The Ghan

The Ghan crosses Australia from south to north: 2,979 kilometres in 54 hours, from Adelaide on the Southern Ocean to Darwin on the Timor Sea, through landscapes of the Red Centre that were ancient when humans first arrived on this continent 50,000 years ago. No other journey makes the scale of the Australian interior as viscerally clear.

The train takes its name from the Afghan cameleers who were brought to Australia in the nineteenth century to carry supplies across the interior, their caravans proving more reliable than horses in the extreme heat and waterless distances of the Outback. The first rail line to Alice Springs was completed in 1929; the full connection to Darwin was not finished until 2004, making the complete north-south traverse one of Australia’s most recently completed great infrastructure projects.

Departure from Adelaide in the late afternoon allows guests to settle in as the South Australian wine country rolls past the windows and the light changes over the Hills and Murray country. By morning, the transition has happened: the landscape outside the window is the Outback in its full, uncompromised form, flat red earth extending to a horizon that seems geometrically impossible in its straightness, punctuated by desert oaks and the occasional dry riverbed of white sand. The colours of the Australian interior change through the day with the light in ways that reward sustained attention, from the cool violet-grey of early morning through the burning reds and ochres of midday to the extraordinary purple and gold of the late afternoon.

Platinum Service provides the most comfortable experience: a private cabin with en-suite shower bathroom, a double bed configured lengthwise to the track for best sleeping comfort, and access to the Platinum lounge with complimentary drinks and a level of personal service that makes the train feel like a small hotel rather than public transport. Gold Service is more compact and shares bathroom facilities, an acceptable compromise for travellers prioritising the experience over the accommodation.

Alice Springs, in the geographic heart of Australia, provides a two-to-four hour off-train excursion opportunity that can include a visit to the Desert Park, cultural centres, or, for those willing to take a charter flight, an extraordinary day at Uluru, the great sandstone monolith that is the spiritual centre of Australian Indigenous culture. Katherine, further north, delivers access to Katherine Gorge in Nitmiluk National Park, an extraordinary sandstone canyon system carved by millions of years of Arnhem Land rivers.

The Ghan Expedition, departing on selected dates, extends the journey to four days with additional off-train activities and is the version to choose if time permits. This is Australia’s greatest rail journey, and it genuinely rewards giving it the full four days.