Going Ghan

 

Sunday 21/2/2021

 

The Ghan is a very long train.  There  appear to be 2 classes ie Gold and Platinum. We are slightly disappointed to not be in Platinum as Paul was certain he had asked for the highest level of accommodation. However  Gold is gold, so good.

 Embarking is an adventure with a lovely lounge and champagne before we board.

How interesting is it sitting on a train?

Well the scenery is different though a lot of the time it is the same.

There are no on board activities other than talking to fellow passengers in the lounge and eating. Thanks to COVID (global pandemic), there are no on board activities such as games and goodness knows what. Also we are more restricted in the areas to which we have access and are not allowed to go beyond our group of 3 carriages, the lounge car and dining car.

the lounge car (me)

 Dining car for lunch (taken by photo jounalist)

We have met some lovely people of course, including a couple of which one is a journalist and the other,  a HR consultant. Both sort of semi retired. The journalist guy worked for the ABC and now runs a magazine/newspaper for seniors. He has my dream job ie photo journalism though not necessarily for seniors.   Paul mentions that I am a writer: I almost die of embarrassment.

The menu for lunch was amazing but I did not take a copy so you will have to take my word for it.

After lunch, we retire to the lounge for drinks and coffee as you do. (Drinks are all included so you can imagine what and how much people are drinking).  The scenery is starting to look more red and we start to head towards the centre after going through Port Pirie and Port Augusta. The afternoon includes a rest in the cabin.

The cabin is cosy and includes our own bathroom complete with shower.  We had smaller rooms in Sweden.

The seat will convert to a bed with another bunk bed on top. Who will climb the ladder to the top bunk? Only one of us can so Paul volunteers to do the ladder.

 

 

For dinner, you must have pre-dinner drinks in the lounge before being called to the restaurant for dinner at 6. (Two sittings, 6 and 7.30).

I remember to take a photo of the menu.

 

The food is amazing and just the right amount to have all three courses.

 More scenery.

 

After dinner, more drinks and coffee . Did I mention that all drinks are included so you can have as many drinks as you like and in fact feel somewhat obligated to get your money’s worth. Paul is much better at this than I am.

I then spend hours trying to get the best sunset photo. I have only included a few but I took hundreds.

 

 

 

And then bedtime or bunktime.

How hard is it to sleep on a moving noisy train?

Not easy at all.(though it may depend on how much one takes advantage of free drinks)  It rocks and stops and shudders and makes all sorts of odd noise. The cabin door rattled until I locked it but every so often there was a bang which I pray is not Paul falling off his bunk. Or hitting the roof above him.

Will we survive?