A gallop on The Ghan

[RooFlyer]

A young Henleybeach In NR75 on the Ghan.

Is that the pilot flying seat?

 

[JohnM]

You mean one whole carriage is devoted to Single Gold cabins? How many per shared bathroom/toilet?

Bit disappointing (for me) that they don't have satellite wi-fi, even paid Yes, I know one can get-away-from-it-all but those that want to can turn off

I stand corrected. There are two single gold cars - one at the front and another at the back of the train - which is about 850m long. Between each and the lounge/dining cars and WP are 3 or 4 twin Gold. So the train is essentially a mirror image copy each side of the centre, where the kitchen is.

There are 16 single cabins per car, with two shower/toilets at one end and two toilets at the other.

Can’t comment on sat wifi. I guess it will eventually come.

 

[JohnM]

Here’s the shower/toilet as best a photo can show it.

 

[JohnM]

The corridor in single serpentines, whereas in twin it is a conventional narrow alley down one side.

The serpentine allows broadening of the cabin at the foot/handbasin end. Works well.

 

[JohnM]

Corridor in twin. Must be the same in WP; otherwise nobody could get through.

 

[RooFlyer]

Must be the same in WP; otherwise nobody could get through.

I've been scoping out the WP (natch ). They advertise 'views out both sides' - pic shows a corridor down the side, with windows to outside lined up with a cabin window looking onto the corridor.

 

[Pushka]

I've been scoping out the WP (natch ). They advertise 'views out both sides' - pic shows a corridor down the side, with windows to outside lined up with a cabin window looking onto the corridor.

They don’t specify views out both sides of each cabin

 

[zig]

Here’s the shower/toilet as best a photo can show it.

View attachment 279430View attachment 279431

Thanks for the images of the shower facilities, I was going to ask if you could post these.
I would be travelling solo on the Ghan and the thought of shared facilities makes me hesitant. Did you have to wait to use them at any time? Are they cleaned between guest usage?

 

[JohnM]

Thanks for the images of the shower facilities, I was going to ask if you could post these.
I would be travelling solo on the Ghan and the thought of shared facilities makes me hesitant. Did you have to wait to use them at any time? Are they cleaned between guest usage?

The shower suite is very roomy - I imagine much more so than Gold twin. I haven’t had to wait both mornings. Having a basin in the cabin means I have just taken a shower then shaved in the cabin, so time in the shower room is fairly short.

While the attendants don’t hover to clean after every occupation of the facilities, they are always spotless.

 

[JohnM]

Bad news this morning. Rain has resulted in the 40km road from Manguri to Coober Pedy being closed, so no excursion there today and the schedule means we are stuck here 0900-1800h. A bummer as I haven’t been there and it was what I was most looking forward to. C’est la vie.

For @RooFlyer: it turns out that they do have wifi. I hadn’t seen any documentation about it. It looks like a 500Mb limit - I guess for the trip duration. Useful today as mobile signal at Manguri is very weak at best,

 

[zig]

The shower suite is very roomy - I imagine much more so than Gold twin. I haven’t had to wait both mornings. Having a basin in the cabin means I have just taken a shower then shaved in the cabin, so time in the shower room is fairly short.

While the attendants don’t hover to clean after every occupation of the facilities, they are always spotless.

Thanks, that is reassuring.

 

[RooFlyer]

For @RooFlyer: it turns out that they do have wifi. I hadn’t seen any documentation about it. It looks like a 500Mb limit - I guess for the trip duration. Useful today as mobile signal at Manguri is very weak at best,

Interesting. They don't mention it on the 'service' blurbs, but in FAQ I've just found they say the following. Does that sound like what you have, or perhaps the service has been upgraded?

Answer:
Limited Wi-Fi is available in the Outback Explorer Lounges and Platinum Club carriages.

Please note that Wi-Fi availability is dependent on mobile network coverage, and as we travel through some remote locations it may not always be available.

 

[JohnM]

OK, for the strange woman stalking me:

 

[JohnM]

Interesting. They don't mention it on the 'service' blurbs, but in FAQ I've just found they say the following. Does that sound like what you have, or perhaps the service has been upgraded?

Answer:
Limited Wi-Fi is available in the Outback Explorer Lounges and Platinum Club carriages.

Please note that Wi-Fi availability is dependent on mobile network coverage, and as we travel through some remote locations it may not always be available.

I’m in the lounge and just discovered the wifi. I’m assuming it won’t reach to the other cars, but will check later.

It was fairly sketchy uploading the pics for The Stalker , so I’ll probably give pic uploads a miss for the day.

 

[Daver6]

How are they limiting it to 500MB? Is it per device or captive portal login?

This article REVIEW: The Ghan Expedition Gold vs Platinum Service - Point Hacks outlines all the differences. I actually stumbled across it a few months ago.

 

[JohnM]

How are they limiting it to 500MB? Is it per device or captive portal login?

This article REVIEW: The Ghan Expedition Gold vs Platinum Service - Point Hacks outlines all the differences. I actually stumbled across it a few months ago.

Per device. My iPhone and iPad act as separate devices. It’s slow, though.

 

[Daver6]

Per device. My iPhone and iPad act as separate devices. It’s slow, though.

So unlimited data then if you know what you're doing

 

[JohnM]

So unlimited data then if you know what you're doing

And, you being a geek, undoubtedly do - but when it’s frustratingly slow, unlimited doesn’t seem a whole lot of use.

It’s adequate for getting emails and reading news but not so good for uploading photos.

 

[JohnM]

One for @henleybeach. NR74 previously noted and NR18 as backup.

 

[JohnM]

That pic went up smartly. I’ll try some more from last night’s dinner at The Old Telegraph Station.

They had a very good band.




Wow, they went up very fast.

The BBQ dinner was catered by Lasseter’s (the ASP casino). Not up to the standard on the train. Hungerford Hill Pinot Gris, Shiraz and Cab Sav were mediocre.