When you leave dry, summery Adelaide, it's hard to believe that somewhere (due north), it's actually the rainy season. You're going to get wet. Very, very wet. Some of us need to read the tourist guides before we go.
Still, leaving Adelaide on The Ghan was more fun than leaving Perth on the Indian-Pacific three years ago. The reason: we didn't have to take an 8-hour bus ride to find the train on the other side of a desert derailment. This time we boarded in a station and set off on our 3-day, 2-night trek.
The Ghan was named in honor of the Afghan cameleers who helped open up the interior of the continent. Indeed, images of the camel and rider follow one up the rails, from plush toys as souvenirs (no, I didn't resist) to well... I've the photos to prove the camel is everywhere, including the menu.
We dined on camel steak one lunch (the food on the trains is almost guaranteed to make you wish you'd walked part of the way instead of sitting and watching the scenery) and no, it does not taste like chicken. Think dry beef, but the onion sauce meant there wasn't any left on our plates.
There was never anything left on our plates. Train travel makes you very hungry.
At Keswick Terminal, Adelaide.
Port Augusta
Train station, Alice Springs
The Ghan makes three stops en route to Darwin: Port Augusta for a
brief walk into town; Alice Springs, home to the Royal Flying Doctor
Service, the National Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame, Anzac Hill, a war memorial which over looks the city, and the jumping off point to
Uluru, Ayres Rock; and Katherine where we toured Katherine Gorge. We watched the countryside change from red desert to the trees and
termite hills of the tropical north.
It is not called the Red Centre for nothing. Miles and miles of this.
The National Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame in Alice Springs is housed in an old prison.
Katherine Gorge
Darwin is defined by two events: the Japanese bombing in Feb 1942
(pop. 2000) and Cyclone Tracy, Christmas Day 1974 (pop. 49,000). Both events rattled a city unprepared for either one and caused great
damage, both physically and spiritually. Now a prosperous city of
over 100,000 inhabitants, nonetheless one cannot talk to a resident
without both of these topics coming up. Tracy destroyed over 70% of
the city. Many of the inhabitants never returned, and it was rebuilt
using modern building practices, making it the most modern capital in Australia.
I think we had our best meals in Darwin (and that's saying something
considering we treated ourselves very well). I had a dinner with
grilled prawns (heads on) as long as my hands followed the next night
by garlic shrimp. We've always known where we've been by what we've eaten and this trip is certainly no exception.
The rain was evident in Darwin, but touring the natural history
museum we weren't bothered by it. It did cut short our visit to the
Botanical Gardens. Had we had another day, we would have visited one of the nearby national parks.
Sheltering under a gazebo, Botanical Gardens, Darwin
With a two-hour flight, we were in Cairns (pronounced Cans),
disembarking onto the tarmac (bet you'd forgotten about doing that)
and being informed, before we'd even received our room, that we'd
arrived in the rainy season. Did we know that? As the sun was shining and the rain in Darwin had been minimal, we didn't give it much thought until we were sloshing through gullies of water trying to
find a dry place for lunch. It was as if the sky would unzip, have a
downpour, and then the clouds be hurriedly zipped up again, the rain
shutting off like a faucet and the sun coming out.
Should we come to Cairns again, I think we'll try for the dry season. Nonetheless, the town was lovely and the marina and harbor worthy of a photo or two.
Cairns harbor with cruise ship
Cairns
We spent our last three days near Sydney visiting my pen pal and her
family. As we'd written to each other since we were 11, it was like
visiting family. We toured the Hunter Valley and Blackbutt Reserve,
finally allowing me to see kangaroos and koalas in abundance, albeit
behind safe enclosures.
Blackbutt Reserve, Newcastle NSW
Blackbutt Reserve
We're working on our ideal Australian trip, a combination of our
visits, perhaps to take when our grandchildren are of traveling age.
Unfortunately we're bogging down after about day 10. More study needs to be done--and perhaps another trip.
For more information on Blackbutt Reserve: http://www.ncc.nsw.gov.au/environment/blackbutt_reserve
Next up: TravelQuest: Australia--The Fun Side and Beyond, those
little things that aren't quite what you'd expect at home plus a few
sober reminders of how we got where we are.
Please visit Kay's website, http://www.kaysisk.com and her blog,
http://kaysisk.blogspot.com