On the Pursuit - The Kimberley Coast, Indonesia & PNG - and a really keen choo-choo train!

[shark b8]

Aloha & ahoy there, CC-ers!  (Or perhaps I should say “g’day mate”!)  So, time for another “dear diary” story of the travels (oops, misspelled “travails” 😎) of Captain & Mrs Sharkbait, for those of you with low standards who might want to follow along.  We’ll be doing the Kimberley coast route on the Pursuit, a few stops in Indonesia & Papua New Guinea, finishing in Honiara in the Solomon Islands.  

 

Now, here’s the thing:   this one’s a double-whammy -  before we sail, we’re doing a week-long Australia outback visit, on the Ghan train from Adelaide (where we are now) to Darwin.  I debated whether or not to include the train/outback 

experiences here, as obvs it’s not Seabourn and it’s not cruising, and this is a Seabourn-cruising-specific site.  But I figure any Seabourners out there who are interested in the train/outback stuff can follow along, and for those who aren't, I would kindly just ask you to wait a bit, ignore the Down Under ramblings, and just check back on this thread starting at the beginning of August when we sail.

[FlyingScotSailors]

@shark b8 How many "yes" votes to certainly post the Ghan/outback stuff do we get?

 

We are booked on the Pursuit next April from Honiara to Darwin.  Then we are booked on the Red Centre Experience on the Ghan.

[shark b8]

Ooops, don’t know why previous post is gigantic font, or at least that’s how it looks on this end.  Sorry.  

 

We’re in the Adelaide Parklands Terminal and will board our train in about 15 minutes.  This one has been on the travel checklist for a very, very long time.  Yippeee.

 

 

[shark b8]

2 minutes ago, FlyingScotSailors said:

@shark b8 How many "yes" votes to certainly post the Ghan/outback stuff do we get?

 

I think………87.

[shark b8]

4 minutes ago, FlyingScotSailors said:

@shark b8 Pursuit next April…..Then we are booked on the Red Centre Experience on the Ghan.

 

We’re doing Red Centre Exp this week!

[highplanesdrifters]

Oh Goodie! 

Ghan and Raja Ampat. 

Yes please!

 

Sorry to miss you, we board in September. 

[FlyingScotSailors]

13 hours ago, shark b8 said:

 

We’re doing Red Centre Exp this week!

Have a great journey and experience.  Keep us posted, when you have internet.

[kej1]

Looking forward to your train trip and cruise!  We did Pursuit from Papeete to Guam in April/May.  We are signed up for the Kimberlys , some Indonesia, more PNG and ending in 

Fiji Aug 2025 so looking forward to your tales of the trip - and are also thinking of doing the train!  Thank you for sharing.

[returning sailor]

We are going to be on the Pursuit with you. Anxious to hear about your Ghan experience. Hoping to meet up with you on board. Nigel and Connie from Wellington Fl.

Safe travels

[shark b8]

Excellent!

[shark b8]

So.  We’ve spent the first night on the Ghan, and have arrived in Alice Springs.  Now that wifi is stronger and more consistent (it’s understandably more iffy in the middle of Australia-nowhere), maybe I’ll do a little catch-up.  We spent several days in Adelaide, with a night in the wine country (Barossa Valley) in between. Some pix below, out and about in Adelaide, incl the famous botanical garden & the Central Market.   First pic our hotel.

 

 

 

 

[shark b8]

[shark b8]

After approx 100 hours on our flight(s) to get to the land Down Under, we crashed at the Mayfair Hotel.  The next morning, I thought I woke up to what sounded like the Muslim call to prayer.  Figured I was still just halfway between sleep/wake, but looking out our window, there was a demonstration, Palestinian flags.  This was the end of the demonstration - all women, presumably the men were in the front.  

 

 

 

[shark b8]

On a local Adelaide tram.  My British friend informs me that no, “footy” is not some odd sexual fetish, but rather a sport, meticulously designed to specifically eliminate play using nature’s miracle, hands with opposable thumbs.  He continued to try to explain, but by then I had lost interest.

 

 

[shark b8]

Given a choice, I think I’d go with the burger.

 

 

[shark b8]

Our visit to the Barossa Valley was at least partially driven by our previous visit to Seppeltsfield Winery, when we did the World Cruise in 2023.  I fell in love with their 20-year-old vintage tawny (don’t call it “port”, sayeth the Portuguese), so we returned and I bought a bottle for the train and one for the ship.  This time they took us to the super-secret aging area, which also has the barrels specifically dedicated to Prince William, Harry, even little George and Charlotte.  

 

 

[shark b8]

If you’re a wine-person and want to get to the Barossa Valley, it’s pretty easy (as everything seems to be in Adelaide).  We walked around the corner from the hotel, paid about $3 per ticket to take the train to Gawler, and then about a 15-20 minute Uber to any winery.  We had the train to ourselves….literally.

 

 

 

[shark b8]

And (also about a 60-second walk from the Mayfair) we had a wonderful teppanyaki meal at a place called Erato.  One of those restaurants in a grand old bank building from decades past.  Reminiscent of the Benihana craze of the 1980’s, glitzy & unsubtle but still kinda fun.  The wagyu beef was perhaps the least successful but a good time was had.

 

 

 

 

[shark b8]

The Mayfair Hotel in Adelaide is a perfect location, one of those Grand Old Ladies of hotels, but - if wifi is essential for you, well….

 

I asked at the desk twice and a rep came up to our room to try to talk it into behaving, but….

 

Seems to me like it would actually be difficult to accomplish sixteen one-hundredths of a megabyte per second download speed.  But they managed it.

 

[shark b8]

Ok, thanks for indulging extended Adelaide prattling.  From here on, it’s Alice Springs, a train, and…..a ship.

[FlyingScotSailors]

Thanks shark b8 for some ideas of what to do in Adelaide.

 

Since in April we will be in the same boat (and train) as you, 🥸, can you tell us how strict Outback Spirit is about "soft sided luggage only".

 

Edited July 22 by FlyingScotSailors

[BasandSyb]

Great to hear from you again Shark b8 - I’m enjoying your experiences of our tourism offerings.

 

I’m sure you have, but if others are reading for your Ghan travels, be sure to book Platinum class. 
 

Make sure you have a good book.😄

[labonnevie]

Shark b8, I am sorry to hear that you have embarked on yet another adventure. 
Now I am going to have to allocate several additional minutes from an already packed schedule to read each of your postings every day. 
Unfortunately, I am unable to ignore them. 
Thanks for disrupting my schedule once again!

[shark b8]

11 hours ago, FlyingScotSailors said:

 can you tell us how strict Outback Spirit is about "soft sided luggage only".

 

 

We have a first meeting with them in a few hours, and I know that will be among the most important questions people will have, the language they quote up front is obviously used to discourage people (like us) from trying to bring along everything they’ve packed for a larger, 6-week trip. I’ll get a sense of what they actually allow vs what they pre-warn against, and post it - remind me if I forget.

[shark b8]

4 hours ago, BasandSyb said:

if others are reading for your Ghan travels, be sure to book Platinum class. 
 

Make sure you have a good book.😄

 

Yes, in the next few days I’ll post some pix and video of the train and go over a bit of logistics.  Essentially there are two classes, Gold and Platinum, each divided into “double” or “twin” sub-classes.  Out the door in a few minutes right now so it’ll have to wait a bit, but the Platinum recommendation you mention is the one we chose, and a good thing too, I think.