HOME FROM THE RED CENTRE: The Ghan TRAIN

All good things must come to an end. Our trip to the Red Centre had it all...great friends and travelling companions, fabulous scenery, great natural experiences, shopping and bus trip and accommodations to remember a life time. There was one more "good" thing yet to come. While in Alice Springs we managed to obtain return transporstion to Adelaide on the world famous Ghan train. It was so named after the Afghan workers who built the railway, after first traversing the outback by camel.

In the back of our minds we had hoped at some point to ride the train, and it came to pass. We obtained the last two Red Class sleeper tickets available on the Sunday trip from Alice Springs to Adelaide We were looking forward to a unique and relaxing return trip and we were not disappointed. We left Alice Springs at about 3 p.m. on Sunday and the race was on to see if we or the bus would make it back to Adelaide first. It rained heavily Sunday morning so the bus left early. For much of the way, we travelled along the highway, and we could see many caravans making the trek, but not our Banksia bus. We found out later that it had indeed beat us back home to Adelaide.

All our luggage made it onto the train, with a little creative repacking. The train is not new - it was slow and jiggly with many stops, but it was intriguing to finally ride the famous Ghan. The room was small and compact but comfortable. As evening crept into night, we marvelled at the manner in which the room could be transformed into fold-down bed accommodation. It was very cool.

There was a neighbouring diner car available to us for breakfast. The views out the window gave us yet another perspective on the flat bleakness of the outback.

We had a great time on the train with another couple from New South Wales, Greg and Marguerite McKeown, former exchange people to Canada who had been on the bus trip with us.

What a great way to end our second holiday break!