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Published: December 19th 2008
Entry by Jules Thursday 18/12/08
Following a well needed full nights sleep in a 'normal' bed we left the hotel to get some breakfast and wonder around Alice Springs. We had a few hours to fill before our train was due to leave for our journey south to Adelaide and really wanted to see some of the Aboriginal art on display in many of the galleries around the town.
In the first gallery we visited we were awestruck by the sheer size and variety of the work on display. Our knowledge of aboriginal work is limited - all the paintings have a meaning or story attached to them - but we were amazed to view not only the more traditional dot paintings in the gallery but also a variety of other styles, textures, mediums and subject matters. We wanted to purchase some original artwork and spent about an hour deciding upon what to buy, the choice was so impressive. We finally settled on 3 pieces, each square and about the size of a LP, each depicting a different story or natural element.
Our passage to Adelaide was via train on the world famous Ghan. Originally named the
Afghan Express, the train was renamed The Ghan after the pioneering Afghan cameleers who created a permanent trail to the red centre over 150 years ago. The train takes just over 24 hours to travel between Alice Springs and Adelaide so we decided to 'treat' ourselves to a cabin. It is certainly a treat in comparision to the seated coaches where there is little room for your overnight bag, stretch out and generally relax. I'm sure sleeping through the night in those coaches was not particularly easy with so many people in close proximity.
Our small cabin comprised two seats, a flip down table, a flip down sink, two narrow cupboards for clothes and a rack. To sleep we needed to pull down a bed from the side which clipped on top of the two seats whilst the top bunk slid down from the ceiling. The logistics of doing all this with two people in the cabin at the same time are a little complex but we did manage it ok in the end.
As we left Alice Springs the train gentled rolled alongside homes, offices, industrial and educational buildings before emerging between the McDonnell ranges into open
planes. These were the last buildings we would see for a while.
Over the tannoy system we were introduced to the conductor and given a warning that there would be several sights along the way to seen on the left hand side of the train. Our cabin was on the right hand side. Whilst a bit disappointing we did manage to see the 'Iron Man' - a sculpture to commemorate the laying of the millionth concrete sleeper on the track. However sitting on the right hand side (i.e. the western side of the train) had its benefits as we were able to watch the incredible sunset from the comfort of our cabin.
Beautiful sunsets have become a very memorable part of our trip so far (and we have probably mentioned these far too much in our blogs) but they really are something special. The colours of the sky, covering all those in the rainbow (I did check using the old saying Richard of York gave battle in vain), as a backdrop to the silhouettes of the gum trees with the occasional watering hole behind providing another dimension reflecting the sun, sky and the trees truly makes for a
magical view, probably not adequately captured on camera.
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Kath
non-member comment
sunsets
They do look beautiful, in fact it all looks incredible, and to think you still have over a month of this to enjoy, you jammy dodgers! My only complaint (if you take out the jealousy) is the pair of you tucking into kangaroos and camels... please tell me you've not been having any koala goujons. My eyes are finally beoming accustomed to Bobs and I have successfully spotted him a number of times now, I hope you're putting suncream on his nose.