Going Going Ghan!

After an early 5.30am wake up we made our way eyes half shut to the shuttle bus station. Eventually at 8.30am it arrived, one and a half hours later then we were told but were met by a very cheerful, lanky Aussie driver with his socks pulled right up to his knees who put a smile back on our faces. With an amusing running commentary on the passing sites he drove us to the train station were we would get on board The Ghan and spend the next three days travelling from Darwin to Adelaide.

Getting on we had expected to share a room with at least two other people but were pleasantly surprised we would get a cabin all to ourselves! It was a really cosy and romantic one as well with two comfy chairs facing each other, fold down bunk beds, sink, table and a great big window to watch our journey drift by. It all sounds rather simple maybe, but the thought of sitting down for three days of relaxation and not feeling the single bit guilty about it was just brilliant.

For the next few hours we just sat back and enjoyed the rugged spectacular outback shoot by whilst writing our Christmas cards, playing some DS and re-learning some Spanish in preparation of South America and working out the wonders of Sudoku which I'm now a master at!

The Ghan then made it's first stop at Katherine where we would have four hours to look around. The host of different options to do now including helicopter rides and boat cruises were just a little pricey so we took a bus into town instead. After realising the best shop there was Woolworth's we decided to take a ride over to a local homestead where there apparently did amazing cream teas. We soon arrived at a beautiful woodland setting with a massive old barn, a croc infested river and a few fat geese sneaking around hoping for a tasty bite of scone, Laura's one in particular! We were surrounded by a whole bus load of OAP's but we were more then happy to be here.

The evening then shot by with us nattering late into the night, reflecting on our travels so far and talking about all the things we are both looking forward to when we get home next year. Bunk bed action then followed.

The next morning we sprung from our beds and got some breakfast to then sit back down and relax again. But soon after we made our second stop at Alice Springs where we would only get a few hours to walk about. It was a bit of a shame as there is some truly jaw dropping places to see here but we will just have to come back someday. We hit town which like Katherine was a little dull so we made our own fun by riding mud camel statues and I tied Laura to the railway tracks, more on that when you see the video footage...

We got back to the train and spent the evening planning tons for the wedding whilst drinking tea and watching impressive displays of lightning dagger through the sky outside. I could have stayed glued to the window all night but we eventually got some more great rest in.

Awaking on our third day we quickly covered our naked bodily parts as the outback outside had now reached civilisation again! In just a few hours time we would reach Adelaide already and to be honest neither of us were ready to get off just yet. The whole trip had been so calm and a great time out to just sit and watch the train do all the hard work showing us some of Australia's stunning scenery, a brilliant three days!

We caught a bus to Adelaide's town centre and went to find our pre-booked hostel. When we arrived the man behind the desk was more then a tad grumpy with us and complained we had failed to show up for the previous night. We were meant to have stayed then but we had sent an email back home to our trip organiser to change the dates because we would be staying on The Ghan that night instead. After checking back through our old emails our guy had replied back to us but we hadn't got back to him so it was our fault in the end but after explaining all of this the receptionist was still unnecessarily rude.

Things didn't get much better either as when we entered our bland double room not only did it smell of b.o and cheese, it also had eight beds in?! After going back downstairs to discuss with receptionist we got the room to ourselves thankfully, now we would just have to open the window and crank the fan for the rest of the day. None of this really mattered, but after our amazing accommodation for prices less then a quarter of this in Asia with en-suite, swimming pool and breakfast included we couldn't help feel a bit 'cheesed' off.

Walking around town seemed like being back in Southampton again with all the same shops and brand names on every corner, not quite what we had travelled all this way to see but we could have happily spent some money. I'm still not sure if seeing all the Christmas displays out made us both excited or sad about being far from home for it but what was a welcome was the weather in which we were finally starting to feel cold again. Out came our jumpers that had been in our bag unused for all this time! The slightly weird thing was that the actual temperature outside was 24 degrees, which back at home would easily mean putting on a bikini! Well not for me obviously but you understand. Four months in and we had finally adjusted to the constant intense heat!

We got back to our hostel to end the day but it seemed the entire floor wanted to party all night long so a good sleep was not going to be on the cards. Throughout the night we heard full on macho arguments next door to us and when Laura went to the loo around 4am it was full of girls crying because they were ridiculously drunk-being in hostels is sometimes like being on a school trip. It just went on and on into the morning. Adelaide was not the most inspiring town but we were only here for one night before picking up a car and heading for the Great Ocean Road- now that should be more like it!