The Sunday Times February 13, 2022 7
Travel Australia
KURANDA
SCENIC RAILWAY
CAIRNS TO KURANDA
Weaving through the Unesco world
heritage-listed Wet Tropics of
Queensland, the serpentine Cairns to
Kuranda line passes gorgeous gorges
and mountains, runs beneath waterfalls,
heaves across 37 bridges and slips through
15 tunnels in the far north of Queensland.
Running 23 miles from Cairns —
gateway to the Great Barrier Reef — and
over the Great Dividing Ranges to the
rainforest village of Kuranda, this
beautiful rail journey takes just under
two hours one way. That includes a
ten-minute break at Barron Falls Station,
which brings spectacular, unobstructed
views of the cascades — a staggering
sight in the wet season.
Details Eighteen nights on the Discover
Australia itinerary from £4,795pp,
including the Kuranda Scenic Railway,
flights and some meals (greatrail.com)PUFFING BILLY
BELGRAVE TO GEMBROOK
If you’re still longing for the golden age of
rail travel, then you’ll definitely want to
make time for a ride on the celebrated
Puffing Billy railway. Dating from 1899,
this narrow-gauge, coal-powered steam
locomotive route is among the world’s
most popular heritage railways, and
runs through the southern foothills of
Victoria’s striking Dandenong Ranges
on the outskirts of Melbourne.
Unlike Australia’s nation-
spanning sleeper trains,
Puffing Billy is primarily
run by enthusiasts and
volunteers. Whether
you travel from Belgrave
onwards to Menzies
Creek, Emerald, Lakeside
or Gembrook, all routes
usually cross the historic,
timber-framed Monbulk
Creek trestle bridge and offer
leafy views of Sherbrooke
Forest. Take a short trip and tuck
into an onboard picnic, or book into
a first-class carriage and enjoy aANDREW GREGORYwhite-tablecloth lunch as you ride these
fabled rails.
Details Sixteen nights’ B&B on the
Steam on Five Gauges itinerary from
£3,599pp, including Puffing Billy, some
extra meals and activities (railtrail.co.uk).
Fly to MelbourneTHE GHAN
ADELAIDE TO DARWIN
Named after the Afghan cameleers who
once plied this route, the Ghan might
just be the most memorable way
to cross Australia. Travelling
between Adelaide in the
south and Darwin in the
Northern Territory, it cuts
straight through the Red
Centre. Departing
Adelaide you’ll pass South
Australia’s wine country,
the dramatic Flinders
Ranges and Coober Pedy, an
isolated opal-mining
community where locals live in
incredible cave dwellings to escape
the fierce heat of the sun.With the country finally reopening its
borders, James Draven picks the most
thrilling train journeys to book now
AU S T RAIL IA
FAIR
ADVANCE
COCKTAIL CRUISE
If you just want to flit along
the Brisbane River, take
a ferry. But the specialist
cruises are well worth
considering too. River to
Bay’s new cocktail cruise
hits upon a winning
formula: four hours plying
the river, regaled with
tales of the city’s history,
interspersed with stops
at Brisbane’s top riverside
cocktail bars for a different
sort of immersion. If you
were planning on downing
daiquiris in Toscano Bar
or sipping Mary Mae’s
concoctions, above, then
this is the way to do it.
Cruises from £53pp
(rivertobay.com.au)MILITARY AND MURALS
Covid has forced the
Museum of Brisbane out
into the fresh air. The
revered institution is now
running a series of guided
walks on satisfyingly niche
subjects. The Second
World War tour enters the
Pacific arena HQ of General
MacArthur, and tells
sometimes salacious tales
of the 80,000 American
soldiers stationed in
Brisbane. For something a
little more in the moment,
the public art walking tour
looks at ambitious laneway
murals and the city
centre’s many quirky art
installations, including
the scrap metal kangaroos
on George Street.
Tours from £19 (museumof
brisbane.com.au)HOTEL OF HIGH ART
Brisbane’s Howard Smith
Wharves have been
transformed from
abandoned afterthought
to hip dining destination.
At the heart of the precinct,
the Crystalbook Vincent
is part hotel, part shrine
to the artist Vincent
Fantauzzo. More than 500
of Fantauzzo’s stunning
photorealistic portraits are
spread across the hotel.
You can also expect gleeful
splashes of big, bold
colours, rooms with entire
walls painted to look like
a rainforest and furniture
given fresh life during the
upcycling process. There’s
a heavy emphasis on both
sustainability and fun — not
always natural bedfellows.
Room-only doubles from
£146 (crystalbrook
collection.com)WHAT’S NEW IN...
BRISBANE
Continued on page 8→
WHAT’S NEW IN...
DARWIN
ALTERNATIVE
GOURMET TOUR
Darwin gets unfairly
tarnished with a steak
and beer reputation, but
the fab food scene dispels
this image pretty quickly.
Like the city in general,
its restaurants have heavy
Asian and Aboriginal
influences. Darwin
Gourmet Tours shows
off this side of the city,
meandering between top
restaurants such as Phat
Mango, Hanuman and
Wharf One for a three-hour
tasting extravaganza.
Chefs drop in for a chat
while you tuck in to
crocodile or paperbark-
smoked barramundi. As a
bonus, the tours tick off
sights, history and street
art between feasting stops.
Tours from £79pp
(darwingourmettours.com)SPLASH DOWN
Until Covid-wary
Western Australia joins
the rest of the country in
reopening, Qantas’s direct
flights to Oz land in the
Northern Territory capital.
For unabashed fun the
new Aqua Park, below, in
the Darwin Waterfront
Precinct should keep
families entertained.
Protected by the seawall,
the park is essentially a big
soft-play centre in water,
with an ocean’s worth of
obstacles to bounce and
splash off. For more
serenity hire a paddleboard
and steer your way
around the Waterfront
Recreation Lagoon.
From £11 an hour;
paddleboards from £11
an hour (aqpk.com.au)CROCS AND CROCUSES
Run by Matt Wright, star
of National Geographic’s
Outback Wrangler, the
Freshwater Retreat brings
a bit of nature into Darwin.
The gardens are
unashamedly tropical,
including a turtle pond
and lagoon (don’t go in
the latter – that’s where
the crocs hang out).
Accommodation is either
in the main house or in one
of four safari-themed villas.
The vibe is eclectic, with
furniture sourced from
travels around the world.
There’s also a pool, kitchen
and a huge barbecue.
Villas from £185pp, B&B
(freshwaterretreat.com.au)The Indian
Pacific The GreatSouthern
The Ghan
Spirit of the
Outback
Alice SpringsDarwin
Sydney
Brisbane
Cairns
Adelaide
Melbourne
Perth
Longreach
Kuranda
Scenic
Railway500 miles Puffing Billy
The Great Southern train in Coffs
Harbour, above; Uluru, right