The Sunday Times - UK (2022-02-13

10 February 13, 2022The Sunday Times

Travel Australia

cabins of the first-class carriages. First-

class fares include all onboard meals,

which range from Australian fine dining

in the Tuckerbox Restaurant to snacks

and drinks in the Captain Starlight

Lounge and the Stockman’s Bar.

The train passes through the heritage

mining towns of Blackwater, Emerald

and Barcaldine before arriving in

Longreach, where you can enjoy tours

of the town, take a sunset cruise on the

Thomson River and visit the Qantas

Founders Museum, historic home of

the world’s third-oldest airline.

Longreach’s best-known attraction,

however, is the Australian Stockman’s

Hall of Fame, which pays tribute to

the cattle ranchers, pioneers, explorers

and settlers of the outback.

→Continued from page 8

A vineyard in

the Adelaide

Hills, right;

hear spooky

polar bear

tales at

Adelaide Zoo,

below left

Details Six nights on the Ultimate

Outback Queensland Adventure

itinerary from £1,904pp, including

Spirit of the Outback, most meals

and activities (reefnoutback.com.au).

Fly to Brisbane

THE INDIAN PACIFIC

SYDNEY TO PERTH

Stretching the width of the country,

from Sydney on the east coast to Perth

in the west, the Indian Pacific is

Australia’s longest train journey and one

of its most epic — although you’ll have to

wait a little longer to enjoy it, as Western

Australia is still only open to residents

for the foreseeable future. Over 70 hours

you’ll cover 2,704 miles, even traversing

the longest straight stretch of track in

the world — 297 miles across the

Nullarbor Plain.

It runs across the country in both

directions, but if you set out from Sydney

you’ll first pass the Unesco world

heritage-listed Blue Mountains — just an

hour outside of the city — famed for their

inky hues. After stopping in Broken Hill

— also known as Silver City and Australia’s

longest-running mining town — the Indian

Pacific snakes into South Australia’s

capital, Adelaide, where you’ll alight for

a range of day tours that centre on the

region’s fantastic food and wine.

Details Thirteen nights on the

West to East by Indian Pacific

itinerary from £3,829pp, including

flights, car hire, activities and

some meals (trailfinders.com)

BEN GOODE/GETTY IMAGES

WHAT’S NEW IN... ADELAIDE

BED DOWN IN AN OVAL

England cricket fans may

not want to be reminded of

the recent Ashes series, but

staying at one of the world’s

great cricket grounds might

prove too hard to resist. The

Oval Hotel is built around the

curves of the international

ground in Adelaide. Rooms,

alas, don’t look out into the

stadium, but they do offer

delightful views over the

parklands towards the

cathedral and River Torrens.

Room-only doubles from

£143 (ovalhotel.com.au)

TALES OF THE ZOOKEEPERS

Zoos and ghost tours don’t

seem like a particularly

logical combination until

you learn about “keeper

incidents” in the polar bear

enclosure. Adelaide Zoo’s

marvellously barmy After

Dark tour brings

together chilling tales told

by zookeepers past and

present, as you follow a

paranormal investigator

around the zoo. The tour

heads into behind-the-

scenes sections that the

public weren’t previously

allowed to enter.

Tours from £30 (adelaide

hauntedhorizons.com.au)

DAY WITH THE DIRTMAN

Not all wine tours are the

same. You can merrily flit

around the Barossa Valley,

tasting until you’re tipsy. Or

you can head out with an

expert. Rob Gibson, the

founder of Gibson Wines, is

known as the Dirtman for his

expertise in geology, soils

and terroir. And his Day with

the Dirtman tours go way

beyond bog standard.

Tasting from the barrels,

meeting local food

producers and sampling

riesling among exclusive

patches of vines are

among the highlights.

Tours from £237pp

(gibsonwines.com.au)

David Whitley

armyAfter

Dark tour brings

yond

Tasting f

meeting

prod

rieslin

patche

among th

Tours from

(((gibsonwin

David Whit