Posted by Sam McCurdy:
This week’s presentation by Geoff & Di Double was about an interesting trip they took on the Ghan train from Adelaide to Darwin through the Red Centre.
The Ghan is named after the Afghan cameleers who once traversed this route. It began in 1929 and has been described as one of the world's great luxury passenger trains.
It is 1.1km long and is the longest passenger train in the world. Its scheduled travelling time, including extended stops for passengers to do off-train tours, is 53 hours 15 minutes to travel the 2,979 kilometres between Adelaide and Darwin.
During the trip, Geoff and Di made several stops including Alice Springs and Uluru, where they stayed at the Sails in the Desert hotel. There, they experienced the ‘Sounds of Silence’ dining experience under the sparkling outback sky.
They also experienced a helicopter trip around Uluru and the Olgas. No flights are permitted to fly over Uluru, as it is protected land and holds great cultural significance to the Indigenous people of Australia.
On reaching Darwin, which they found to be exceptionally hot, they visited Kakado National Park.
Kakadu is approximately 253 kilometres South East of Darwin and is the largest national park in Australia and one of the largest in the world’s tropics. The park is dual World Heritage-listed for its outstanding natural and cultural values.
Geoff and Di highly recommend the Ghan train journey and visiting the interesting stops available along the way.
