Welcome to The Ghan!
A train that is 1,096m long and travels between the cities of Adelaide and Darwin, cutting Australia down the middle with 2,979km of rail lines. Please come on this journey with me!
In Australia, we’re currently restricted in our ability to travel overseas. A big impact for someone who is addicted to travelling like myself. Fortunately, Australia is a BIG, exotic and diverse country/continent offering many options and experiences domestically.
My pulse was elevated, I was waking up in the middle of the night in anticipation for my trip on The Ghan in February this year. It is one of the world’s iconic rail trips and is named after the Afghan migrants who traversed the great expanse of Australia with camels in the 1800s. Their legacy still lives on with Australia now having the largest, wild population of camels in the world - not a native species - but a story for another day!
Like many things in Australia, the journey is not cheap; however, with State and Federal Governments incentivising domestic travel meant that prices had been slashed at the end of 2019 so the tickets were finally attainable. The journey takes three nights and stops at rural and remote towns along the way including Alice Springs, Marla, and Katherine (look them up on google maps to see how remote they are).
It was Saturday morning and we arrived at the terminal. It was a buzz of excitement as for many people, this was the trip of their dreams or at least of their life time. It was also notable that I was the youngest on the train by at least twenty years but I feel as if the cost of the travel is out of reach for people in their twenties and thirties. Also, it also brings back the glory day for rail especially when so many Australians migrated from the UK and they get to relive the soothing rock of carriages, the grease on breaks and the spectacular views the whole way.
There’s two classes of travel: Gold and Platinum. I’d purchased a Gold ticket but once I was checking in, I thought ‘you don’t get if you don’t ask’, so I politely, in my most flattering voice, requested an upgrade.
Strike me dead, this didn’t seem to be an issue whatsoever! Wow, I didn’t realise how much more of a treat I was in for.
Boarding the carriage, every detail has been considered and every aspect has an Australian touch: the wood panelling is made from Australian timbers, the leather and blankets are sources from Aussie cattle and sheep, the artwork has been created by indigenous Australians - it is a beautiful capsule of Australiana. It was an interesting concept even for me as an Australian - luxury Australiana - it was an idea that conflicted so much with the perception of Australia being hot, dry, rugged, wild and untamed. However, on the train, it was lush, thoughtful, stylish and comfortable - just beautiful.
The stewards and stewardesses were sensational, no ask was too great and they even ensured that your favourite nightcap was next to the bed when we retired at the end of each day.
Daily excursions were seamlessly organised and executed as the train would do the majority of its travel overnight, whilst we were lulled to sleep with the rhythm of ‘clickity clak’ as the carriage bogies were guided by the rails.
So let’s talk about the food and beverages - one of my favourite aspects of the trip.
Each day consisted of three meals of several courses. Breakfast and lunch had 3 courses whereas dinner had 5 courses including dessert. Every aspect of the menu had been curated inline with sourcing local ingredients and using native produce.
We enjoyed barramundi fish, water buffalo, kangaroo fillet, saltbush fed lamb, local prawns and shellfish - the list goes on! All were thoughtfully seasoned with native ingredients like lemon myrtle, native honey, bush pepper, yams, saltbush etc and all accompanied with Australian wines. If you didn’t know, we have some of the BEST wine regions in the world down under!
I would over indulge and be sure to sample, devour each dish as well as every accompanying wine - I mean - calories don’t count when you’re on a train.
Despite having more freedom to move than on an airplane, by the third day, I was feeling extremely bloated as exercise is still limited and all you do is eat and drink - my bad!
It didn’t help that at night time, the beds would be pulled out and a box of chocolates would be left on the bedside as well as your favourite alcoholic beverage to assist in your transition to dreamland.
Overall, this was a magnificent journey and in an alternate post, I’ll document the natural marvels encountered along the way.
I once caught the train from Bangkok to the border of Cambodia. we had to walk across the border crossing and then find a car to drive us one hour to siem reap - next time, I’ll fly lol
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Such a great Australian experience and very well described in your post 
