Return

My mum always wanted to travel on the train from Adelaide to Darwin when the long-promised new Ghan started up. She had often traveled on the old original Ghan and had a sentimental desire to try out the new train. She held on as long as she could as she waited with great faith and conviction for her dream to materialize, but at the age of 92 she was just too tired and slipped away on an entirely different journey, before any real sign of the new Ghan had appeared.

However, it is now almost a reality and I am going to fulfill her dream. I can’t afford the inaugural Adelaide to Darwin trip at $12.000, $6,000 or $3,000, but for a much lower price for layback seating I am going on the inaugural trip on the new Ghan – the Return inaugural trip. I know mum will understand – she appreciated the value of money, having been through the Depression – and will be there with me as we share the trip from Darwin to Adelaide on the new Ghan on the newly extended line. We’re going to have a fine old time as we return to Adelaide.

Nancy Litchfield