The Ghan leaves Adelaide Parklands Terminal today, bound for Darwin. My subcontinental Fangio of a taxi driver insists on taking the speed humps leading to the railway station at 60km per hour and seems to be amused that my luggage is rolling around in the boot.
Check-in at The Ghan is impressive – a smartly attired host in an ‘outback chic’ uniform including shady Akubra hat meets the taxi and insists on wrangling my suitcase and overnight bag as far as the check-in desk. I repacked my suitcase so that I have an overnight bag for the train cabin, and moved all of the electronics paraphernalia that 3 cameras, a tripod, a laptop and an iPad require out of my suitcase. As a result, my suitcase is a whopping 12 kilos lighter than when I checked it in yesterday for my Melbourne to Adelaide flight.
The Gold Service single cabin is tiny, but well designed, with cabinets to store a small number of clothes, shoes and toiletries. There is a shelf over the petite vanity, with enough space to store the overnight bag and my rolling camera bag if necessary, but it seems that the rolling bag will fit under the seat/bed. Some very nice Appelles Apothecary toiletries – shampoo, conditioner, lotion, soap and shower cap in a small cotton bag are included, and are the same brand used by the MGallery by Sofitel Playford Hotel where I stayed the night in Adelaide. There are three Australian plug power points in the cabin – one above the vanity, and two side by side next to the bed. There is a thoughtful pull out drawer to rest a phone whilst it is charging. I’ll have to see how I go sharing 2 bathrooms/showers with 16 other people for the next 2.5 days.
It could be worse, Bruce Smith, the train manager, announces as The Ghan departs dead on time at 12:15 pm that there are 289 guests on the train. So far, The Ghan seems to operate like a well-oiled machine, which must provide a source of employment for local Adelaide residents as train staff, chefs, train managers and hosts, cleaners and mechanics.
The single cabin is better than I thought – I’ve discovered a soft-touch large drawer under the seat – plenty of room to stash cables, camera battery chargers and the laptop. Once everything is tucked away, the cabin is cosy but bearable.
The only weak point so far is that the train host for my carriage doesn’t know how long or how many passengers the optional (extra cost) helicopter flight over Simpson’s Gap and the Larapinta trail is. If it is the same duration as the other excursions (45mins), it’s not very long. Oh well, let’s see what it turns out to be.
One tip for booking The Ghan would be to book a cabin that faces the direction of travel if that bothers you. I’m travelling backwards, as sitting on the small seat that forms the end of the bed doesn’t give me enough leg room. Some of my elderly carriage mates are loudly lamenting the fact that they need to face the direction of travel, which I’ve never understood.
The carriage (which is full) has two showers with toilets at the one end of the carriage, and two toilets at the other end. The toilets are nicer than most train toilets – relatively newly renovated by the look of them, with Appelles hand wash and a real towel and wall hand dryer. It is also relatively spacious by train standards. There is also a small kitchenette for tea, coffee and filtered water at the end of the carriage.
Later, having traversed the 5 carriages between mine and the dining car, it is apparent that some of the carriages are newer than others, and mine seems to be one of the newest. A quick reconnaisance of the shared showers at the end of the carriage reveal a sizeable bathroom – separate shower at one end and toilet, hand basin and hand dryer at the other. Plenty of room to get dressed in.
I am in Carriage A, which ironically is the last passenger carriage of this 902m train, with only staff quarters beyond. It is a great vantage point though when the train manager announces that we are about to go around a sweeping curve – the train engines are more than 800 metres in the distance.
The Ghan rounding a bend – the view from the last passenger carriage 800 metres away!
First stop tomorrow is a 6:00 am sunrise at Marla, near the Northern Territory border.
