The Ghan 2016

What's covered?

The Ghan runs from Darwin to Adelaide via Alice Springs and back and is claimed to be one of the railway journeys of the world. When we booked this trip in January, it was booked for the Darwin/Adelaide journey so we booked the return journey.

Overall, we were a little disappointed. Partly because we did not get the full journey, which was no one's fault, but mostly because we had expected to see the arid interior all red and with wildlife. In fact, the weather meant it was quite green and there was no wildlife to be seen. The staff were all very good and we enjoyed the food.

2 October

Although the driver for out pickup was only going to be 5 minutes late, he nonetheless phoned ahead to warn us so that we were not concerned.

At the station we were told that because of flooding / landslides on the line, we would be taken to Port Augusta a to join the train. Gold Service passengers went by coach and Platinum by 6 seater minibuses (Mercedes and Kia). Lunch was a bit confusing as we were given picnic bags with no instructions as to whether to eat them as we travelled or at some designated stop. At the first designated stop, where both coaches and minibuses stopped, you could order food at the bakery paid for by Great Southern Railways.

Later there was a second probably unnecessary stop which seemed to be more about our minibus drivers getting a photo of their vehicles.

In all the journey took about five hours rather than the three we were lead to believe and it was quite tiring.

Boarding the train was easy and Chris came along to explain the setup. Along with Alirra, Stacey and Fern, he was one of the staff we saw most of.

There was a special dining room for Platinum passengers and we enjoyed a good meal.

3 October

We didn't enjoy a good night's sleep because of the track and the rocking. The bed itself although not large, was better than we had expected.

We were woken early (6am) to get off the train at Marla to see the sunrise. Whilst it was lovely, given the cold and isolation of Marla, it was perhaps not worth the effort. 92 year old Beverly and her friend Judy had the wisdom to say they had seen enough sunrises and did not want to be woken.

At Alice Springs we opted for the Alice Explorer excursion which took in The Royal Flying Doctor Service, The National Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame on the site of Her Majesty's Gaol and Labour Prison 1938.1996, and reptile centre.

Back on the train we learned from Fern that the journey ends on Tuesday whereas we were not booked into the Doubletree at Darwin until Wednesday. I emailed Trailfinders asking them to sort this out ASAP so that we could pick up their reply and the next likely phone signal. They came back advising us that the Doubletree was now booked for an extra night and that Trailfinders would pay the extra cost as this was their mistake.

4 October

Our second nights sleep was much better as that part of the journey was on newer track that was smoother. After breakfast, we took the Katherine Gorges Excursion which we enjoyed more than we expected. The scenery really was beautiful.

After a pleasant lunch, the departure from the train was well organised with a small coach alongside our carriage.