ADELAIDE

Every time I visit the Adelaide area, I come to appreciate the city a little bit more. In fact, it’s fair to say that Adelaide has become my favorite city in Australia. I love the beautiful old buildings that grace the downtown district, the wide tree lined boulevards, the river that runs through the city and the many parks. Like Seattle, there are also a lot of cool little neighborhoods within the city that have their own happening collection of taverns, restaurants and interesting shops. Also, the Adelaide Oval is right up there with what I believe to be the best looking stadium I’ve ever seen, the beautiful St. George's Park Cricket Oval in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Then there’s Glenelg. I first discovered Glenelg by accident three years ago when I stumbled across the classic 1929 trams that transport folks out to this beautiful seaside community just 7 miles from of the city center. The Jetty Road that runs up the heart of Glenelg sports all manner of fine pubs, restaurants and shops, not to mention ice cream parlors on just about every corner!




The Glenelg Tram



The 1929 Interior



Dusk in Glenelg


I’m surprised that there don’t appear to be any FlyerTalkers living in Adelaide. Then again, I’m not sure there’s a Qantas Pub at Adelaide’s humble airport. The new terminal being built next door to the present facility definitely looks as if it’ll have the size to support a nice sized airline lounge. Or two.

I spent one night up in trendy North Adelaide along O’Connor Avenue and two more in Glenelg before heading out to the railway station for the long journey up to Australia’s Top End.


April 8, 2005
Adelaide to Alice Springs
Great Southern Railways Red Kangaroo Class
“The Ghan” Car R Seat 9
515p-1150a


In the nineteen days since I alighted from the little narrow gauge train at Ushuaia’s End of the World Station, I’ve traveled over 26,000 miles and am now positioned for the final portion of this journey – a trip aboard Australia’s famous streamliner “The Ghan” – the world’s only south to north operating transcontinental train. There’s an appealing symmetry to the fact that this report started with a train trip at the bottom end of South America and will now end with a train trip to the top end of Australia.




The Route of the Ghan


The Ghan got its start in 1929. Back then it was known as The Afghan Express and operated between Adelaide and Alice Springs. Service to Darwin didn’t commence until February of 2004. The train was named after the Afghan camel handlers and their teams of animals who helped open up Australia's harsh and arid interior. Prior to the arrival of the train, the Afghans and their camels provided the only means of land transport into what is unquestionably one of the worlds most inhospitable regions.

Australia is a continent well suited to train travel. I say this not so much from an economic standpoint but rather from the perspective of comfort and convenience. Sure, one can jet about the continent far more affordably these days than in years past, but if you prefer to remain earthbound, the prospect of driving across Australia’s vast desert expanses pales in comparison to relaxing in air-conditioned comfort aboard the Ghan or the Indian Pacific as you cross the Nullabor or the Great Sandy Desert. This is especially true now that Great Southern Railways will take your car along for the ride for only $99.00 AUD more. In any event, I am most thankful to be traveling up to Alice Springs and beyond to Darwin in air-conditioned comfort rather than atop a camel. It’s worth noting that while a few camels remain scattered about Australia’s Red Centre, I’ve yet to encounter any Afghans.

There are two train stations serving Adelaide – one for local trains out to the suburbs and one for interstate departures. Interestingly, the downtown station serving the local commuter trains is by far the more impressive of the two buildings. It’s a grand old structure, built in the classic style of train stations from the turn of the century. It really is quite magnificent – the kind of place from which great train journeys should begin. Unfortunately, in Adelaide it’s the place from which commuter train journeys begin. It’s also the Adelaide Casino.

The interstate train station, located in the suburb of Keswick, is quite modest by comparison. A low one story structure, I would describe it as architecturally bland but otherwise quite functional. This afternoon it was crowded with two large tour groups of elderly railfans, many of them bedecked in their special Ghan or Great Southern Railway caps. I weaved my way through them and up to the baggage check counter where I divested myself of fifty-one pounds of backpack. Then I headed over to the little station cafe for an iced coffee.

The Ghan departs Adelaide on Fridays and Sundays. The Friday departure is a roundtrip to Alice Springs. The Sunday departure goes all the way up to Darwin, 1,838 miles distant. I’ve decided to leave on the Friday train as this would allow me a couple of days in Alice Springs before continuing up to Darwin.

Boarding was announced at 4:45pm, one half hour before scheduled departure. I was told that the train would be completely full, so I wasn’t in any great hurry to join the masses as they surged out onto the platform. Besides, the café was nicely air-conditioned and while waiting I managed to fire off a couple more postcards.




