Taking the Gahn Train to Alice Springs

We did not want to leave Australia without seeing the Outback. We decided to take a famous train, The Gahn, to Alice Springs, located in almost the exact center of the country. The Gahn Train route is named after workers from Afghanistan who immigrated to Australia with camels to bring necessary supplies to the settlements in the outback. The camels could survive the harsh conditions and could carry a lot of stuff.

Jack and I decided that we would buy the least expensive tickets available, i.e., the cheap seats, which meant that we would be in reclining seats for the 25 hour trip instead of a sleeping berth. We made some sandwiches, bought way too much snack food, and boarded the train with our little overnight bag. Well, 25 hours is a long time to ride a train. Especially sitting up. We did get up and move around a lot, but 25 hours is still a long time to ride a train. Especially sitting up. The lights did go out during the night time hours, but it was not conducive to sleeping. I probably slept about two hours or so, Jack maybe a little more. Next time we’re getting a sleeping berth or taking a plane.



The Ghan

We arrived in Alice Springs and since we did not want to rent another car, had to settle for a hotel room above a tavern in the city center, down the street from the train station. The tavern also had a nice family restaurant, so that was convenient. The patrons of the tavern seemed to be a little bit on the rough side, so we did not go in there except for one time when we thought they had a live band that turned out to be juke box turned up really loud. We only stayed in Alice Springs for a day and a half, so did not have time to take in any of the usual destinations. However, we feel that we saw everything we wanted to see in the outback and do not regret that we only stayed a short time.

I have fallen in love with Aboriginal art since being here. I just love it. I can’t afford an original piece, however, but I think I will look for some prints or copies or something when we settle back into real life.