To say that we were happy to leave Room 118 from the Chifely would be an understatement. But, when all is said and done, it had served its purpose and we even got a chance to sneak in a small load of "delicate essentials" in the wash.

Our main dilemma of the morning was to find some transport to get to The Ghan. We spoke to other guests who were travelling to the station and checked in with the Chifely staff. A taxi seemed the simplest option but just as Mac was at the head of the Chifely reception queue a 60 seater bus pulled in heading for The Ghan. For the princely sum of $15 we jumped on with 10 others, made the rounds to other hotels, picked up some more passengers, left one lady with her bags and a walking stick on the side of the road because this was the "wrong bus" and eventually arrived at the station right on the dot of 11.45 am.

There was a bit of atmosphere here. Lots of travellers returning from off train excursions, live music, drinks on the platform and a much better staffing ratio than at the Chifely. The platinum queue was a breeze - straight to the head of the line and we were "in" with enough time for a quick visit to the gift store.

Tarren (complete with very thick, very brown penciled eye brows) was our personal escort to our cabin. He took our bags and led the way to car P5 Room 7/8 - and we only had to walk the length of four cars to this one - what a breeze!

We sidled down the passageway and were very surprised when the door was opened. This was "very different" from our Gold Superior. It was, by comparison, very, very tiny. Had just one bench seat facing backwards! (I was going to be motion sick! Yuck.) Oh dear, and worse still, no well stocked fridge! Oh, and no fruit!

On the positive side, there was a fabulous bathroom with a glass wall-defined shower!

Poor Tarren - what a dilemma to have "sad" guests because the staff always does try to please! The train is always full, so no option to change cabins to a forward facing seat. But there was a series of pull-out tables which Tarren offered as a seat! Not really an option so he went to the dining room and brought back an extremely comfortable saucer chair which was perfect. He doubled that up with some champagne and we were happy. He had worked his magic.

And forget the "need" for a fridge. Each cabin has a yellow button! There are only 5 cabins in each car and there is a staff member allocated to respond to the call from "the button." (Tarren and Danielle for us.) Need a drink...press the button. Need some ice....press the button. Need some snacks...press the button. Want to know where you are...press the button. You get the idea. We were the carriage next to the bar and dining car....we didn't press the button at all.

The food has been extra special on this trip. And the lunch today was right up there as a favourite. We dined with Jan (a Janette and a teacher) and Brian (a vet) who were on their way to a conference. Conversation was easy and was punctuated with the taster plate, entree, main and desert. Always choices and predictably scrumptious featuring Australian touches, including buffalo rissoles in the taster plate, a kangaroo fillet in the mains and a dessert of passionfruit curd.

Drink in hand we returned to our room to watch the world go by. Travelling south at a steady 80 kms an hour we crossed the mighty Finke River again (still with water in it), snapped a quick shot of the Iron Man (a 1m high monument to the railway workers featuring the one millionth concrete sleeper of the line) and silently slipped across the border between the Northern Territory and South Australia just south of Kulgera.

And that is the beauty of the train. There's no connectivity to any network so you have nothing to do but just "be." You catch a glimpse of an occasional cow, but in this neck of the woods it is just red sand, grasses and shrubs, blue skies, wispy clouds and of course the changing landscape heralded by sunset.

The next highlight was dinner and we opted for a table just for two this time. Our choices: yabby and crab bisque; pork shoulder; south rock lamb with roast pumpkin and finally a white chocolate and lime bavarios. Devine. And we loved the wine so much we took the rest of the bottle back to the cabin with us.

The last adventure of the night was a 10.30 pm off train excursion at Manguri. The siding was lined for 1 kilometre with lanterns and then another lantern lit pathway guided the travellers to a bonfire. Wooden tables were laden with cups steaming with hot chocolate and trays of raspberry chocolates finished off the night cap. A telescope was set up and Saturn with the splendour of her silver rings filled the eye piece. It was a warm and clear night and the sky was ablaze with millions of bright stars.

The moon was amazing. There was a complete ring around the moon. We had never seen it before, but apparently it is common on a clear night and is referred to as a halo.

From the net: The ring around the Moon is caused by the refraction of Moonlight (which of course is reflected sunlight) from ice crystals in the upper atmosphere. The shape of the ice crystals results in a focusing of the light into a ring.

All aboard one last time for the in-room night cap of Bailey's and Grand Marnier and just as the clock ticks on to midnight it is the good night finale on The Ghan.

PS Funniest moment was when Tarren asked us what we thought of the limo pickup from the Chifely. Limo? What limo? Apparently, a car had been sent to the Chifely to pick us up at 11.30. Would have been great if we had known! Wonder if they are still looking for us.