Boarding The Ghan at Adelaide



Red Kangaroo Class Car on the Ghan


Any of you who’ve ever received a postcard from me know that they do take time to create. From coloring in the borders to placing all the stamps to coloring in the greeting to actually writing out the card – I’d guess about 20-25 minutes per card, and those are the ones that I don’t color up. I know, I know – guys aren’t supposed to write postcards. Alas, the human side of me overrides the guy side and besides, a lot of folks I know back home never get to travel. Indeed, for some people I know my postcards are the closest they’ll ever get to Australia or Argentina. At the very least, it’s always nice to get a postcard from afar.

Travelers on the Ghan can choose between Gold Kangaroo First Class and Red Kangaroo Economy Class for the 1,838-mile journey between Adelaide and Darwin. I’d love to ride this train in First Class but the difference in cost between a First Class compartment and my seat is over $1300.00 USD! A Second Class sleeper, which differs from my seat only in that it offers a shared compartment for two and a bed, would set me back an additional $850.00 USD.

On the whole, Australian trains are very affordably priced for Economy Class Travel. Even First Class is reasonably priced on some inter-city routes such as Sydney to Melbourne. However, when it comes to the better known trains like the Indian Pacific or the Ghan, First Class is priced not so much for its transportation value as it is for its novelty value. High premiums not withstanding, there seems to be no shortage of folks willing to pay the extra cost.

As one might imagine, the scene inside a totally full railway car during boarding can be chaotic. I helped a couple of elderly ladies across the aisle from me stow their baggage, then took my seat and awaited the arrival of my seatmate. During this time, announcements were made advising visitors to leave the train as departure was imminent. Next, the conductor and his assistant, the beautiful young train attendant Sarah, stopped by to collect tickets. He checked off names while she collected tickets.

“You have nobody sitting next to you” she purred
“I’m sure somebody will show up” I groused
“No,” said the conductor. “Right now there’s nobody booked in that seat all the way to Alice.”

Amazing! The only empty seat in the entire car was next to me. I wasted no time in spreading out.




Economy Class Seating on The Ghan


Following a noisy jolt, we slowly eased out of the station and began the 850-mile journey north to Alice Springs. As we rolled past the station platform, there was lots of frenzied waving from both inside and outside the train and loved ones bid each other farewell. It was 5:15pm. Only eighteen and a half more hours until Alice Springs. Almost as long as Singapore Airlines’ nonstop flight between New York and Singapore.

Soon, the Passenger Service supervisor came on over the PA and, after a nice welcome aboard speech, commenced to launch into a recitation of all the rules attendant to a safe and secure journey aboard the Ghan. No sleeping in the lounges or on the floor. Feet and arms must be tucked in from the aisles at all times. A special area was designated for cigarette smoking, but no food or drink was allowed in there. Speaking of drink, no private stock allowed and no drunkenness either. Shoes must be worn at all times. Strict dress codes applied to the Red Kangaroo Lounge and Diner – neat and clean, basically. Access to these facilities may be denied at the discretion of any crewmember. In the meantime, the lounge and diner would be closed until all tickets had been collected. To insure that no pesky passengers tried to access the lounge ahead of time, the door between the lounge and the seating cars would be locked.

Hmm… There sure are a lot of rules on this train. Are the rules borne of an authoritarian approach to passenger service or as a reaction to past behavioral indiscretions by the Red Kangaroo crowd?

Once all the tickets had been collected, we were let out of our two seating cars and allowed to roam freely through the lounge and diner. The lounge is divided into three sections with wrap around seating and a few low tables. Food and beverages are available next car up in the diner. Hot and cold snacks are offered all day along with full hot meals available at breakfast and dinner times. Meals and beverages are ordered at the counter and then taken to a table in the diner or back to the lounge car. No food allowed in the seating cars. (This rule was routinely broken)

I wasted little time in heading up to the lounge car and cooling off with an ice cold VB. For those of you unfamiliar with Australian beers, VB stands for Victoria Bitter. It’s far from being the best amongst Australian beers but it’s certainly one of the most popular. On a hot day, I think those VBs go down quite nicely and if you drink enough of them they’ll make you good and dizzy. I only wanted three or four, however. At $5.00 each, I couldn’t afford to get dizzy. Besides, that would be against the rules.

From Adelaide, the Ghan heads north to Port Pirie, passing through what some call Australia’s “Wheat Belt”. I thought it looked a lot like Kansas. As we rounded a big bend in the tracks, I counted sixteen cars. This included two cars specially designed for carrying automobiles. They were both full.

