The Ghan - Train Trip

The next portion of the journey was a train ride called The Ghan (pronounced like Afghanistan, the namesake of this portion of the journey. Afghani and other middle eastern immigrants used to be the primary travelers along this route using imported camel trains across the desert). 

We had a few hiccups with the booking, my single room was going to be in a different area than the rest of the family, which we didn't realize would mean that I could not socialize with them the entire 3 days. My dad was kind enough to upgrade me to a double room in their carriage, which was really great. The rooms were small with two singe beds. During the day, the lower bunk folded into a couch and the upper bunk folded into the wall. The bathrooms were small and contained a shower and toilet in the same small space, not unlike many I experienced in Vietnam. Each room had a nice big window and a small table. I spent little time in this room though, other than sleeping, as my main intention was to hang with the family so I either went to their rooms or, more often, to the lounge car. 

The lounge car contained couches and seats for two train cars worth of passengers. It had a open bar/coffee stand and was lined with windows. Over the course of the three days on the Ghan I spent many hours here drinking dark and stormys, chatting, and playing/watching cribbage games. It was a lovely space where we interacted with not only our family, but the other passengers. 

For each meal we went to the dinning car where we were served a nice dinner. Typically we had and appetizer, entree, and dessert with each meal. The options were interesting and generally quite good, often one choice was a selection of a local ingredient like kangaroo loin, gator fritter, beramundi fillet, etc., and one choice was a veg choice, and another more classic meal option was available. While our meals were far apart, we were fed copious amounts of food at each meal. 

Along the trip we had a few stops were we got off the train and walk around a bit. For the afternoon outing we got to chose from a list of activities. One morning we stopped in the desert to watch the sunrise over the outback with bonfires and coffee/tea. In the afternoon we sent to Stanley Gorge where we had a short guided walk with an aboriginal guide. The next afternoon I went down a short river cruise to some aboriginal rock paintings. Both were nice stops, but overall not the most exciting. Of course, the stop were not designed for my demographic, and I found them generally a bit lacking in any sort of physical activity which I craved. They were pleasant enough though. 

In all, it was a different and interesting way to travel across a large portion of the country. I enjoyed the quality time I got to spend with my family during it and being able to relax and look out the windows and chat without anyone having to be distracted by driving. It was a pleasant trip. The main thing I would change would be stopping longer in Alice Springs and visiting Uluru, but otherwise I thought it was a good and different adventure.