No Borders……………………………………….Only Horizons
Bruce’s Travel Blog
PREVIOUS
BLOG
Posted : 27th March 2019
Go to the link at the
bottom of the page for past posts
<<CLICK>> on the pictures below to get bigger/better
quality
Taking the GHAN from Adelaide to Darwin
It had always been
my plan to cross from south to north on the Ghan
through Alice Springs, but didn’t think about booking anything until I got to
Auckland; luckily there was still space, so I had the ticket “in the bag” for
nearly 2 months. What I didn’t know was that this line was only opened 15 years
ago. The line had gone through to Alice Springs since before WWII, but the
extension was completed over 100 years after it had been mooted. The train has
accommodation for passengers in 2 classes as well as a complement of staff to
look after them plus, of course, the drivers and engineers. I had carefully
selected an hotel opposite the station in Adelaide only to discover that the
1km-long Ghan has a separate terminal!
I checked in and
was soon aboard in my cabin in a carriage of single cabins. Compact but not
squeezed with enough room to sit and read/use computer and a basin.
Shared loos and
very spacious showers.
The Ghan set off out of Adelaide, and soon we were travelling
across flat lands which disappeared to the horizon
Once in a while
the line curved and I caught a glimpse of the front of the train through my
window.
The ground scenery
changed very little, but the sky seemed to be an ever-changing kalaidescope
I went through to
the bar-carriage to join/meet other passengers for a pre-dinner drink, and the
sun started to set as we were seated for dinner
On Monday morning,
there was an early start as we disembarked the train which had stopped in the
middle of the desert for us to watch the sunrise. Coffee, juice, tea and bacon
& egg rolls were on hand (reminding me of going on safari) as we stood/sat
around in the cool morning air chatting and passing the time waiting for the
sunset which….. never really arrived!
The sky brightened
over a rather damp-looking horizon and we were ushered back to the carriages as
the weak sun made its appearance.
The train slowed
for us to see the “Iron Man” sculpture. Not very impressive, but it did mark
the millionth railway-sleeper laid in the construction of the line. Impressive!
TLess impressive was
the rain which awaited us in Alice Springs.
The locals were
delighted to have had their first rainfall of the year.
The tourists put
on a brave face.
There was a comprehensive
tour (+begging foreign tourists for financial support) of the Royal Flying
Doctor Service which has expanded beyond recognition throughout my lifetime and
now boasts a fleet of over 60 modern aircraft all fully fitted with mobile
intensive-care facilities and offering far more than the original emergency
services. All very impressive.
We followed our
visit to the RFDS with a trip out to the Telegraph station where the pioneer
who originally found Alice Springs whilst looking for a route for the telegraph
line from Darwin to Adelaide.
He discovered
water coming from the rocks which he mistakenly thought was a spring. It
wasn’t, it was just a water-hole. He didn’t know this at the time so decided to
name the place after his wife, Alice. She never came to the place so, as our
guide told us, the place was named after a spring that doesn’t exist and a
woman who never came here! Still, Alice Springs sounds a lot more romantic than
any alternatives…
We changed time
zone as we went into Northern Territory
On the Tuesday
morning I was awake for the sunrise which I observed from the comfort of my
bed, and when we arrived at Katherine we went by coach to the Katherine river
with its’ gorges and aboriginal rock art. The driver of our boat was a real
bushman and very softly spoken.
I wasn’t the only
person in the group who had initial difficulty seeing the drawings on the rock
faces.
As I walked back to
the bus from the Katherin River, I saw a family of
bats/flying fox resting before their night out.
The closer we got
to Darwin, there were more & more signs of civilisation with fences, cattle
ranches and also huge termite hills
…..and at last I saw
what I’d been looking out for all the way from Alice Springs – a “road train” .
I’d missed a couple before and only got a reasonable photo of this one.. and it
doesn’t look nearly as impressive as my fantasy (based on films). Perhaps the
fact that it was on a surfaced rather than a dust road diminished the romance…
So.. what did I think
of the Ghan? It was great, but the problem is that
since the rail-line is actually for freight, the Ghan
can only run twice a week in each direction. As a result they have decided to
make it into a premium offering. They used to have a sitting-up class which
obviously carried people in higher density (I took one from Byron Bay to
Sydney) and I would happily have paid less for less comfort and pampering.
Because it only runs twice a week it meant that I couldn’t stay overnight to go
to Ayers Rock. Those that I met who were making or had made the Uluru trip had
then flown in/out!
The high cost
means that the demographic is OLD and mainly foreign. For my journey there were
more Aussies, Kiwis and North Americans up to Alice Springs and masses of
Germans on the second leg. I was certainly in the lower quartile of age.
The service was
very good and the friendly staff worked really hard. A few things took the
shine off like the shambles when we arrived at Darwin and the obvious lack of
training for new staff members who were obviously being trained on the job.
For those of you
interested in the numbers:
· The train
travelled the 2,979 km at an average speed of 85kph
· There were around
283 passengers and 49 crew aboard
· This was all
powered by 3 power vans and 2 locomotives
· There were also 2
luggage carriages
And lastly, the
touching story Bruce and Sheila
********** Sheila
& Bruce **********
The bonus at the end
of the trip was that when we arrived in Darwin there were coaches waiting to
take us into town and whilst the majority were couples I was sitting on the bus
when an elderly lady came aboard and I offered the seat beside me to her. We
started to chat and luckily it was a long journey as we peeled back layers of
history. Sheila (yes – I did point out that Sheila and Bruce were talking!) is
84 and lives in Melbourne. Her husband died 8 years ago (on 20th
June) and also had diabetes as does one of her three sons.
She had been born
in Yorkshire and come to Oz as a youngster. Then the floodgates opened when she
told me she was an orphan who’d been shipped out by the British Government and
had been sent to an outback farm where she’d been virtual slave-labour. She is
FURIOUS about the way that the UK government has only now offered compensation
(£20,000) but only to those who are still alive! It’s a disgrace. I feel
like instigating a campaign to have the money which would have gone to those
who died put into a fund to stop this kind of thing ever happening again. Or
directing it to people who fall outside the definition.
I felt humbled to
be with a person who is justifiably angry with the system and politicians but
at the same time not in the slightest bit bitter about her experiences. She
joked that it was only after talking to her dog that she decided to take the Ghan trip. (I saw photos of both the dog and her late
husband). I said I wasn’t returning to Melbourne but with a smile she gave me
her address – 97 Easey Street. She said she wasn’t
rich enough to live on “easy street”, but I told her she was……
A lovely woman,
and a great shame that we had not met earlier in the trip.
Click
HERE
for all my Ghan Photos
Any
Comments ? send them to bruce@travellerbruce.blog
Copyright © BruceJJCadbury
2019
Go
to the latest posted blog HERE
For
list of all postings, go HERE
Adventure
before dementia