Trains - Every REAL Man's Dream!!

Starting with a free cup of tea question: Why is the Ghan train so named? Close examination of the first picture may see you sitting with a free brew before you know it! The Ghan journey is listed as one of the worlds great train journeys - so you just knew I would be on it! It sets off from Adelaide on the south coast at 12:20pm and arrives at Alice Springs at 1:45pm the next day! Which is actually just over 24 hours because the train crosses a time zone when it leaves South Australia and enters the Northern Territory. The total distance is near enough 1500km - and it doesn't end there! We got of at Alice but the train continues to Darwin right in the north, which is another 24 hours! Most of the journey is through very hostile land, in fact after leaving Adelaide on the coast only 1% of the inhabitants of South Australia live in this area. There's very little water and as you can see in the pictures most of the lakes have dried up leaving massive salt lakes.

Before getting on the train I instructed the driver that I have a 'train drivers certificate' should he need someone to take over the controls!!

Most of the pictures from the train are through the double glazing! So they're a bit blurry!

Elvis and I enjoying a coffee and a little reading in the dining car! There's also a lounge area and even showers (yes we did)!

These pictures may look like a seascape, but there's no water here! These are giant salt lakes. In the next blog I managed to get some pictures of these lakes from 30,000 feet up - out of the plane window and you can appreciate the size of them.

So - the train is heading on a direct route heading North. This picture is out of the left hand side of the train - Sunset! The next picture is out of the right side of the train some 9 hours later - Sunrise!

Sunrise in the desert.







Crossing the border from SA to the Northern Territory. The NT is a wilderness. You need special permission to drive the roads because if your vehicle breaks down, there's a good chance you'll frazzle before you get help. However, the plus point is that there's no speed limit on most of the roads because they're so straight with excellent visibility, also there's no police about either!

The heat outside of the train is about 45c at midday (in the shade) and little 'twisters' like this develop and kick the sand about.

This is the Iron Man Monument, it marks the 1,000,000 sleeper laid on the Ghan track.

I forgot to put a picture of a 'road train' on the blog (maybe I will later), road trains are tucks that tow three or four (or maybe more) FULL size trailers behind them. They usually only run on these roads because the roads are so straight with miles of visibility. Years ago when we were driving in France (in a right hand drive car, on the right hand side of the road!) my brother-in-law, Shahrohk was driving. He would move out to overtake and ask me if anything was coming!. I kept thinking of what it would be like trying to overtake a road train!

This is the end of the journey, we're at Alice Springs now! Tomorrow we start a tour of 'the Red Centre' - but that's the subject of another blog!

PS A quick message to Justine and Ben (aka 'Skippy') - great to hear your comments, if anyone thinks Ben's impression of a kangaroo is bad, I do have a picture of him as a wombat, which is even worse! Congratulations to Justine in wiping the floor with the competition with her speedy reply - what do you mean we tipped her off, no way, the English always play by the rules!! Forgive Ben's attack on the Poms, I can explain: when we met Justine and Ben in Fiji, I (Keith) was made chief of the group, Ben was made my second in charge (my spokesman) - he's never really got over it.

Also special wishes to Lynn Taylor who celebrates her 50th on the 19th January - Happy Birthday!!, we'll toast your Birthday with some Ozzie champagne (Victoria Bitter)