I spent most of the evening in the lounge and had a fine time chatting with a couple from Winnipeg and a lady from San Diego. The Canadians had scored a good deal on their Air Canada tickets but were disappointed to discover that they could not now change their plans and take a stop in Vancouver on the way back without essentially forfeiting the price of their tickets and starting over. I suggested they call back and ask about standing by. The San Diego lady was a nurse who’d been working in New Zealand. She was traveling with her husband but was making the trip to Alice Springs alone since he was keen on doing some rock climbing somewhere down south. What! Ayer’s Rock isn’t big enough for him? No, No – not that kind of climbing. They’d been gone for over a year and were looking forward to returning home at the end of April.

In the morning, I was awakened by heat from the bright sunlight streaming in through my window. The car was comfortably air-conditioned and I was wearing an eyeshade, but the sun was still hot enough that I had to lower my shade and move over to the aisle seat. I wasn’t missing much in the way of scenery anyway – an endless tract of dry desert brush with the occasional small tree thrown in. I’d found a tour brochure in the lounge the night before and read the passage on what to expect this morning. The brochure ensured passengers that they’d be “mesmerized” by the wonders of the Australian landscape “from the shifting colours of the desert sand hills to the wild beauty of the outback plains and mountain ranges”. From my present vantage point, it looked pretty flat, dusty and red.




Desert Scenery Along The Route of The Ghan



The Route of the Ghan
Photo courtesy of Great Southern Railways


Breakfast was scrambled eggs and toast along with two cups of coffee. I shared a table in the diner with a retired couple from Eugene, Oregon. The man had seen my Denver Broncos T-Shirt as I was looking for an open seat and invited me to join him and his wife. Prior to moving to Eugene back in the 1960s, they’d lived in Oakland, California and he was still a die-hard Oakland Raiders fan. I quickly drew back, hissed and moved to another table. Actually, they were very nice people, as are a surprising number of Raider fans, and we had a good time discussing things to do and see once they got over to New Zealand. We also discussed Randy Moss’s potential impact on the Raiders’ offense next season, and how that might affect the balance of power in the AFC West.

The scenery improved considerably as the train neared Alice Springs. Interestingly, the approach to Alice is through a short narrow draw called Heavitree Gap. When it comes to transportation into or out of Alice Springs from the south, everything except airplanes must pass through Heavitree Gap. That means the railroad, the highway and the Todd River. Ten minutes later, we were easing to a stop beside a long concrete walkway. There was no sign of a station, but that’s because it was way up towards the front of the train. The temperature outside was a scorching 37° Celcius or about 98° Fahrenheit. Welcome to Alice Springs!




Welcome to Alice Springs!



ALICE SPRINGS

Alice Springs makes a wonderful base to explore Australia’s Red Centre. Everybody’s heard of Ayer’s Rock (Uluru to the Aboriginals) but there are also the MacDonnell Ranges, Palm Valley, King’s Canyon and a variety of spectacular desert parks. The best way to access these areas is to rent a car, although there are no shortage of tour operators offering one to three day tours through the region.

I first visited Alice Springs in 1989, and subsequently in 1991. I did it all back then – overnight to Ayers Rock, day trip to the many gorges and waterholes of the West MacDonnell Range. What I didn’t do was visit some of the places closer to town, such as the Desert Park, Anzac Hill and the Alice Springs Cultural Precinct.

Truth be known, I’d love to have returned to Ayer’s Rock but day trips started at $150.00 and didn’t arrive at the rock until mid-day, when the desert heat is its most oppressive. The best way to see and enjoy Uluru is to stay overnight in one of the nearby motels and then head out to the rock in the early morning or early evening.

On the train ride up, I’d met one couple who wanted to go hot air ballooning. That sounded like a magnificent idea! I’ve never been up in a balloon and the idea of a sunset trip over the red desert and mountains sounded like a lot of fun. I even would have paid $100.00 for such an experience. Imagine then my shock and dismay upon wandering over to the AYH Hostel to look into a discounted booking only to be told that half hour flights start at $175.00 AUD plus an extra $20.00 for insurance. Wow! Oh well, maybe next time I’m in Albuquerque…

Even though it’s now autumn, temperatures in Alice Springs were well into the high thirties or close to one hundred degrees for you fans of Fahrenheit. Even the locals were complaining since the cooler temperatures this time of year represent a welcome break from the searing heat of summer. For me, the hot weather provided a good opportunity to visit some local attractions in Alice Springs.

