25 hours - Adelaide to Alice Springs

P1080625, a photo by thewideblueyonder on Flickr.

The Ghan - interior (wagon R).  25 hours from Adelaide to Alice Springs by train.  The Ghan continues after a few hours stop at 'the Alice' to Darwin.  These was the cheapest class - "Red seater".  It was as comfortable a seat as I have had on any train anywhere.  They reclined a long way and we could sleep quite comfortably.  At A$170 approx the train is about the same price as the cheapest Qantas flight.  Sleepers are a lot more expensive.  The journey was well worth it for the changing landscapes from the city of Adelaide to the green farmland followed by vast fields of canola up to somewhere beyond Port Augusta.  By sunset we were properly into the 'Outback'.  By sunrise the next day the train was traveling through the Central Australian desert, but it was surprisingly green for what I had expected.  Alta likened the landscapes to the Karoo in South Africa - said any homesick South Africans could get a fix of a familiar world with a quick trip to outback Australia.  Apparently the desert had substantial rains early in 2010 and this was enough to sustain much green vegetation well into August.