Savannahlander Train ride

Gen here. Life is full of surprises. Usually it’s Robert writing and me providing the pictures, but following an unexpected (good) turn in life, I have to stay behind for a while in Queensland prior to our (hopefully, fingers crossed) move to Cairns. So sad about it… NOT!! Given that it’s 26C here and 4C at home! I miss my soulmate though…

So I decided to delve into the pioneering days, in particular the gold rush era, which fascinate me so much.

I stayed for a wonderful few days in Mount Surprise, a tiny village steeped in history. There are only a few houses and 306 inhabitants but one can see the Old Post Office and Telegraph Station in its old glory. It used to send several hundred messages a day.

Right opposite is the quaint old railway station, home to the popular Savannahlander train. Running only once a week, it carries passengers from Cairns to Forsayth, ending just before the beginning of the Wet season mid-October.

I eagerly boarded the train, amazed at the quaint look of its leather seats, old black and white photos of the era and generally exuding a feeling well in keep with by-gone days. 

The journey started through wonderful savannah dotted with termite mounds. I was a little surprised when the railway line crossed the regional main ‘road’ without any barriers, even though it is used by road trains which can hardly stop quickly. I suppose it happens only once a week…

Half-way through the journey is the highlight of the trip: the old wooden Einasleigh Bridge. Once over it, the train stopped, the driver indicated that those of us who wished to take pictures of the train going over the bridge could alight here, and he would reverse and go over it again.

Part of a small group, I watch him from the side engage the reverse gear. The axle is turning underneath the carriage, but nothing happens except a huge BANG BANG BANG. After several unsuccessful attempts, our Gerard Depardieu (French film fans pay attention) look-alike mechanic jumps off. He bends over to peep underneath, revealing not his builder’s crack, but an outsized pair of underwear with ‘TRADIE’ written in huge letters. His diagnostic is that the auto gearbox has given up the ghost. A tooth has jammed and would not let go.

Somehow, after several stubborn attempts, the reverse manoeuvre succeeded. With bated breath, I await the shot of the trip. That’s when the sun decides to go behind a cloud. It had been sunny all day before the bridge and continued sunny after the bridge. Argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fortunately, I had taken shots while it was reversing. Those turned out to be the best of the lot.

Boarding again, there was more tinkering underneath the train with tools. The carriage fills up with acrid smoke. Having seen a train in the UK with brakes on fire, I was beginning to wonder if it would set fire to the tinder dry savannah surrounding us. No roads or tracks whatsoever in the proximity. I pondered how would they rescue people stranded slap bang in the middle of nowhere, exactly half way through the two hour journey? Send some kind of vehicle on rails? I’ll never know.

Anyway, all was good, or almost. We limped to our destination. Unfortunately for the people continuing to Forsayth, they had to catch a replacement bus. So breakdowns don’t only happen on the daily commute through urban suburbs!! Apparently, the train had broken down, or gone crook in Aussie speak, only twice in 15 years. This triggered an ancient memory of a past mishap: when the regular boat I was travelling on in the Amazon sank, I was told then that in 20 years, it had never happened before. Is it me??!! My bad vibes??

We finally reached the ghost gold town of Einasleigh, only linked to Mt Surprise by a very corrugated dirt road. We headed to the historic pub. Someone asked ‘where is it?’ Not difficult to find because it was only one building…

Right in the middle of the ‘town’, is the impressive Copperfield Gorge. It is easy to see why there was a gold rush there. Tortured rock formations are strewn again the gorge.

We are then offered a tour of the sights. Incredulously, I hear the guide pointing to a dump point!! Now that’s worth including in the Google 10 things to see in Einasleigh!!

We then drove to a nearby creek to boil the billy which is Aussie lingo to make tea over a campfire.

I felt like a True Blue. Breakdown in the middle of nowhere followed by tea in the bush and corrugated dirt road the only mean back to civilisation… The kind of adventure I love.

The last stop was to watch birds in a lovely billabong with water lilies.

 After shake-shake-shake it off on corrugation for an hour, we were back on tarmac. What a day!! Viva Australia!! Ten out of ten.