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Australia by Rail, 5th

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By Taylor, Colin

Trailblazer Publications

Copyright © 2005 Taylor, Colin
All right reserved.
ISBN: 9781873756812

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Introduction
Australia is vast. Imagine the whole northern half of Africa, a great desert with population centres mostly on the edges. That is something like Australia. And travel in much of Australia is not unlike a journey on the African continent--the same timeless bush, the same enervating heat. In a car the distances and glare of the sky induce drowsiness. The unsealed gravel roads of the outback are like the laterite roads of the African savannah, slippery when wet, loose when dry, ridged like corrugated iron and infested with road trains--thundering great lorries hauling multiple trailers at breakneck speed. These are frightening to meet and more lethal than the snakes and crocodiles you will rarely see. Travelling by road you may reach your destination hot, tired and thirsty, hating both the bush and the concrete jungles of the city. Visitors can find Australia's road rules confusing and the unwary motorist can easily fall foul of the law. If a sign says 'Next Petrol 300km' you can be sure that when you run out of fuel and wander into the bush you will easily get lost.

It is better to see Australia by rail. Australia's railways offer a unique way of travelling round the country. You may not always get there more quickly but you will get there more safely and have time to relax, enjoy the scenery, and converse with Australians and tourists from all over the world, while sitting in comfortwithout the constraining bonds of a seat belt. Overseas visitors can make use of the excellent-value Austrailpass or the passes and fare concessions offered by the country's railway systems, which residents can also use to explore the country.

And Australia is worth exploring because it is a land of contrasts. Not only is there a world of difference between the wheat fields of Victoria and the sugar plantations of Queensland, or the dry red desert of the interior and the torrential downpours of the coastal ranges; there is a great contrast between the fastest and newest trains and some you may find on the lesser-known branch lines.

You can penetrate the remote outback in air-conditioned comfort on trains like the Spirit of the Outback or The Ghan and travel through Crocodile Dundee country on the Gulflander or Savannahlander. The world's fastest rack railway, the Perisher Skitube, will take you to the slopes of Mt Blue Cow in the Snowy Mountains or you can cross the famous Harbour Bridge by train in the heart of Sydney. By train you can also see examples of almost every type of Australian landscape--from the dense rainforests of tropical Queensland to the unbelievable emptiness of the Nullarbor Plain, the deep canyons of the Blue Mountains and the rocky crags of the outback ranges.

Options range from planned itineraries through package tours to doing it your own way. As well as giving essential details about the principal and other popular train services, Australia by Rail offers ideas not found in official publications or ordinary travel literature. This should assist both those who stick to the main lines and those who like to wander off the beaten track. And you can!


Continues...

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Excerpted from Australia by Rail, 5th by Taylor, Colin Copyright © 2005 by Taylor, Colin. Excerpted by permission.
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