March 3

The Desert

The tiny cabin folds down into a reasonably substantial single bed, definitely bigger than a pod in Air New Zealand business class. Unfortunately, the process can only be performed with the door shut, so I was unable to see exactly what went on.

Sleep was intermittent, partly due to the movement of the train and partly due to a small attack of cramp, which scared me a little. I was aware of the train stopping a couple of times. I think we were told that last night that once would be for a change of driver and once to pass a freight train.

At 06.30, I headed for the bar, had a chat with one of the few youngish people on the passenger list, had a lethal spiced tomato juice and then sat in the dining room.

Through the window it all looked incredibly green. Lots of grass and scrubby trees. Breakfast came and went. Very acceptable. There were a few areas where there was less undergrowth and the bright red soil showed through.

Small shrubs and red soil ...	... went on for hours and hours

I asked for and was granted permission to inspect the kitchen. I wanted to see how good and beautifully presented food could be served on a moving train. Nothing special, was the answer. A normal commercial kitchen on a small scale. I didn't feel it polite to take a photo. The chef was young and lovely.

I collected my laptop and sat in the bar trying to type. I gave up after  a very few minutes. We were moving around far too much.

Out of the windows, everything remained more or less the same. I saw an occasional vehicle in the distance and we actually crossed over a smart looking road. Good knows where it went to and from.

A road to nowhere?	We reached the outskirts of Alice

We took our time entering Alice Springs - or rather the station - which is about one kilometre out of the town.

I have seen something similar at Whipsnade Zoo but this was spectacular. We were then given an insight into the training techniques that they use.

This was followed by a walk round the diurnal house, home to all manner of snakes, creepy crawlies and small bouncy hairy things. Most of these remained hidden until one of the guides appeared with an infra red torch, at which point they sprang into life. A large aviary housed many small birds, which we dutifully photographed. Finally, we trooped into a small cinema for a short film show. It was an interesting morning but I might have learned more if I had taken the coach tour of Alice instead.
	Numbat woken by the infra red
Central netted dragon
Thorny Devil	Elegance in the aviary

Lunch was good with more new company. We passed over Alice's famous dry river and, a short while after, the Finke River, supposedly the world's oldest. I'm not sure if I took a photo of this as, if I did, I forgot to label it. My notes indicate that it, too, lacked water.

Another good lunch	Not much water in the Alice River
Even less in the Finke	The Iron Man

The guard warned us that we were approaching the Iron Man, a statue erected by the railway workers to commemorate the laying of the one millionth sleeper during the construction of the track. One wonders who counted them!

I dozed in my cabin for a while, took more photos of the amazing clouds and watched the flat landscape go on and on.

Feeling that I should try to wake up, I located one of the showers and gave it a try. It was clean, smart and efficient. Another victory for the Ghan.

Suitably refreshed, I headed for the bar, had an orange juice and played with my photos. We crossed into South Australia but Ghan policy was  not to change the clocks until nightfall. I changed mine anyway!

The cloud built up, there was a little lightning and then a short sharp shower. We had been warned about work on the line and that we would be travelling slowly for about 100 k. We did. We passed a huge freight train but it was only a few feet away so impossible to photograph.

A rainbow followed the lightning	Dinner followed both

No sooner had it passed than we ground to a complete halt. We moved off again and as dinner time approached I changed into smarter clothes.

Dinner was another long drawn out affair with excellent food and wine. We saw occasional flashes of lightning but darkness descended rapidly and we could see nothing outside. We picked up speed again and rattled along at a goodly rate in preparation for our stop in the middle of nowhere to see the stars. Right: Darkness descended

We eventually ground to a halt - I should have timed how long it took to halt a 950 metre long train - and we disembarked. Outside there was a huge bonfire, mainly of railway sleepers or similar, and a pathway marked out with tiny lights.

We were immediately approached by members of the crew with trays of port and Baileys (not in the same glass) and posh chocolates. This was very civilized but having eaten and drunk too much over dinner, I wasn't really able to take advantage of their largesse.

I looked at the stars in the clear black sky, decided that it was far too hot - partly the natural heat and partly the conflagration lit in our honour - and went to bed. I had asked for permission to walk the half a kilometre to the pointy end of the train but it was denied.