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| Adelaide
- Darwin |
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2
days - 2 nights
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 |
| T |
HE GHAN FOLLOWS IN THE FOOTSTEPS
of the early explorers to the very heart of Australia
- the |
mysterious Red Centre - passing through harsh,
forbidding country in all the comfort and style of a fine hotel.
Australia's most historic railway, 'The Ghan' connecting Adelaide
in the south and Alice Springs in the centre, has recently been
refurbished and extended to serve Darwin... Travelers now ride
in comfort through the Outback to "the Alice" your
gateway to the mysterious Ayers Rock (Uluru),
Olgas rock formations, Kings Canyon
and Northern Territory. |
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An early afternoon departure from Adelaide takes The Ghan
north through ancient mountain ranges and the red-baked earth
of the Simpson Desert... breakfast is served
against the magnificent backdrop of a central Australian desert
sunrise.
The starkly beautiful, unforgiving landscape of the Outback
is the prime attraction when taking this 20 hour, 1559 km
(972-mile) trip... you'll pass mountain ranges, the Murray
River and dry creek beds... You'll cross the red-baked
earth of the Simpson Desert and endless acres
of flat empty scrub... A single dirt road parallels the train
tracks, but to see even one vehicle is a rarity.
There are no sightseeing stops en route, but a commentary
- sometimes live, sometimes taped - describes the history
and the passing landscape, with an occasional interruption
for major news flashes, such as... "Australia just
won the one day cricket series with 180 runs."...
The Ghan Museum, in a resorted Outback station just outside
Alice Springs, displays a collection of original rolling stock
and memorabilia from Australia's pioneering railway days.
The Ghan makes two weekly trips between Adelaide and Alice
Springs... leaving Adelaide on Sundays and Wednesdays in the
late afternoon to arrive in Darwin 47 hours later... It departs
Darwin each Wednesday and Saturday.
Heading out of Alice Springs, you'll pass aboriginal camps
and then... emptiness... The power of the desert lies in its'
awe inspiring sense of space. Timeless horizons extend as
far as the eye can see, and emptiness which endows even the
most mundane objects with a sense of importance.
You travel overnight to arrive just after breakfast in Katherine,
about 200km south of Darwin, where tours of Nitmiluk National
Park's famous gorges are available by boat or helicopter.
A two hour cruise upriver will give you a taste of this natural
wonder. Dizzying monoliths of rose, ochre and charcoal rock
plunge into quicksilver water so dark and deep and rich with
nutrients that 40 species of fish reside here, as well as
freshwater crocodiles. At the cliff summits, craggy rock formations
brood like carved saints atop some Roman monument.
Departing Katherine at midday, you'll arrive in Darwin in
the late afternoon.
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| Attractions |
Showtown grain silos * Cristal Brook
* Port Augusta pop. 17,000 * Pimba * Tarcoola * N.T. border
1287 km from Adelaide * Iron man sculpture commemorating the
one millionth concrete sleeper laid during construction * Fink
River Bridge. |
