Queensland’s Gulf country is an Aussie bucket list must-do, but it’s not a place many get to explore because of its remoteness. So what better way to do so than on a train, where you can sit back, relax and take it all in?
The Queensland Rail six-day Gulf Savannah Experience combines two of the country’s most-loved trains, the Gulflander and the Savannahlander, as they make their way across savannah country.
It promises awe-inspiring scenery, amazing history, tall tales and natural wonder. Here are our highlights:
The Gulflander
The historic Gulflander, also affectionately known as the ‘tin hair’, started operating in 1891 and in fact, still runs on the original rail and sleepers, so it’s a winner for the history buffs.
The line it travels was originally built to export gold from the old mining town of Croydon to Normanton, and it remains a completely isolated section of railway.
The Forsayth by Night Tour
This lantern tour winds through the streets of Forsayth, highlighting stories of the prominent buildings in town like the hospital, school, police station and a mysterious house with a dark past.
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Cobbold Gorge
Officially Queensland’s youngest gorge, Cobbold Gorge is a mere 10,000 years old. It was discovered by the Terry family, the owners of the land, almost 30 years after they purchased the property.
Not so surprising when you consider their land spans 130,000 hectares and the sandstone conglomerate alone — over 80 square kilometres. That makes the gorge a real needle in a haystack!
Dating back to the Jurassic period over 160 million years ago, the 17-metre tall gorge is a snapshot of an inland seabed storyline. Layers and layers of freshwater sediment which has been carried by rivers and streams.
Undara Lava Caves
References don’t come much higher than those from Sir David Attenborough. He suggested the Undara Lava Caves meet the criteria to classify as a natural wonder of the world and once you catch sight of them, it’s not hard to understand why.
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These series of lava tubes are some of the world’s biggest and longest, with some parts reaching up to 11 metres high, 22 metres wide and a kilometre long.
They were formed during the eruption of Undara Volcano some 190,000 years ago. As the lava travelled down river valleys, the top (which was exposed to the cooler atmosphere) hardened and the lava within, insulated by that top layer, continued to flow down, leaving these tubes behind.
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