I need to share a long weekend getaway with you- although you might think it doesn’t meet the standard when compared with some of my other daring adventures! A bite sized break but a classic train journey as I travelled aboard The Ghan to traverse Australia from north to south.
Travel has become so modern and swift but the charm of slow travel is something to be savoured- a journey of 3 hours turned into 4 days, watching every hillock and tree whiz by your window, sunset followed by another sunrise over the nothingness of the red centre, the clickety- clack of progress, the crockery rattling in the dining car as you try to keep the tea in your cup, and the pleasure of time.
I boarded The Ghan (so named for the Afghan cameleers who provided the original explorer transport and freight into the deserts of central Australia) in steamy Darwin on Saturday and disembarked in chilly, windy Adelaide on Tuesday morning. A transcontinental journey with stops to explore Katherine Gorge, Alice Springs and Coober Pedy. It’s a joy to explore some new places in this wide, great land of mine and to meet new friends in the process.
Train journeys of this design are travel for travel’s sake – savouring the journey with a tinge of disappointment when you arrive at your destination. I have the ‘train bug’ now so I suspect some more great train journeys await me around the world!
An excellent summary of a truly enjoyable experience.