"The Ghan" the name of the train that travels from Adelaide to Alice Springs since 1929 has finnally had its tracks laid to Darwin.

Promised since the 1930's when the State of South Australia gave up its rights to the Northern Territory (then part of South Australia) in return for the Commonwealth's Governments "promise" to build a North-South railway, it has finally happened. It only took them 70 years!

What does this mean for hunting in Oz? Well for us "Southerners" it means we can put a 'cruiser on the train all the way up - 2,979 kms (1,861 miles) - and travel in comfort and also have a hunting equipped vehicle ready to be off-loaded when we arrive. I really would like to give this a try perhaps next year.

Watch out Skippy. Get out of the way!

"The Ghan" got its name from the origins of travel in the "red-centre". Read the following from The Ghan web site:

"A hundred and fifty years ago, the first camels were imported along with their handlers from Afghanistan and, in true Australian style, we soon shortened their name to ‘Ghan’. The Ghan train derives its name from these early pioneers and its emblem of an Afghan on a camel is in recognition of their efforts in opening up the harsh interior to the rest of Australia.

Early explorers and later the telegraph linesmen used camels, perfectly adapted for travelling long distances through the hot, inhospitable interior, to blaze a permanent trail into Central Australia. Today, you can make this journey with creature comforts our forbears would never have imagined. Boarding The Ghan in Adelaide for Alice Springs, you’ll experience one of the most fascinating great train journeys of the world. You’ll marvel at the spectacular colours of the outback, the spinifex plains and salt pans of the vast interior and the rugged MacDonnell Ranges on this epic adventure to the heartland of Australia. Alice Springs is the ideal base from which to explore the wonders of the Red Centre, such as Palm Valley, Ayers Rock/ Uluru, The Olgas/ Kata Tjuta and King’s Canyon."

Fine dining

Comfortable travel

Painted Locomotive

www.theghan.com.au