It has been two years now. Two years since unspeakable horror poured over the Gaza-Israeli border. First, it was just the sound of rockets. Then the sirens. Then the chaos. The attacks started just before dawn when ordinary people were asleep in their beds. Communities near the Gaza border—small kibbutzim where people lived ordinary lives—were…
It’s an hour after midnight. The town slumbers under clear skies, nothing stirring except the occasional possum or a couple of fruit bats squabbling in the trees. An elderly couple is fast asleep in their bed – and is suddenly jolted awake by an insistent beeping. It took us (yes, it was us) a while…
It’s not often that I agree with the odious current occupant of the White House, but I do agree with him about the uselessness of the United Nations. The United Nations was born out of the ashes of the Second World War. Its founders dreamed of an institution that could prevent another global catastrophe, foster…
Adelaide’s Sunday morning was overcast and cool, with the ever-present possibility of showers. I went on the Barossa Valley trip by myself. Well… along with another eight Ghan passengers. Amanda met us in a little Toyota bus and we headed for the hills. First stop was the Barossa Sculpture Park at Mengler’s Hill Lookout, one…
We woke on our final morning on the train to a very different landscape. The arid Outback was behind us, replaced with green fields and puddles from the recent rain. At about mid-morning the Ghan rolled into Adelaide’s Parklands Station. From the bright sun of the Outback we were thrust into damp and cold. Adelaide…
On our way to Coober Pedy on both sides of the road small conical hillocks peppered the landscape like giant anthills. They are spoils from miners’ digs and look an awful lot like the cones we saw at the Breakaways. Walking around at night out here is very dangerous because of the mining activity and…
After our big day and evening in Alice Springs the train headed south and next morning it was stopped in the middle of an empty landscape with flat horizon on all sides. We were at Manguri Station. Due to the lack of infrastructure, I assumed that ‘station’ wasn’t a place where trains stopped, it was…
After our wonderful visit to the Desert Park at Alice Springs our coach driver took us on a short tour of Alice Springs (commonly abbreviated to “The Alice”). Alice Springs lies almost exactly in the centre of Australia, midway between Darwin and Adelaide. Surrounded by desert ranges and ancient landscapes, it began as a telegraph…
The Ghan travelled south through flat, uninspiring semi-desert as we enjoyed dinner and on through the night. The next morning we stopped at Alice Springs. Pete and I had been there just last year and visited the attractions in and around the town – Simpson’s Gap, Standley Chasm, and a quick lunch stop at the…
It’s only a few hours from Darwin to Katherine, with the train wending its way through the sclerophyll forest, crossing rivers and passing farms. Some of those hours were spent enjoying lunch in the dining car. Peter and I had visited Nitmiluk (the local name for the gorges) before. It’s an impressive place and I…