Storyline: Home to home westward
May 19
We arrived at the Adelaide Parklands Terminal about 2 hours before departure, as we had been advised by a staff member the previous day (Alex: besides, we were excited to get going).
At that point we didn’t realise that the people working at the information desk are part of the staff that later will assist us onboard. They also didn’t seem to have designated roles. The people that would clean our room and make our bed would also serve us drinks at the bar or lunch in the dining room, clean and prepare the train the previous day, serve welcome drinks, check the luggage in, or work at the gift store at the Terminal etc.
They stay a night at Darwin and then back the opposite direction to Adelaide. Some of them were from Darwin, some from Adelaide, but really for all intents and purposes, they were from… The Ghan.
Our train is a kilometer long with 274 passengers on board, we were told. We boarded at 11 AM from platform 1. The platinum service passengers boarded at 11:30 from platform 2. Then our carriages had to be shunted to platform 2 to connect with the rest of the train. The train departed as scheduled at 12:30pm…
We were still in the suburbs of Adelaide when at 1pm we were seated for lunch.
There is one lounge and a dining car for every 4 carriages in Gold service. There are a few sittings for each meal.
After lunch we had time to observe and take it in, socialize, have a drink, play board games (there are games and books in the lounge for our use), read or write, or just enjoy. I was glued to the windows absorbing the ever-changing scenery.
We passed through farmland, some really small places and areas such as Snowtown, Crystal Brook, Coonamia, Winninowie with some mountains at the distance, and eventually reached Port Augusta. There was a short stop there and I believe we picked up some passengers.
By that time not only was the soil of the desert red, but the western sky started to redden too, as the sun sank towards the horizon. With the clouds and the mountains in the distance over the Carriewerloo area, it was just beautiful to watch. We reached sunset at what my location finder tells me is Kootaberra area, where we took the last shot for the day. Photos are all thorough the windows of course, so the quality is not that great. But they are our memories.
In the meanwhile, we selected our tours for the next two days. And our dining shift is as we wanted it – early. Since no-one rushed us to free the table for the next shift we chatted away throughout the shifts to the end of the service. It happened so that our companions across the table were as chatty as Alex.
After dinner and some drinks, we returned to our cabin, which had been made up for the night. We had an early morning activity so off we went to bed.
May 20
I didn’t sleep much, if at all. As with the other trains we took through Australia, the tracks are surprisingly bouncy and the train sways a lot more than other trains we’ve been on. I left the window blinds up, so I can see in the dark. Fascinated by the vastness of the shape of the desert, I kept staring through the window. Was this an animal I just saw, or my imagination? How different is the landscape from the one we saw in the daylight? Eventually I drifted for a short period of time, being swung like a child in a cradle. Around 3am the train stopped. Didn’t realize we had already arrived at Marla, our first of 3 stops. But knowing we’d be getting up early for a breakfast outside in the desert, while watching it come alive with the sunrise, around 5am I showered and was ready for the announcement.
It came shortly after. We donned our warm clothes and jackets, and equipped with cameras, descended into the darkness.
There were leading lanterns on what passed for a platform – it was just a flat gravel shoulder for the railway. Before they warned us to stay away from the ditches and the water, Alex had jumped across a few, squelched through some mud and set up his tripod in front of a largish pond. I followed the gangs walking along the lantern-lit platform to the picnic area, which was already set up for us. There was tea and coffee, there were fruits, sweet and salty pasties, frittatas, etc.
Two bonfires were warming the chilly morning air. But if you moved just a little bit away from the crowds, you’d hear nothing! So dark and so quiet! You’d also notice the tracks stretching arrow-straight as far as you could see.
As the sun came over the horizon, Alex appeared and lined up for his tea and munchies. The reflections in the puddles made for some interesting photos.
Eventually, dawn gave way to morning. It was going to be a long day.
Time to depart Marla. Back on board, I had a cappuccino or two while the train powered through the South Australian outback and crossed into the Northern Territory.
We passed through a small area named Ghan – yes you guessed it, the name comes from the Afghan camels because of the role they played in the area.
We ploughed through windblown red sands blasting the windows, the almost dry Finke River and Finke Gorge National Park.
I typed my notes, took some photos and it was almost time for our brunch. Shortly after 1pm we alit for the second time of the day.
It was Alice Springs excursion time. More on that side trip is coming soon with out last post on The Ghan. The evening descended really fast, and back on board we had our second and last on-board dinner.
As table companions, we had two sisters in their 80s, living in different parts of Australia having a reunion on the train. Their minds were stronger than their bodies. We chatted through all the shifts, until the dining room was empty. And off to bed we went.
May 21
Last day of our journey. I don’t like the last days as they set my mind on moving on. But there was no time to think about it. The day dawned to somewhat different scenery.
The red soil was giving way to a more familiar brown, although it was still a mixed bag. However, vegetation was abundant, with trees and tall grass decorated with thousands or perhaps millions of anthills. As the train raced through the north, we had a sumptuous breakfast and prepared ourselves for the morning cruise in Nitmiluk National Park’s Katherine Gorge.
At around 10am the train pulled into Katherine Station, our penultimate stop. We left the train for one last contact with Australian nature, this time in the tropics. More about this excursion will also come in the next post.
We returned for a late and final onboard lunch. Once again, we took time in conversations with our table mates, then I had one last drink before heading to the cabin to organise and pack. In the meanwhile, I couldn’t stop myself from admiring the ever-changing scenery.
We rushed through Pine Creek – an old gold mining town, crossed the Adelaide River, and as we approached Darwin I noticed quite a few wildfires burning so close to the tracks that I was wondering was it just me that noticed it, was it something so normal that the locals didn’t pay attention or was it that everyone was getting ready to disembark? The lounge closed around 4pm and we pulled into Darwin terminal shortly after 5pm.
Leaving the airconditioned comfort, we were stunned how hot it was this late in afternoon. We gathered our checked luggage (only one checked carryon),
said goodbye to the staff and the train, and headed to the designated bus that shuttled us to the city and our hotel.
The 2½ days on board had flown by, and finally, after two months on the road, I wasn’t cold!
Welcome to the tropics!
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