Wendy's Great Australian Adventure: Part 4

DAY 8 – Darwin and the Ghan

We got an early start this morning, and took the scheduled Ghan bus transfer to the railway station. It was quite a large bus with an elderly group of primarily Aussies, excited to get to the train for their journey south.

Upon arrival at the Darwin station, our suitcases were offloaded from the bus and transferred to the train, while we stayed on the bus. The bus then drove along the rail platform, dropping guests off at their assigned train car. The train itself is 774 meters long (around 2200 feet), so the drop-off saves guests a long walk in the heat!

The train itself is immaculately maintained, with a friendly and helpful crew to welcome you on board. The Gold Twin cabin is quite small, but the space is well used. It has a nice bench seat and table for relaxing during the journey, enjoying the view from the wide window in the cabin. The walkway has windows every few yards, so you can leave your cabin door open, and get views on both sides. The private bathroom is small, but again, uses the space well. There is a toilet, sink and shower all in the one room…with a shower curtain to protect the toilet/sink areas when showering…there is surprisingly a decent amount of room for a shower.

The single cabin is downright tiny, with one small bench seat, a stool/footrest, and a sink that folds down. The cabins do not have their own bathroom, so they share the showers and toilets with other single cabin travelers in the same car. Once the bed is down, the door doesn’t fully open…but it is a cozy setup.

There is a lounge car, which fills up immediately with guests wanting to enjoy a beverage and the company of their fellow travelers.  Dining is in the Queen Adelaide car, with white linen table settings, and a menu of several courses (including options for each course).

We stopped in Katherine for a few hours, and disembarked for a tour that we had selected at boarding. We took the Nitmiluk Gorge Cruise. Several large coaches picked guests up at the Katherine station, and drove us through town (with driver commentary), out to the gorge. The boats each hold about 50 passengers, and cruise leisurely up the river, with entertaining commentary provided by the driver/guide. It was a hot day, but the gorge is beautiful, and well worth a visit. We even saw a few small freshwater crocs relaxing by the shore. The gorge is great for

kayaking/canoeing as well, if visiting the area on your own. We were amazed at the hundreds of flying foxes hanging from the trees at the shoreline, chattering and fanning themselves in the heat.

Back on the train, in time for a drink and dinner. While out of the cabin, the crew comes by to turn down the beds, bunk style…including a ladder and guard for the upper bunk. Ready for a good nights sleep, with the gentle rocking of the train car!

DAY 9 – the Ghan and Alice Springs

We were awakened by a knock on the door, and a cup of coffee and tea for each of us. The sun was not up yet, so we were lucky to see the sunrise over the red center as we chugged along in the train toward Alice Springs.

We arrived into Alice Springs just after breakfast, and hopped into a taxi to our hotel, the Double Tree by Hilton. It’s a bit out of town, so the driver waited and took us back to the central market at

the Todd Mall. It was surprisingly big for a small town, taking up several blocks with arts/crafts and food booths for the most part…only one produce booth to be found. Apparently this weekend is extra busy because of the Beanie Festival going on (yes, the beanies that we wear on our heads in the winter…although these are more like works of art and a price to match). After our sausage lunch and mango sorbet dessert, we walked the 20 minutes or so back to our hotel, along the Todd River (which, according to the map, is “usually dry”).

In the afternoon, we were picked up by an AAT Kings bus for a city tour, A Town Like Alice. Our

driver/guide, Jamie, grew up in the area and was incredibly knowledgeable on all things Alice. We visited the School of the Air (which educates students all over the outback by remote methods), the Telegraph Station, the Royal Flying Doctors Service center and museum, and the Reptile Centre. It was a great way to get around to these sites that are not all in easy walking distance, and gain extra insight from Jamie along the way. The area has a fascinating history and character that just comes to life on a tour like this.

This evening, we walked down the street to the Lasseter Casino, but actually ended up back at our hotel to eat dinner Hanuman, which has a wide variety of Asian/Indian cuisine.

Wish we had more time to spend here in Alice Springs, but will save that for another trip. Tomorrow we push on to Ayers Rock.

DAY 10 – Alice Springs and Ayers Rock

It was an early morning start to catch our AAT Kings bus tour from Alice Springs to Ayers Rock. The entire trip took about 5 hours, including 2 comfort stops. The first stop was for about 25 minutes at a camel farm, where we could grab a breakfast sandwich, coffee/tea, and hop on a camel for a quick ride (but we saved our camel ride for later in the day). Our second stop was also for about 25 minutes at Mt Ebenezer Roadhouse, perfect for a cappuccino and a snack…and photos of the road that seemingly goes forever in either direction, with no civilization in sight outside of the Roadhouse.

Our driver was Gill Cairns, who provided commentary for most of the trip (history, flora, fauna, and suggestions and information about Ayers Rock). She also played a documentary on board about the first aboriginal man who was granted citizenship, as a result of his popular artwork…but his story was rather depressing.

We arrived in Ayers Rock around 1pm, and were dropped off at our hotel, Sails in the Desert. The

hotel lobby has a very welcoming and open feel to it…modern and airy. The actual room section is a bit of a maze, but once we found our room, we were pleased with the large size and local character…although it’s not without its quirks. The most bizarre quirk is that the sheets were loud. Yes, I said loud…strange, I know! The best way I can describe it is that they sounded like crumpling paper every time you moved.

We had a quick walk around the Town Square, and lunch at Gecko’s (mostly pizza, pasta and salads) before we were picked up for our camel ride that would take us to dinner. If you’ve never ridden a camel, this is a MUST! The camel farm in itself is impressive…started by a guy named Chris, who got his first camel at age 15 and was hooked.

They get all their camels from the wild (not a difficult thing to do in Australia, given the huge population of wild camels), and put them through a thorough training program. We had a chance to meet Milkshake, their 5-month old rescue camel, before gearing up…she is adorable, and has a thing for thumb sucking (human thumbs, that is, obviously not her own). There were 5 of us on the ride, and we each had our own camel…sometimes they double up with 2 to a camel, depending on the size of the group. The camels are tethered to each other, front to back, and are accustomed to slowly meandering down the path in a line. The views of Uluru and Kata Tjuta were stunning, and the camels provided constant entertainment. Our cameleer/guide, Chrissy, was fantastic, and has an obvious passion for camels. She talked about camel history in Australia, the camel farm, the flora/fauna, and told a few silly camel jokes…all while riding the lead camel and facing backwards much of the time.

We arrived at the Sounds of Silence dinner site, where the other diners were already enjoying their champagne and canapes (including crocodile and “skippy” – aka kangaroo), and taking photos of us like we were celebrities. After about 15 minutes with the rest of the folks, enjoying the limited sunset (too much cloud cover, unfortunately), we were all invited into the dining area and chose our

seats with a family of 4 and a single lady…all Australian. By then it was mighty chilly, so most of us were bundled up in jackets and scarves/hats to stay warm. There were heaters amongst the tables, but their reach was limited, so warm clothes were a must.

Dinner itself was quite the affair with 3 courses (the main course and dessert were buffet style) and local beer/wine, accompanied by a series of entertainers, including a didgeridoo player, aboriginal dancers, and a star guide. There was a great variety of food to choose from, and the quality was very good (especially the caramelized kangaroo!). As the night came to an end, we were shuttled back to the hotel in the bus, since our camels had long since clocked out for the day.

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