The Ghan

After a good night’s sleep (rattling along the tracks, which is quite relaxing!) we were up early for breakfast before our first stop of the day, at Manguri.

We hopped onto a waiting bus to take us to the Antakirinja Mutuntjarra Lands, to see the sacred site known as “two dogs”. To the traditional aboriginal people, this rock formation represents two dogs lying down, one brown and one white. Non-aboriginals refer to this formation as “salt and pepper”. The colour differences in the two formations are a result of different weathering and erosion.

These rock formations form part of the Breakaways Reserve, where there is stunning geography in every direction.

We then hopped back in the bus for the trip back to Coober Pedy, stopping along the way to see The Dog Fence, the longest fence in the world. This fence is more than 5,300km long. It stretches through South Australia, Queensland, and New South Wales. It is the only barrier that prevents dingoes from entering the sheep grazing country in the south.

Our first activity in Coober Pedy was to visit the Umoona Opal Mine and Museum, which was very interesting. It even contains a replica home of the type built underground and inhabited many of the residents who have built these “dugout” homes to shelter from the extremely oppressive heat.

For lunch we headed to the Quest Opal Mine, a fully operational mine. We had a tour and enjoyed a nice lunch in the cool underground dining room. (Footnote: we think this is where we caught Covid too!)

Our final stop in Coober Pedy was the Serbian Orthodox Church, which as been chiselled from the rock and is very impressive.

After a full day, we hopped back on the bus and headed back to The Ghan, which was gleaming in the late afternoon sun.

We headed straight for the bar and finished off the train’s supply of Bollinger (literally!). We then had a lovely dinner while heading further south through the evening.

Tomorrow morning we’ll wake up just north of Adelaide.