The Alice Springs Cultural Precinct was a worthy way to spend a hot afternoon. It includes the air-conditioned Museum of Central Australia, the Aviation Museum and the Araluen Arts Center. The latter has beautiful examples of Australian Aboriginal art including what surely must be the worlds largest caterpillar sculpture – over thirty-five feet long and about nine feet high. Entrance was only $8.00

At about 6:30pm, I grabbed a bottle of water and hiked up Anzac Hill. The hill is located just on the edge of town and it took only about ten minutes to walk up the path to the top where I was rewarded with a superb view of Alice Springs and the surrounding mountain ranges.

Later, as I strolled down the tree lined Todd Mall, I passed the Outback Bar and Grill. A sign indicated this establishment served the “Coldest Beer in Town”. Mmm… that sounded mighty good about now. I tossed back a couple pints of deliciously cold Cooper’s Pale Ales before moving down the mall for an excellent pasta dinner at the Red Ochre Grill.

Although Alice Springs has no shortage of backpackers accommodations, from my experience the air-conditioning could be better. Instead, I opted to splurge and stay at the Desert Rose Inn, a good looking budget motel that offered quiet, air-conditioned rooms with refrigerator, ensuite shower and television for just $37.00 USD per night. Also on site were a swimming pool and a communal kitchen.


April 10, 2005
Alice Springs to Darwin
Great Southern Railways Red Kangaroo Class
“The Ghan” Car R Seat 18
410p-430p

Normally, the northbound Ghan arrives in Alice Springs at about noon and departs at 4:00pm. The four hour layover allows passengers a chance to get out and explore Alice Springs either on foot or via a couple of pre-booked tours that will whisk them around town in air-conditioned busses.

Today, due to a mechanical malfunction with one of the locomotives, the Ghan didn’t even arrive in Alice until 2:45pm, so departure to Darwin was delayed until 5:00pm. Unfortunately, I didn’t find this out until I arrived at the station at 3:30pm. Fortunately, the station was air-conditioned.

At one point, I stepped outside to take a couple of photographs of the train. Today’s Ghan was incredibly long! I later found out that there were thirty-four cars making up today’s train. The Darwin service operates only once a week and is extremely popular with tour groups. A crewmember later told me that the Ghan had forty-six cars on its inaugural run to Darwin! That may well be a record for lengthy passenger trains anywhere in the world. For sure, today’s Ghan was the longest train I’d been on since the early 1980s when I rode a twenty-two car Mexican train between Mexicali and Guadalajara.




The Ghan - Looking Left



The Ghan - Looking Right


Interestingly, one of the major differences between that Mexican train and today’s train was that the numbers of premium cars were reversed. Whereas the Mexican train had just five or six First Class cars including a lounge and diner, today’s Ghan sported twenty-four Gold Kangaroo sleepers, lounges or diners. The rest of the train included five cars dedicated to Red Kangaroo or Economy Class service along with two auto carriers, two baggage cars and a crew car.

When the boarding announcement was made at 4:45pm, I noticed that the train was announced as “The Legendary Ghan”. The term “legendary” is used regularly by the Great Southern Railways in describing this train. It’s on all promotional material such as brochures and posters and now this boarding announcement. I was curious – what’s the legend? I mean, I knew about the train’s name having come from the Afghan camel drivers of yesteryear, but that seemed to be more historical fact than legend.

During the course of the trip up to Darwin, I asked three different crewmembers about this legend. Is there some legend associated with the train? None of them could explain it except to say that the Ghan was named after the Afghans.

My seatmate for this portion of the journey was an elderly lady from Perth. Her name was Pauline and she’d taken advantage of a great deal for seniors that included train travel from Perth to Adelaide and on to Darwin, two nights hotel accommodations in Adelaide and one night in Darwin along with return air from Perth to Darwin. Total cost: $800.00. Interestingly, this deal was advertised on the back of a grocery store receipt. Pauline had no real business in either Adelaide or Perth. She just wanted to go out and see the center of her country. Good on ya, Pauline! I admired her moxie.

From Alice Springs, The Ghan journeys north through country that looks a lot like Northern Arizona. There were arid desert mountains and a myriad of rocky outcroppings amidst low desert scrub brush that all combined to look quite attractive in the late afternoon sun. The rocky ranges soon gave way to the dry spinifex and ti tree dominated landscapes that comprise the vast Tanami Desert. I enjoyed a warm golden sunset over a cold, golden Victoria Bitter in the Nullabor Lounge before heading up to the diner to check out the dinner options.




