off train excursions adelaide to darwin

20 Pages·2017·1.22 MB·English

OUTBACK SPIRIT
ADELAIDE TO DARWIN
JOURNEY COMPANION
RED CENTRE EXPLORER • TOP END DISCOVERY
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WELCOME
From the moment you step aboard The Ghan, you can feel it.
You are embarking on the trip of a lifetime, a folkloric journey.
The incredible kilometre-long train that transports you to
the north-south extremes of the continent is a 360° travel
experience melding fine food and wine, amazing excursions,
sumptuous comfort and wonderful camaraderie.
This famous transcontinental journey will take you through
the outback, the tropics, farmlands and cities for an
unforgettable holiday experience.
Your journey is not just the ultimate showcase of the
incredible diversity of the Great Southern Land, your
experience and enjoyment of the amazing landscapes and
environments you’ll see is enhanced by interactive Off Train
Experiences that physically connect you with each landmark
destination on this epic journey.
Tailored to complement the train timetable as we move
through the heartland of Australia, these immersive activities
are included in your fare. Take your pick from a range of
excursions designed to suit your level of fitness and personal
interests.
More than just seeing the best of Australia with us, we want
you to experience it as well.
And part of that experience is enjoying the camaraderie of
fellow guests who are just as excited as you are about this
trip of a lifetime.
So sit back, enjoy the ever-changing panoramas rolling by as
our team provides you with exceptional service to ensure this
is a holiday experience you’ll never forget.
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CONTENTS
A CELEBRATION OF AUSTRALIA 05
HISTORY OF THE GHAN 06
THE PEOPLE OF THE GHAN 08
YOUR JOURNEY BY NUMBERS 11
JOURNEY MAP 12
OUTBACK EXPLORER LOUNGES 14
CELEBRATING THE PAST 16
QUEEN ADELAIDE RESTAURANT 18
YOUR CABIN 20
WELLBEING ONBOARD 24
CONNECT WITH US 26
CLIMATE 28
OFF TRAIN EXPERIENCES 30
Marla 32
Alice Springs 33
Katherine 40
TERMS & CONDITIONS 46
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A CELEBRATION
OF AUSTRALIA
THERE ARE VERY FEW GLOBAL JOURNEYS
HAILED AS NATIONAL EXPERIENCES.
TRAVELLING ON THE GHAN IS ONE.
This legendary train evokes a frontier spirit, a romantic and
revered coastal connection to the outback, and travelling
on it creates lifelong memories and a fulfilling sense of
achievement.
And now you become part of a celebrated history that
began in the mid 1850s when the first Afghan cameleers
opened up inland Australia to European settlers ferrying
goods and supplies with their ‘ships of the desert’.
The Ghan takes its name from those tenacious pioneers and
follows their tracks through Australia’s red heart.
This stirring, inspirational journey is one of the world’s great
travel experiences.
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HISTORY OF THE GHAN
1839 1911
The first cameleers arrive in South The Commonwealth commits to
Australia. ‘Harry’ was the sole surviving construction of an Adelaide to Darwin rail
camel from a group of six that made the line to connect the almost 3000 kilometres
voyage from Tenerife in north-west Africa between southern and northern Australia.
to Port Adelaide. In 1846, Harry carried
supplies for explorer John Horrocks on an
1929
expedition around Lake Torrens. However,
On August 4, an excited crowd gathers at
the trip took a tragic turn when Harry
the Adelaide Railway Station to farewell The
unexpectedly lurched while Horrocks
Ghan for the first time. It carries more than
was loading his gun. The gun accidentally
100 passengers and supplies bound for the
discharged and ultimately took
remote town of Stuart, later to be called
the explorer’s life.
Alice Springs. Two days later, the historic
journey was complete.
1860S
No other camels were imported until
EARLY 1940S
the 1860s when they soon arrived in
The Ghan line is used to transport
their thousands as the value of opening
servicemen for training and deployment
up central Australia was realised. Right
during World War II.
through until the early 1900s, cameleers
made a significant contribution to the The year 1944 was the busiest time in
economy transporting goods, mail, water, history for the railway with up to 247 trains
tools and equipment to remote towns, running per week.
and assisted the development of major
infrastructure projects including the
Overland Telegraph and the construction of
the rail lines.
1877
Construction of a new Port Augusta to
Alice Springs railway line begins.
Workers build the track up to Oodnadatta
(665 kilometres from Port Augusta). This
remained the northernmost point of the
track until the line was completed
38 years later.
