The Mighty Ghan-Adelaide to Alice Springs

On By Coral WaightIn Australia, Northern Territory, South Australia, The Ghan Railway, Travel

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been wanting to visit Australia’s red centre, and also Darwin in the top end, but for various reasons I always talked myself out of it.

Three weeks ago, with Melbourne’s weather at its gloomiest, I decided it was time to stop thinking and do something about it.

The Ghan Railway runs from Adelaide in the south of the country to Darwin in the north. I checked the website, they had a spare single cabin for the next week, and I booked.

Am I happy I made the decision at last? YES.

The Ghan terminal, not unlike a small airport terminal
Champers to start my adventure.

The Ghan – well, part of it. It’s too long for one platform. The two parts joined up at some stage, which I missed.

Cabins are small but amazingly well organised – little spots everywhere for your stuff. As it turned out, I didn’t spend much time in there, but when I did it was quite comfortable. The seat turned into a bed for nighttime.

Comfortable little cabin

A toilet was two doors down, and a surprisingly large shower was at the other end of the carriage, and so I discovered, happily, as I was a bit anxious about how I’d go stuck on a train for two-and-a-half days, that I would be quite comfortable.

We left Adelaide spot on 12.10pm.

Lunch, the first of seven meals, was served at 1 o’clock, where we were waited on like royalty (not something I’ve had access to before but something I could definitely get used to).

The saloon car, much used, what with the drinks being covered in the price.
The very pretty Queen Adelaide restaurant being prepared for lunch.

I relaxed in my cabin after lunch, and watched the greenery of southern Australia pass my window.

It started changing as we approached Port Augusta, and I knew I was at last heading into the red centre.

By late afternoon I was ready for a glass of red in the saloon bar before dinner. It was quite a trek for we singles at the back of the train. We had to manoeuvre our way through five carriages, battling the two doors between each, but by the end of the trip we were fairly sprinting along.

Sunset through the train window.

At 6am next morning, the train stopped in the outback at a place called Marla, to let us off to watch the desert sunrise.

Sunrise in the desert

As I said earlier, I was wondering at the beginning of this trip how I was going to manage two-and-a-half days on a train but, in fact, a large amount of the time was spent off the train.

By lunchtime we had arrived in Alice Springs, where we were offered a choice of excursions. I chose the Desert Park, a beautiful spot, overlooked by the rugged MacDonnell Ranges.

I loved seeing the free-flying birds of prey showing off their natural hunting and foraging skills.

As a tour group, we were given access to the Nocturnal House, to see some of their more exotic animals and birds. I saw my first-ever Bilby, which I was very excited about.

Bilby. Photo from savethebilbyfund.org.au

Also this gorgeous Thorny Devil,

Thorny Devil

and the weirdest-looking bird I’ve ever seen. It’s an Australian Bustard. It’s a terrible photo, the best I could do through the glass, but you can get the idea. It’s got what looks like a beard from its neck down to its knees, a strangely-shaped head and very spooky eyes. Still, I’m sure another Bustard would find it attractive.

Australian Bustard

The Desert Park is a great place to learn about the animals and plants of the desert, and I will definitely come back here in the future.

I was hoping to see a bit more of Alice Springs but we had to get moving, as the train was waiting to again head north.

The Ghan terminal-Alice Springs

Before leaving, I raced to the head of the train for my only chance to get photos of the massive engine.

Underway again, I read for awhile in my cabin, before heading up to the restaurant for dinner. Meals were well organised, diners were moved around to different tables each time, and so I was able to listen to a variety of people much more traveled than myself – very interesting, and a good way to pick up tips.

I slept better the second night, having become more used to the movement of the train and actually finding it quite sedating.

I woke in the morning to a different landscape, still with red soil but much greener, and I realised that during the night we had entered the wet tropics – and civilisation, by the road sign.After breakfast, we were again ferried off the train and onto buses for a boat cruise along the Katherine River to Katherine Gorge, which I will cover in my next post.

26 thoughts on “The Mighty Ghan-Adelaide to Alice Springs”

  4. Unknown's avatar Anonymous

    Thanks for reinvigorating my travel bug, as I get older trains are the things to take, and the Ghan looks terrific. You are the next best thing to reality! Richard.

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  5. This trip is still on our bucket list. We did the Indian Pacific from Sydney to Perth in 2016 and have been itching for another train journey ever since. Thank you for the inspiration, looking forward to the next instalment. Cheers, Kathy

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  7. Amazing! This is something that I really want to do one day Coral. I’ve visited Darwin (by air) but it must be about 25 years ago. Would love to return. We hired a car and spent a few days touring Kakadu and Katharine NPs. Loved it all apart from the mosquitoes! Looking forward to the rest of your series. Marion

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  11. What an amazing journey! I had booked the GHAN about 30 years ago and made the big mistake of reserving First Class. Since I was on a business trip to Adelaide (I did a radio documentary for a German station), the cost didn’t matter. I found myself alone in this wonderful but lonely First Class cabin, with toilet and shower included. When I went to the dining car, I was quite disappointed as almost everyone there was traveling high-end. After the first meal, I asked the train steward if I could move to a lower class. He helped me carry my luggage, and there I was, sitting among travelers from all over the world. For meals, there was the dining car called Waltzing Matilda, and yes, there was a musician playing that very song. Upon arrival in Alice, I met some of the people from the train again, and my business trip turned out to be a wonderful experience. I’ve loved Australia ever since and would love nothing more than going back, but unfortunately, some health issues will prevent me from doing so. Love reading your blog! Thanks for sharing your memories with us!

    Herbert in Montréal, Canada

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    1. Sure is. I loved it; well, being waited on hand and foot never goes astray. I’ve just booked the Indian Pacific which crosses the country from east to west. It will be interesting to compare the two.

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  13. That looks like an amazing trip! We visited Alice briefly a year or so ago, en route to Uluru (and more) and were a little disappointed. But the surrounding area was amazing. I think I would have loved your train journey!

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