Desert Scenery North of Alice Springs



The Economy Class Diner on The Ghan


In addition to the usual array of hot and cold sandwiches and snacks, tonight’s hot dinner entrees included lasagna, barbecued beef or a broiled chicken thigh with pumpkin, potatoes, squash and rice. I availed myself of the chicken entree, along with another ice cold VB and returned to my seat in the lounge.




Sunset From The Nullabor Lounge


The Nullabor Lounge was a happening place on this night, far more so than on the trip up to Alice Springs. In one corner of the lounge, two couples engaged in a rowdy game of Scrabble. (Noisy challenges and shrieks of protest made it about as rowdy as things could get without moving into the realm of Full Contact Scrabble) Lots of people were chatting and having a good time and the beer was flowing right up to the limit of the railroad’s rules on alcohol consumption. Nights like this make long train journeys blissfully pleasant. The bar closed at 10:00pm and over the next hour most of the loungers headed back to their seats for the night.

Movies are shown aboard the Ghan but, like the airlines these days, every effort is taken to ensure that the movie contains absolutely nothing that might offend anyone onboard. The result is a collection of children’s and family oriented films that are fine if you have children in tow but otherwise pretty bland. Tonight’s choice was Toy Story.

I just happened to be carrying a copy of Fargo, the Coen Brother’s wonderful cinematic rendition of a kidnapping gone horribly awry. The lounge had a couple of electrical outlets available, so I plugged in my laptop and four of us watched a late night screening of this classic. Everybody had a good laugh over the exaggerated Meenesotah accents, don’t cha know. Yah!

The next morning I awakened to the good news that we’d crossed the Tropic of Capricorn overnight and, as an added bonus, the Ghan had made up its delay overnight. We’d be arriving in the town of Katherine on time, at 8:00am. In fact, we arrived five minutes early.

The Ghan spends four hours in Katherine and once again, a variety of tours are available for those inclined to spend anywhere from $60.00 for a bus trip out to Katherine Gorge to $200.00 for a helicopter flight around the same. For the rest of us, a shuttle bus provided transport into the town center for just $9.00 roundtrip. Pauline thought this was absurdly expensive and I was inclined to agree that many Australian tour operators along the route of the Ghan seemed to assume that if you could afford to ride the train, you could also afford to pay premium prices for everything from bus transfers to local tours. Given that three quarters of the passengers were traveling in $500.00 per night accommodations, this may well have been true.

Pauline, myself and about one hundred and fifty other passengers piled into one of the four waiting shuttle busses that took us into downtown Katherine and dropped us off at the BP Roadhouse. We were told that the forecast called for temperatures in the mid-thirties with the usual high humidity but at 8:45am, I found the temperature still pleasant. As such, I walked the length of the town – about five blocks containing the usual variety of shops and restaurants found in most any small town – and settled on a table in the air conditioned Jade Café where I enjoyed a full bacon and egg breakfast that included tomatoes, mushrooms and something that looked and tasted suspiciously like Spam. Spam! Maybe there was a Spam ranch nearby. I’d always wanted to see what those tasty little critters looked like!

By the time the busses were scheduled to take us back to the train at 11:30am, the day had become a typical tropical scorcher. It is said the human body is comprised of 70% water and I figure I’d shed about 5% of it just walking back to the BP Roadhouse. It was a wonderful relief to climb back aboard the air-conditioned bus and later settle back into my seat aboard the air-conditioned [/I]Ghan[/I]. Given the hot lands that this train travels through, maybe the railroad would gain more public relations mileage out of referring to the train as [/I]The Air-Conditioned Ghan[/I] rather than The Legendary Ghan.

From Katherine The Ghan spends the next four hours rolling through lush green tropics over surprisingly bumpy tracks. Lightning flashed in the northern sky was we crossed over the Adelaide River and ever so slowly eased into Darwin Station. A light rain greeted us as thunder rumbled in the distance. After three weeks and 28,000 miles of travel via planes, trains, boats and busses, I’d finally arrived at Australia’s Top End.




Welcome to Darwin!


*** ***** ***

Finally, to all of you who’ve also arrived at the end of this Trip Report without nodding off twenty pages ago, you’re real troopers! ^ ^ My Trip Reports are pretty long and given the nature of my reporting style and the fact that I refuse to post these reports in shorter weekly installments, it's quite possible that only a comparatively few, truly hard core readers actually manage to completely read the entire report. Alot of time and effort goes into not only the writing of these reports but also finding and posting the various links and photos so again ~ if you've made it this far, thanks for hanging in there! I hope you've enjoyed reading about my trips at least half as much I've enjoyed traveling them.

Happy travels, All!