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PUBLISHED PRINT:
Illawarra Mercury | Wollongong | 30 April 2011
PUBLISHED INTERNET:
ACCOMPANYING IMAGES Accompanying images were taken by Sandra Burn White, a freelance photographer whose work forms an essential backdrop to John Rozentals' travel stories. She has also built an extensive album of images which are available for purchase and can be perused on her site: www.sandraburnwhite.com.au
The Ghan in its spiritual home ... Alice Springs. Image: © Sandra Burn White 2011.
The Ghan's Queen Adelaide Restaurant ... fine food, excellent service. Image: © Sandra Burn White 2011. 
Crossing the Finke River ... much more water than usual in the southern parts of the Northern Territory. Image: © Sandra Burn White 2011
Above and below: Katherine Gorge. Images: © Sandra Burn White 2011.
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Destination: The Australian heartland by rail ... John Rozentals spends a couple of days on one of the world's great railway journeys ... 3000 kilometres from Darwin to Adelaide on The Ghan. Story: JOHN ROZENTALS Images: SANDRA BURN WHITE IT may not have the Agatha-Christie-inspired mystique of The Orient Express, or require the week-long stamina of The Trans-Siberian, but there’s absolutely no doubt about The Ghan’s status as one of the great railway journeys of the world — an epic 54-hour north-south transcontinental expedition covering just a tad under 3000 kilometres between Darwin and Alice Springs. We’re travelling in a Gold Class double sleeper with ensuite — midway between the slightly more luxurious Platinum Class and the harder Red Class, with its totally seated configuration. The cabins are comfortable enough but, sleeping and showering aside, they’re not really where most people want to spend their time. The Explorer Lounge is much more desirable. Windows run full-length down both sides of the carriage; there’s a supply of reading material and access to a bar; and there’s the opportunity to chat with fellow travellers. It quickly becomes apparent that they could have called it Baby Boomer Class as easily as Gold Class. These are people looking for a dash of comfort and red wine with their cross-desert soft adventure ... and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with relaxing and enjoying some of your hard-earned. After the informalities, conversations quickly turn to the surrounding countryside. It’s easy to imagine the Australian Outback as a fairly boring, scrubby, same-ish environment but it’s one that sharpens your observation. The more you look, the more you see, especially during one of the greenest, wettest wet seasons in white memory. There’s just time for lunch before our first stop, Katherine, about 300 kilometres south-east from Darwin ... a lunch that provides an excellent introduction to the quality of food that our chefs, Karen Chandler and Chetin Suri, can produce in an amazingly tiny and relatively unstable kitchen. For main course, there's a choice of chicken, braised in coconut and coriander, served with basmati rice and a salad of pickled capsicum and snow peas; or pumpkin and lentil croquette, served with red onion jam, crisp greens, mayonnaise and finished with a drizzle of infused white truffle oil. Dessert is warm-chocolate-and-irish-whiskey pudding, served with crème anglaise. Vegetarian and gluten-free options always seem available. Travelling on The Ghan is bit like being on a cruise ship. At various ports of call, opportunities are provided, obviously at additional cost, for tours and activities. At Katherine, we opt for a trip to the Nitmiluk National Park and a cruise through part of the world-renowned Katherine Gorge. Nitmiluk Tours is run by the local Jawoyn people and I have to agree with the lad who was photographed beside our indigenous expedition leader Robbie Braun and assured him that the image would go onto his Facebook page captioned as “the best guide ever”. Put simply, it’s a spectacular experience, and the access to indigenous rock art — via a moderately easy clamber of a kilometre or so — a memorable privilege. Our other port of call, Alice Springs, comes the next morning. While the train’s parent company, Great Southern Rail, is based in Adelaide, The Ghan’s spiritual home is right here in Australia’s very centre ... The Alice. It takes its name — and its logo — from the Afghan camel riders who settled the area in the 19th century and played such a crucial role in opening up Central Australia. That history is symbolised by a statue that dominates the platform at Alice Springs Railway Station. We took an independent path for our three-hour stop at Alice Springs ... to the Araluen Cultural Precinct, the headquarters of the city’s artistic, musical and theatrical community. As well as an Arts Centre, it’s home to the Museum of Central Australia, the Strehlow Research Centre (named after the late Professor Ted Strehlow and a repositary of material relating to the local Arrernte people), a craft studio and the Central Australian Aviation Museum. It’s an enthralling place to spend a couple of hours. As long as you remember you’re on a train rather than in a rock-solid city building, Gold Class accommodation on The Ghan is comfortable enough. During dinner, staff convert your lounge into double bunks and reverse the procedure during breakfast. Wake-up call comes at about 6.30am through a friendly rap on the door and cups of hot tea or coffee. Then a quick shower in a bathroom that really is an absolute miracle of compaction. With door firmly shut, basin and toilet folded away, towels dry in their own waterproof cabinet, and curtain in place, it’s actually quite easy to have an invigorating hot shower in a seemingly impossible space. Thumbs up to the engineers. And then it's time for breakfast and another enthralling day on The Ghan ... CONTACT DETAILS The Ghan (www.gsr.com.au) Nitmiluk Tours (www.nitmiluktours.com.au) Araluen Cultural Precinct (http://www.nt.gov.au) |
