Across the land!

Have I mentioned that I'm about to go on another trip? Yes indeedy, and this is the big one: the Ghan, the Red Centre, Uluru (once known as Ayers Rock), and right on up to Darwin! You've seen this little map before, from when I took the Indian Pacific (the blue line) from Adelaide to Perth. Starting Tuesday it's the turn of the Overland (the green line, 828 km) and the Ghan (the red one, 2979 km). (For a better map.)

This will be my first trip to "the Centre," a place to which I'm finding many Melburnians have never been! France feels close, but "the Alice" might as well be on another continent. The Ghan (shortened from Afghan Express, named after the Afghan-led camel trains brought in by the Brits in the 19th century) is a thing of legend. The Alice Springs-Darwin section only opened a few years ago. My itinerary:

Tue 22 May
Overland to Adelaide

Wed-Th 23-24 May
Ghan to Alice Springs

Fri-Sun 25-27 May
tour to Uluru-Kata Tjuta, Kings Canyon
Mon-Tue 28-29 May
Ghan to Darwin

Wed-Thu 30-31 May
Litchfield and/or Kakadu National Park

Fri 1 June
fly back (a red-eye, so I'm back in Melbourne by 7am!)

Why've I left this so late, you may ask? Because the centre is not just red but red hot most of the year, temps getting up to 40 C by mid-morning most days. Should be milder this time of year, though it's still desert. Not sure what the temps at night will be, but I'll be sleeping in a swag (sleeping bag) under the stars while this weekend, and expect to see stars like I've never seen before in my life. The only thing which can compare with that, I'm told, is seeing Uluru at sunset or sunrise - both which I'll be doing, too. Wish me good weather!

(The picture of Uluru is from here; I should have plenty of my own to show you soon!)