Sept
12, Wednesday to Sept 14, Friday
The scenery is pretty much the same
We are advised by the loud speaker to look out on the left side of the train since we will be passing a monument erected in memory of the builders of the railway line. This was it ! Life size.
As the sun goes down, the landscape gets barer
Friday: I was awake for the sun rise at 5:20 since I had not slept much, but it hadn’t been as bad as the last time. Less people walking through our carriage this time. Actually it took us 15 hours instead of the 12 since we were on the side-lines, waiting, and waiting, and waiting, when we were finally advised that the train engine had failed and we were waiting for a replacement engine to be sent out.
Sunrise on the Ghan Train to Adelaide
We do see some cattle along the way
and the scenery gets greener when we start seeing valleys below the mountains
On the outskirts of Adelaide, there are a lot of hot houses..... and VINEYARDS !
Hourray for the the Aussies and their wine.
Wednesday: I
stayed at the hotel, did some laundry, and relaxed. The pool is great by the way.
Thursday: Leaving
Alice Springs on the Ghan train today, heading for Adelaide. I still had some clothes in my “extra” bag so
no problems getting onboard this time.
The young lady sitting next to me is from Japan; she is in Sydney
studying English at one of the universities.
Her English is quite good and she says she really enjoys talking to me
because my English is so easy to understand compared to Australians. Most Australians “mangle” English like
Canadians “mangle” French. In French we
say “On mange nos mots”….. “We eat our words” so that some syllables or letters
aren’t pronounced at all. Aussies do the
same thing. I’m amazed this Japanese
girl has done so well; maybe the professors enunciate more during classes. She is on a school break and is travelling
through Australia, on her own for the first time. Brings back memories of my very first trip on
my own, back-packing through Europe for 4 months from May to Sept 1974.
The train ride was pretty boring; same scenery for the 12
hours on-board. No nice stops for
excursions this time around.
Crossing a dry river bed.... somewhere in the middle of nowhereThe scenery is pretty much the same
We are advised by the loud speaker to look out on the left side of the train since we will be passing a monument erected in memory of the builders of the railway line. This was it ! Life size.
As the sun goes down, the landscape gets barer
Friday: I was awake for the sun rise at 5:20 since I had not slept much, but it hadn’t been as bad as the last time. Less people walking through our carriage this time. Actually it took us 15 hours instead of the 12 since we were on the side-lines, waiting, and waiting, and waiting, when we were finally advised that the train engine had failed and we were waiting for a replacement engine to be sent out.
Sunrise on the Ghan Train to Adelaide
We do see some cattle along the way
We are stopped a long time in this spot, next to the highway, waiting for another train to go by
As we near Adelaide, we start seeing some mountainsand the scenery gets greener when we start seeing valleys below the mountains
On the outskirts of Adelaide, there are a lot of hot houses..... and VINEYARDS !
Hourray for the the Aussies and their wine.
More vineyards. It is spring time in this part of the world, some some of the vines have no new growth yet.
The arrival in
Adelaide was a bit crazy, waiting for the luggage to be unloaded so that we
could locate our own. And there were no
taxis waiting at the station when we first arrived. The train was so late getting in that it took
a while for them to start showing up. I
caught one however and made my way to the motel I had reserved online. Since I was going to be renting a car while I
was in Adelaide, I needed a place that had access to parking. I settled into my room at the Granada Motor Inn, sent out a few
emails, went for dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant and settled in. I noticed a bakery across the street, so I'm set for breakfast tomorrow morning.
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