The only other two en route stops for the Ghan were Alice Springs and Katherine. We did an off train excursion in each place.
We
weren’t terribly impressed with Alice Springs. There were loads of
flies and the town seemed dusty and dirty. This was where we took the
Simpson Gap Discovery Tour. The tour was divided into three sections.
The first took us on a short walk to a ghost gum tree. It was huge but
we were standing too close to take a picture. This was also the only
spot where our guide explained something about the area.
The
second section of the tour took us on a long walk along the flat and
then up a fairly steep hill. The path was narrow enough for single file
walking and the pace was brisk. I had trouble with this section. I
needed to concentrate on my footing and so missed most of any scenery
that was around us.
The
third section was the best. There was a ten minute walk down a dried up
river bed to Simpson’s Gap. The walk was easy and the end stop was the
only really picturesque point of the tour. There is a picture with this
post. I am standing in the foreground and in the background is the
narrow gap between the high cliffs.
On
the next morning, the train stopped at Katherine. The flies were gone
and the town looked clean and green after the wet season. The dry season
up the “top end” officially starts at the beginning of May. Our off
train excursion was to the Outback Experience, and Lyle and I would both
recommend it to anyone visiting the area. We sat on bleachers looking
over a horse ring. I couldn’t actually see what was happening but Tom
explained in detail what he was doing to train the horse he was working
with. He reminded us a little of Robert Redford in the movie, The Horse Whisperer. It was quite amazing. Following this demonstration Tom worked in another ring training dogs for use in mustering livestock.
From Katherine it was another few hours to Darwin. But that city will have to wait for my next post.
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| Sue standing in front of the narrow gap made by two high cliffs |
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