Blog 7: The Ghan & The Great Ocean Road

In late January we hit the road again for a two week vacation. First, we flew up to Darwin for a few days there, then we took The Ghan to Adelaide, followed by just over a week driving ourselves in a camper van to Melbourne. 

We spent three days in Darwin during monsoon/cyclone season, and two of those days were on bus tours. Drew and I elected for bus tours, because we had no interest in driving in the Northern Territory. The first tour was to Kakakdu National Park, and it was a long day. We left at 6am for the two hour drive to Kakadu. Our first stop was an aboriginal cultural centre. It was very good, and told from the perspective of the aboriginals whose land we were on. A number of women were weaving baskets to sell in the gift shop; the baskets were very beautiful, and it was very interesting to watch the work. The next stop was a river cruise. It was supposed to be a crocodile viewing cruise, but the river was so flooded that we didn’t find any. The flood plain for the river is over 20 kms wide, so the crocodiles were quite dispersed. Instead, we saw some wonderful birds, as well as other fauna and flora. Because the water was so deep, we boated past tree tops that looked more like bushes than trees! After the cruise, we went on a short hike to view some aboriginal rock art (rock paintings). They were very well preserved, and the best rock art we saw the whole trip. Then it was back to Darwin, where we returned to our hotel at about 7pm. 

Photos (Top to Bottom): Our 4WD bus, river levels, leaves in the river, rock art, kangaroo rock art

The next day we went to Litchfield National Park on a bus tour. The drive was much shorter, and the whole tour was centred around waterfalls. We saw numerous waterfalls, and because it was monsoon season, they were 10-100 times their usual flow! It was a very good tour, although we couldn’t swim because of the risk of crocodiles. During the dry season they can’t get in the park (and any spotted are removed after monsoon season), because they don’t like how abrasive the rocks are when sliding over them, but during monsoon season the crocodiles can swim over the rocky parts.

Photos: Litchfield National Park waterfalls and termite mound

The third day in Darwin we went to two attractions in the city. Drew picked Crocosaurus Cove, so we went there and saw the crocodiles, and it was a nice fun activity for half the day. In the afternoon we went to the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) and Bombing of Darwin exhibit. They both were very well done, and they had holograms for each exhibit. They also had virtual reality headsets for the Bombing of Darwin. Overall, it was a very engaging pair of exhibits.

Photos: RFDS & at dinner in Darwin

The next day we were picked up at our hotel and taken to board The Ghan. We were so excited! We took a lot of photos of the train, and then went to our cabin. We were staying in Gold Class, and the Gold Class cabins feature a three seater couch that converts into bunk beds, and a private washroom that included a shower. It was done up in wood panelling, and was very fancy. Once we left Darwin we went to the bar car, which was the social hub for our two cars (two cars share one bar car and one restaurant car). Gold Class included unlimited drinks, as well as meals, so we sat down and relaxed while we made our way to Katherine. At Katherine we were put onto buses and taken to Katherine Gorge, and there we did a river cruise and then walked on the bank to see some rock art. It was quite an enjoyable excursion. After a few hours we were taken back to the train, and headed on to Alice Springs. 

Photos: TRAINS! Last photo is in our cabin. 

On the train we generally relaxed, watched the scenery—which between Darwin and Alice Springs changed quite a bit, after Alice Springs it was a lot of desert—and ate meals. It was nice to meet other people on the train, and many were like us: they got an incredible deal on The Ghan and were very excited to be there. You know me, I love a good deal and I love travelling, so when they’re combined it’s very exciting!  

Photos: Katherine Gorge

In Alice Springs we did a hike to Simpsons Gap. We saw rock wallabies and enjoyed the scenery. Unfortunately, part of our hike was cancelled due to trail closures from brush fires. To fill the gap in our schedule, we went to the Telegraph Station before heading back to the bus. It’s a series of buildings, and was quite an interesting stop. The telegraph line is why Alice Springs exists at all (it’s the mid-point on the Adelaide-Darwin telegraph line), so the history there is important in understanding the history of the town. 

