Top End Escape - The Ghan, Day 8/8, Friday 24th May 2013.

Well, today we ended our 8 day east to north, north to south, south to east, plane, car, bus and train holiday. Did I say 8 days, it seemed like a month, to me that's a sign of a good great holiday.

Although we awoke to a dry flat sandy landscape, as it was yesterday, the landscape would change to saltmarsh, rolling hills with sheep, then croplands and then to the coastlines of Spencer Gulf and Gulf St Vincent.

 

Click on photo to enlarge.

 

Our last morning in the cubby-house.

 

Catching the golden rays of a new dawn.  (Through a very dirty window)

 



Making breakfast choices at Port Augusta.

 



Lorraine and Brian were our table sharers.

 

We didn't take as many photos from the windows on this side of the train,
as they were all as dirty as this (that's every carriage).

 



Spencer Gulf

 

Part of the Flinders Rangers.

 



Flinders and sheep.

I wonder if he was going to Darwin.

 



Port Germein Pier.
The jetty was opened in 1881 and  was extended to its full length of 1680m in 1883.
 The jetty was later reduced to its present length of 1532m due to storm damage.

 



What's a ship doing in a paddock???

 



The ship is loading/unloading from the Port Pirie Smelter, 3.3kms away.

 



A lot of salt marsh around here, must be a great spot for waders.

 



We have been chasing that blue and yellow thing for 3 days now.

 



And these cars have been following us for 3 days.

 

 

A lot of grain must be grown here...........

 



........... to fill these.

 



That's better, through the clean window.

 



This must be where the bitumen ends and the country starts.

 

Snowtown wind generators.

 



Snowtown, now that rings a bell.
 Someone had a barrel-o-fun down there.



Home on a sheep's back.



A fork in the road.



The passing landscape.



The passing landscape.



The passing landscape.



The passing landscape.



There are still red sand hills here.



A different home-scape to what we saw yesterday near Alice.



A 2 car train coming into Adelaide.



Sadly, the end of the line.



Straight onto the plane...........



.......and with flames jetting from the wings it's goodbye Adelaide.

The setting sun glows from behind as we head home to Sydney.

Areas covered while away:

Where we went while in Darwin.



Flights in yellow and green, train in red

Hope you enjoyed our trip  as much as we did.   Bill & Lynn.
(thanks for the company)