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The Ghan
OMG here it isWell thanks to the wonders of modern technology I'm writing this from onboard the Ghan! We are about an hour and a half out of Adelaide. We had a very nice flight into Alice yesterday on a smaller Qantas plane, and there was heaps of room and we got a hot meal! Makes those cheapy flights seem a bit shoddy now!
It was a treat to stay at a motel with a real bed and massive bath! Love the Bago but it was a nice treat for something different! Bug the real treat started when we headed on tho the Ghan! This is opulence at its best. A little tip though if you're going to do it, don't go anything less than Gold Twin. The sit up seats and single rooms aren't cheap but they aren't anywhere near as palatial, so go gold or Platinum!
Okay, we had the twin room, which is the 2 bunks and your own bathroom. The Gold double looked a little bit better but they'd been booked so we were very happy to be in the twin. The shower and toilet are all together but work really well. Fabulous shower!
The lounge car
The Ghan
Thought the engine might have been more schmick is what you'd imagine, a little like the Orient express probably looks like I'd say. All meals and drinks provided and they were very posh. The Ghan lounge is just the place for a G&T and I managed to enjoy a few! Rob enjoyed the bourbon too!
Our lounge host Sam was very good, added an element of fun to the trip. We hadn't long boarded before lunch was served.(I'd already had a G&T before that though) We snacked in the arvo, then had a massive 3 course meal. They focus on Australian foods, wattle seeds etc. Very yummo! You get taken to the Queen Elizabeth dining car for your meals and are sat opposite another couple. Obviously you introduce yourself and we met some lovely people. One older man from Devon in England told us he's run 20 or more marathons and ran 80 mile race in 16 hours (as a 60 year old! And he raced motor bikes in the Isle of Man race. He was genuine. So you can meet some very interesting people in places like this. Another 88 year old bloke travelling with his daughter, just lost his wife, he was lovely!
The
The Ghan
There would be at least 20 of these carraiges beds were comfy but I didn't sleep overly well, but that's not unusual. But looking out into the beautiful nights sky was fabulous, the stars were amazing! Got up and made myself a hot chocolate in the 'connie' station so that helped pass the time!
So very happy that we made the decision. Its a great experience, you get treated like a little bit of royalty, eat and drink as much (too much?) as you want and enjoy the views of outback Australia. A genuine bucket list. They are promoting it now as a real holiday option, where you disembark at Darwin, Katherine, Alice etc and stay for a while, reboarding as you see fit. Pretty good way of experiencing the outback and the opulence! Not cheap but bucket lists generally aren't!
Well we will be flying from Adelaide to Melbourne this arvo to get a very well timed grandkid fix and see the rest of the family. Though unfortunately its only 13 degrees in Adelaide apparently so gawd, Melbourne's bound to be freezing.. Oh well, we will be flying back to Darwin and pick up the Bago on Thursday night 28th, so we will pick up the
The Ghan
The lounge car Bago Bash from there. Till then!!
Oh by the way, Brian Cadd and crew were magnificent in Darwin!!!
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Sue
non-member comment
Hi Lynn!
Lovely to see you enjoying the Ghan! Looks like a wonderful treat to end this part of your journey and as you say you're ready for a grandkid fix. We've also just arrived home after having 10 days in Victoria. Spent 5 days in Melbourne, 3 at Bright and then 2 in Bendigo. We also did a beautiful steam train trip from Charmaine to Waldon yesterday. Have you done that? Excellent!! I'm going to read the rest of your story as I've just gotten on line now. So lovely to see the photos too. Enjoy!! Love, Sue x