Good morning everyone,
I sincerely apologise that we could not update our blog last Monday. We were still on “The Ghan” and the wi-fi was only available in one carriage – and it was very flakey.
Having completed the Ghan trip, we are now in Adelaide. We have two days here – and then it is back home to the farm.
DARWIN:
Our Ghan trip was from Darwin to Adelaide, so we flew to Darwin to start our adventure. We had two days exploring the city using the “Hop on-Hop Off” bus which took us all around Darwin, stopping at all the cities points of interest, including mini histories of each site!
I did not appreciate how close Darwin is to Indonesia and Malaysia, so during WW2 when Japan was in dominance, Darwin was bombed heavily by the Japanese – the first being from the same Japanese planes that bombed Pearl Harbour.
On Wednesday night we went to the famous Darwin Mindil Beach Night market. Apart from the amazing range of street food (delicious), it was a treat to watch the sun go down, sitting on the beach sipping our exotic smoothies. So very special, especially with the camels being led along the beach!
We had four amazing days on The Ghan, with the most magnificent service from a very special team of people. It really was “5 star” service – an important part of the experience.
It is hard to appreciate just how vast the country is inland, and also how barren the land is. Despite the lack of moisture, there are still lots of small trees and shrubs covering most of the land. It had rained recently (particularly in Alice Springs, which seems hard to imagine). We did visit the flying doctor service in Alice – such a vital part in ensuring some health care for those living in the outback.
Perhaps the most interesting stop was in Coober Pedy – where opals are mined. Because of the structure of the land and the high day temperatures, people do live underground (about 80% of the population in very nicely appointed underground houses).
We are in Adelaide for two full days, so have booked to go to the Barossa visiting Maggie Beer’s kitchen and Hahndorf – an historic German settlement located in the Adelaide hills, plus lunch at a Winery!
We fly home on Friday which is coincidentally my birthday. What a special present I have had.
And despite the wonderful break – it will also be great to get back to our animals and our two little kitties. We have missed them!
So sorry, again, for the late blog post!
Colin and Keryn