… for hardy Gold and Platinum Class passengers when we hopped off the train in 2°C temperature at Marla – in the middle of nowhere – to see the sunrise. The train had stopped, in fact, around 4am and the staff, including Marla locals, had set up heaters and a couple of fire drums, plus a tea-and-coffee station, ready for us. We disembarked at 6.15am and watched light rising on the horizon until 7.15am, when we decided that was enough and we could watch the sun’s final appearance from the lounge car where it was much warmer. Marla, for those of you interested, is a tiny, remote, service town of 70 or so people, in South Australia.
In yesterday’s post, we talked of finding connections with people we met. The trend continued on day two – and is probably pretty normal (6 degrees of separation and all that!). This time it was a religious connection! We met two couples travelling together from Melbourne. They all belong to the same Presbyterian Church – and one couple had worked as missionaries in the past, while the other wife currently works as a hospital chaplain. Not only did Len and I both grow up as Presbyterians, but my great-grandfather was a Presbyterian minister. We didn’t though, I must say, talk much about religion – but they were friendly, fun people.
An old, old land
If you don’t look carefully, the landscape can look boringly the same for hours, but if you really look at it you see change – in vegetation, in landform, in colour. You don’t, though, see much in terms of wildlife, and this clearly disappointed some passengers.
We crossed the Finke River – just a wide ribbon of dry sand at this point. Its indigenous name is Larapinta, a name which is familiar in the region, being used for many things including a significant road and a long walking track through the Western MacDonnells. The Ghan announcer described the Finke as one of the oldest rivers in the world. Its geology suggests that some parts of the river must have been formed before the ranges were pushed up some 400 to 300 million years ago. Southern parts of the river though are much younger.
The Finke is not the only very old river in the region. Other large river systems in central Australia, such as the Todd in Alice Springs itself, would have been formed, we understand, around the same time.
Back in the Alice
Alice Springs is starting to feel a little familiar to us now, but it always requires an adjustment. It’s a small town, and life here has a different pace, the pace of a real outback town where indigenous people live side by side, though not always completely easily, with those from other cultures and races. We were surprised by how quiet it seemed given most of the tourist places are heavily booked. People, not surprisingly, don’t spend time in the town, but out and about enjoying the natural environment. We, however, needed a cup of coffee and to buy some provisions for breakfasts and snacks for the coming trip south – so we did spend time in the town, such as it is.
To do this shopping we had to cross the Todd River. Here, as in many parts of the town, was an interpretive sign, this one referring to a statement made by explorer John Ross whose expedition was desperate for water.
I made for a gum tree but was disappointed. The bottom of the creek was filled with sand. (John Ross, 10/9/1870)
They didn’t, like us, find any water in the Todd.
So, it was a quiet afternoon. We dined at our motel’s restaurant, the Barra on Todd, on barramundi and kangaroo – when in the centre, you know – before settling down for a quiet sleep in a still bed.
The slideshow…
Crossing the Finke River
Landscapes from the Ghan
I so, so love the colours of our outback x
Love them too, Hannah. Glad you do!