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Day 19 - On The Ghan - Darwin to almost Alice Springs
We didn't sleep much. It was muggy but cold with the air conditioner or fan on, plus we were scared we would sleep through the alarm.
We were up, had breakfast and at the station by 6:20am. We were the first passengers. The staff were all very friendly and checked the car, making notes of scratches etc. They were happy with the way the window was taped (I was very nervous that the tape wouldn't hold). I asked about the propane cans (we had been using for cooking) and they said we couldn't take flammibles on the train. There wasn't anything we could do sober gave them to the staff. There were 2 full and 2 nearly empty cans.
We had to wait until 9:15 to board the train. We walked up and down the platform and got bitten by midges. I had the Bushman's that i bought at Kakadu in my bag, thank goodness. That kept them off.
Eventually we boarded and went to our cabin. The couch was comfortable and the bathroom was small, but that is what we expected. The hand basin and toilet are 'pull down' to use and 'push back' when you are finished (see the photos). The staff were fantastic.
We pulled out of the station on time at 10:00am. How exciting!!
We were allocated to the 11:00am lunch which I was really happy about. I had packed some nibbles and ate them when we got on the train.
We were even happier when lunch was a 3 course meal! The portions were small but more than enough.
We arrived at Katherine after lunch where we got on to buses to go to our chosen whistle stop tour. We chose to do the Katherine Gorge cruise. The bus driver had a dry sense of humour and drove us around town telling us of some history as we went. The cruise was 1 1/2 hours and we did 1 1/2 sections of the gorge. It was very pretty with amazing cliffs. Australia sure is a beautiful country. There were heaps of people canoeing and swimming (with the fresh water crocs we saw on the bank). There were a few sandy beaches with signs to keep off because that is where the crocs lay their eggs. It is a massive fine if you get caught on one of those beaches, and the rangers patrol them.
When the water level drops it's hard for the salties to get in. They make sure all of the salties are out before they let anyone in the water, and there are traps set, just in case!
A helicopter flight over the 13 sections of the gorge would be great, and a cruise when there is more water would also be great - the bucket list is getting longer!!! I'll have to work forever to afford it all.
Back on the Ghan it was only a couple of hours until dinner so we stayed in the lounge carriage, had a drink from the bar and chatted to other travellers. Dinner was another 3 course meal with a good choice of mains and dessert. This was followed by a couple more drinks before we faced the challenge of a shower!
The couch in our cabin had been made into bunks. There wasn't much room, especially for 2 people trying to rummage through their stuff, but we did it. To shower you pull a curtain around to cover the loo/hand basin and door. It wasn't as small as I thought it was going to be. I didn't have to open the door to bend over to pick up the shampoo (a friend told us you had to). It was a nice shower and good to get into bed. Merv was already in bed so skipped his shower.
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Esmae and Rod Sounds Amazing