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1960S – 1970S 2004
Through the transportation of crucial The original vision for a Ghan rail line
supplies, The Ghan railway plays an stretching the length of Australia is
important role helping grow major realised, when the track from Alice Springs
industries across the interior and in Adelaide to Darwin is completed. The inaugural
and Darwin, such as mining, transport and Adelaide-Darwin crossing departs Adelaide
agriculture. on February 1 with 43 carriages stretching
more than one kilometre.
1980
The track we use today replaces the ‘Old 2014
Ghan’ railway that travelled via Quorn The Ghan celebrates its 10-year
and across some of the most flood-prone anniversary of the Alice Springs to Darwin
regions of central Australia. line by inviting special guests aboard the
train including Australian musician James
The Pichi Richi Railway still operates a
Reyne and former Deputy Prime Minister
tourist train called The Afghan Express on
Tim Fischer. Among the celebrations is a
the original path of the Old Ghan.
concert and fireworks display at Pimba in
South Australia.
2001
Ninety years since the promise of the
transcontinental rail to link Adelaide, Alice
Springs and Darwin, work begins to fill the
1420 kilometre gap from Alice to Darwin.
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THE PEOPLE OF THE GHAN
THE LEGEND OF THE GHAN IS ULTIMATELY A STORY
ABOUT PEOPLE - A ROMANTIC TALE ABOUT PIONEERING
CONQUESTS, RESILIENCE, DETERMINATION AND A BOLD
VISION FOR AN EPIC TRANSCONTINENTAL CROSSING.
MEET SOME OF THE MANY CHARACTERS WHO’VE BEEN PART
OF THIS INCREDIBLE JOURNEY.
THE CAMELEER
Often forced to leave their families Their hardy camels were ideally
behind in pursuit of desperately- suited to thrive in the outback.
needed work overseas, the migrant Their broad, leathery foot pads
cameleers of the 1840s had skills protected them from the searing,
that were in growing demand in uneven ground and stopped
this faraway land. them sinking into the sand with
the enormous weights they
From all parts of the Middle
carried. Their ability to go without
East they arrived but were often
water for long periods though
referred to generally as Afghanis
was obviously one of the major
or ’Ghans .
attributes that made them so
Leading their ships of the desert valuable in the desert.
ferrying supplies through this
hostile foreign place, these
pioneering souls made an
enormous contribution to the
colonies’ emerging economies.
Their efforts were instrumental
in the construction of the Port
Augusta to Alice Springs rail track,
carrying food and equipment first
to the surveyors and builders,
and later to the settlements that
began to appear along the line.
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THE ADVENTURER
One of the earliest ‘reviews’ of
travelling on The Ghan was penned
by Charles Mountford in 1938.
On a State Government expedition
into the Simpson Desert to search
for the remains of explorer Ludwig
Leichhardt, who had gone missing
THE INNOVATOR
90 years earlier, Mountford
travelled on The Ghan from While The Ghan was a lifeline for
Adelaide. the remote towns and settlements
along its expansive route,
One quirky passage from his
sometimes it was the reverse
musings went: “The train is
when the locals lent a helping hand.
always a ‘mixed’, that is, it conveys
In the mid-1950s when the first
anything that requires transport
diesel trains were being trialled
into the Centre – passengers,
to replace steam engines, the
goods, livestock, motor cars and
‘new’ Ghan arrived at Finke in
on one occasion, a family of four
October 1954 and was stranded
hens and a rooster. At one station,
with electrical trouble and a blown
these escaped and everyone on the
gasket. The local postmaster Mr
train, even dignified and serious-
WRS Hamilton was a resourceful
minded professors, assisted to
fellow though and he produced the
capture the cackling old hens.”
tongue of an old shoe to repair the
gasket, and The Ghan was on its
way again.
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THE RAILWAYMAN
It’s widely regarded as some of the
toughest terrain with the hottest
temperatures in the world and
when that’s also your workplace,
you know it’s going to be arduous.
The Ghan relies on the amazing
commitment of railway workers
who brave these conditions to
build, improve and continue to
maintain the track.
THE GUEST
In 2001, the first sod was turned to
mark the most ambitious upgrade Since The Ghan’s inaugural journey
yet – the extension of The Ghan to Darwin in 2004, more than
line by 1420 kilometres from Alice 500,000 travellers have embarked
Springs to Darwin. At its peak, on this uniquely Australian rail
1500 people worked on the project experience. And now you are part
and the new line was built in just of the rich history of this famous
over 30 months – five months train.
ahead of schedule.
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