this is the Northern Territory and not a state. It is owned by the Aboriginal people.

True to the advice of the young woman at the hotel, “there was not much at the train station.” We checked in and checked our one bag. People began to gather and take photos of the train and the statue reminding all travelers that The Ghan was originally The Afghan Express and was named that to honor the Afghan camel drivers who were a vital part of the telegraph exploration and construction. I ate an ice cream bar at the station that cost $4.50 AUD. It sure was good and perfect for the hot day, but wow it was expensive!

The boarding call came at 12:15 and we were off in search of Car J and berths 7 and 8. Almost immediately the Train Manager came to ask if we preferred early or late seating for meals. We selected late. Beth came by to show us how the toilet pulled down, how to flush it, and how to pull down the sink. If either of us wanted to take a shower, the shower curtain is pulled completely around the small bathroom. The drain is a hole in the floor. When the toilet is flushed and the sink is emptied it all goes onto the track.

The landscape quickly changed to red sand, spinifex plains and scrubby trees characteristic of Central Australia. Seemed like the sand got redder and redder. Our lunch call was at 2:30 and we made our way to the beginning of our car, through car K, through the lounge car and into the Queen Adelaide Dining Room.

We sat with an Australian couple from near Brisbane. She talked a great deal about her experience getting her PhD from Yale in Psychology. Her other degrees were in Forestry and she was especially interested in people and their relationship to forests- thought it was a strange combination.

We both had a quiche for lunch. We also were served a salad with feta cheese, tomatoes and greens. Dessert was a small and very delicious chocolate cake. The service, as well as all the staff was cheerful and speedy. After lunch we stopped back in the lounge car for a glass of wine and we remained there for the reception for newly boarded travelers. Lindsey, the Train Manager, talked mostly about the train and  how it functions. For this journey The Ghan is 25 passenger cars long and there are three engines pulling us. We are traveling in Gold Service which means we have a cabin with a 3 seat sofa and an ensuitte bathroom. The window is large and we spent the afternoon watching the world go by.

Jim at the sink in our bathroom

At some point we crossed the border between the Northern Territory and South Australia. The sign was all riddled with bullet holes. Jim discovered he left his Kindle at the hotel in Alice Springs but there was no mobile service out there in the middle of no where. We’ll call from Adelaide and hope for the best.

Mid-afternoon we crossed The Finke River which has permanent water holes where the river runs below the surface and then pops up. There are small gray fish called Finke River fish found only here. It is one of the oldest rivers in the world because it has kept its original course. We did see many water holes and ponds because of the severe rains this area has experienced. The Australians aboard say this is not normal at all.

Sunset on The Ghan

Outback Explorers Lounge

We went to the lounge car about 7:00 and visited with all sorts of folks- mostly Australian and a few Brits. For all this is their first journey on The Ghan. Dinner was tasty- choices for the main course were pork chop, stir fried vegetarian dish, grilled salt water Barrimundi, and domestic kangaroo. Jim had pork chop and I decided to brave it and try the domestic kangaroo. Didn’t find it appealing at all. The pumpkin soup for a first course was wonderful. we were also served carrots and broccoli with pine nuts. For dessert we shared a fruit tar and a terrific cheese and nut plate.

We advanced our clocks and watches 1 hour to be on Adelaide time. When we returned to our cabin the bunks had been pulled down and made up so we decided to go to bed. Jim did a great job climbing the narrow ladder to the top bunk. He was snoring in no time, but actually neither of us slept very good. The train stopped for a long time and then went very fast to catch-up. We got up about 6:45 and got dressed and went to the lounge car to watch the world. With the bunks down there was really no place to sit. Beth told us they would come and reset it all when we had gone to breakfast.

Sunrise on The Ghan

Breakfast was great- juice, a compote of yogurt, honey, fruit and macadamia nuts and the THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN BREAKFAST which consisted of eggs, bacon (which was more like ham), sausage, grilled tomato, sautéed mushrooms, and toast. The coffee was great! We left very fortified.

Returning to our cabin we found it all reset for the morning. We passed the Flinders Ranges believed to be 1500 million years old at least because of the fossils found there. At one time they were attached to the Antarctica.

Port Augusta

WE stopped in Port Augusta  to change “train drivers” and learned about this town of 7000 people. They say this is where the Outback meets the Sea. A large inland sea was dug here and there was great hope it would create a environment friendly to farming. They believed it would change the weather pattern. They have been successful in raising lots and lots of grain. We saw big silos. They even hoped to be the capital of Australia but that didn't quite work out.

We also made a brief stop so the staff could off-load bags and bags of rubbish. Through the window I could see the train Manager, the Chef and many of the folks who have been serving us rapidly hauling bags of rubbish to a dumpster. I guess everyone has to pitch in to make this work.

We traveled on to Adelaide through huge fields of grain. Kept seeing our train around the curves. What a great way to journey.