Photos: Simpsons Gap, Train station in Alice, and my new camel

From Alice Springs we made our way to Adelaide. We, unfortunately, missed our night stop to view the milky way in total darkness, as a freight train delayed us by two hours. Overall, though, The Ghan was an excellent trip that we thoroughly enjoyed. 

Last train pics-I promise!

We arrived in Adelaide on Australia Day. Drew booked our hotel close to the fireworks location, so we wouldn’t have to worry about taking a cab or commuting a long distance. The hotel was great, and the fireworks were at our doorstep. They were very nice, and we enjoyed our brief stay in Adelaide before picking up our camper. 

After picking up our camper and supplies we drove to the Barossa Valley, a prominent wine region in Australia. Unfortunately, it was an incredibly hot 38C at night and our camper van had no ventilation or airconditioning,]. We also found a massive ant problem once we unpacked the camper. Drew picked up some pest spray, and after over an hour the van was finally ant free. It was a bit of a rough start to our trip, but some very friendly Aussies invited us over to socialize while we aired out our camper van, so that eased the worries a fair bit. 

We did a few wine tastings in the Barossa the next day, and then moved on to the Clare Valley wine region. Drew found a camping store on the way, and we picked up a chargeable fan (hallelujah!) so that we could actually sleep. The Clare Valley was my favourite wine region. It was a lot less touristy than Barossa, and the bike trail (a converted rail line) was very picturesque, and a great way to see different wineries. We had a wonderful lunch at a winery, and did a number of nice tastings, including one at Seven Hill, which is a Jesuit winery that makes most of the communion port in Australia. 

Photos: Seven Hill Winery and biking the Riesling Trail in Clare Valley

Once we finished the wine regions, we started to work our way out of South Australia. On the way we stopped in Hahndorf, a German town in South Australia. We had a nice lunch at a historic hotel and restaurant, and enjoyed walking through the town. Then we hit the road for what ended up being a long and tense drive. The winds were quite high, which was demonstrated by the windsock on the side of the highway being perpendicular to the road, and it made driving a camper van quite challenging. We quickly realized we weren’t going to make our campsite for the night, so we called ahead, and then looked for alternatives closer to where we were. Eventually, we decided to push onward for a national park that was about 2.5 hours closer than our intended destination. We made our way, dealing with shifting and strong winds, and then dusk and nightfall. (During the trip we tried to avoid night driving as much as possible, as that’s when kangaroos are most active.) Unfortunately, at dusk we hit a fox, which made us very sad, until the next day when we realized that they are a nuisance introduced animal that kill native animals like penguins. Then we felt that, perhaps, we should have collected a bounty for our service. 

Photos: Hahndorf

The next day we made our way to the edge of Victoria, and again dealt with high winds. After speaking with some locals, we learned by their confused reactions, that the winds were, apparently, not that high! It made us very grateful that we only had two days of it, and that it wasn’t worse. 

After two long days of not very fun driving we were finally close to The Great Ocean Road. We went to Tower Hill Reserve, before going to The Great Ocean Road, and did a short hike, and some wildlife watching. We saw Emus and Koalas in the wild, which was awesome! Drew bought some nice aboriginal art there, as well. 

Photos: Top - Tower Hill Reserve: Koala sleeping, Bottom set: Great Ocean Road

The Great Ocean Road, itself, was incredible. It’s a tourist road that is quite curvy, and hugs the ocean as much as possible. It was built by returning veterans of the first world war, and showcases the amazingly beautiful rock formations along the coast. We did short hikes at some stops, and at others just took photos. We definitely could have spent more time on The Great Ocean Road, but we, nevertheless, had a great time. It’s best to let the photos speak for themselves.

After a few days on The Great Ocean Road we made our final stop at Phillip Island. This island has a large colony of little penguins, so we wanted to see them on their nightly walk in from the water. They are very punctual, and Drew booked a tour where we got to watch with night vision goggles on the beach. We didn’t get to see as many as hoped, but we still had an amazing time. 

Then we made our way to Melbourne for our flight home to Sydney. It was an amazing trip, and we had so much fun! We enjoyed getting to see so many places in Australia, and we were so glad we were able to take The Ghan.