Ten of the best train journeys in NSW

The golden days of train travel are here again as more and more discerning holiday-makers are discovering the relaxing pace and wonderful hospitality presented by the great train journeys of the modern era. Take a remarkable train journey in NSW where 'getting there' truly is half the fun.

For a touch of old world charm, jump aboard theSouthern Aurora at Sydney Central. Journey to historic Uralla & Armidale in New England country, along forgotten rail lines to Coonamble & Dubbo and to Narrabri over five-days. Train departs 1-5 October.

A new journey beckons in early 2011 with The Southern Spirit racing through the rural heartlands of four states. In NSW, visit Dubbo's Western Plains, the Blue Mountains, the Hunter Valley, Port Macquarie and Byron Bay.

The Indian Pacific takes its passengers on a journey from the spectacular Blue Mountains to the treeless plains of The Nullarbor. See the sights of some of the most famous outback towns with a scheduled stop at Broken Hill.

Take the kids on a rare day out with Thomas the Tank Engine. Life-size Thomas will greet friends and little ones can also enjoy a 50-minute train ride with Donald, the steam locomotive, departing from Sodor Island Railway Station around Thirlmere on 18 & 19 September.

Visit Dubbo's Western Plain Zoo with Countrylink's Dubbo Zoo Package. Depart from Sydney on a three-day tour, stay in Dubbo and spend your days getting up close and personal with the animals. Take advantage of Countrylink's kids 'travel for a dollar' deal allowing kids to travel for just $1.

Stay in one of the fully restored Red Rattler train carriages at the quirky Carriageway Resort located in the Upper Hunter region of NSW. With the main line running through a far corner of the property, train spotting from the timber bridge is a must.

Zig Zag Railway

Ordinary muggles will magically transform into wizards aboard the Blue Mountain's Zig Zag Railway's Wizards Express! For a more hands on experience try the Zig Zag's Footplate Experience which will see you driving a steam train in no time.

Re-live some of the former train operations at the historic Cowra Roundhouse Depot and Museum, the only existing railway roundhouse depot in NSW where steam locomotives are still lit up for a day's operation.

Sleep in one of three converted 100-year-old railway carriages decorated in Orient Express style luxury at Ruwenzori, a secluded, bush retreat near Mudgee in Central West NSW.

Leave your car and cares behind and see the traditional (and not so traditional) events of the Highlander Games in Bundanoon in the Southern Highlands. Be transported there and back in the comfort of train travel departing from Canberra Station for a day of fun and games.

Struth! Beach bums urged to cover up

STRUTH !    

IN his continuing search for the more weird, wacky and wondrous in the world of travel, David Ellis says that whether you want to believe it or not, that bastion of the bikini and skimpy dress, the Mediterranean is under threat.

Because authorities from France's Riviera to Italy in the east and Spain in the west are cracking down on female tourists who invade their streets and pavement cafés dressed only in bikinis. And blokes in nothing more than shorts and budgie-smugglers overhung by gross beer bellies.

Civic authorities in such bikini-littered resorts as Cannes and St Tropez say locals are getting fed-up with tourists who aren't content to just sport their bikinis on the beach, they can't even be bothered donning a shirt, shorts or slacks to cover themselves when forsaking the sun and sand for shopping, sightseeing, and wining and dining.

Even Provence which has its fair share of fully-nude beaches is cracking down on inappropriate off-beach wear, exposed beer bellies, and even simply the sight of hairy chests. And Paris which has long enforced "decency of dress" in its streets is now further tightening its public-dress laws.

As well the Vatican is coming down harder than ever on dress requirements in St Peter's Square, while authorities in Spain have begun warning tourists about wandering Barcelona's streets "in bikinis, shirtless, or showing the affects of alcohol."

Authorities in several countries say its all part of a need to protect human dignity, decency, morality and the young: in Italy recently police were called to speak to a woman bathing topless after another complained that the way the sunbather was applying suntan lotion "was troubling for my sons."

These authorities still generally agree that skimpy dress will always be part of beach culture, but they say it's got to be contained to the beach – and a survey by one newspaper attributed the new thinking to such reasons as new feminist priorities, concerns about skin cancer, a return to old-fashioned modesty, and Europe's growing Muslim population.

MYSTERY SOLVED TO GOING ROBINSON CRUSOE

david ellis

SO you wanna go Robinson Crusoe…

There's a little place in the South Pacific that's just for you. But that doesn't mean you won't need to do some planning if you're thinking of really escaping to a people-free paradise.

Because despite no one living on this miniscule 1.5-square kilometre oceanic dot that has no electricity, no running water, no roads and no telephones, your peace could still be shattered.

By hordes storming the beaches, and all keen to share your little piece of paradise, if just for a day…

And it's no mystery why: because, simply, this magical little spot you thought you had to yourselves, is called Mystery Island. And the mystery why you won't find it on the map, is that it's officially Inyeug, the most southerly island in Vanuatu.

And no one lives here is because its traditional owners who live on the island next door, believe it's haunted after dark by ghosts.

In the 1850s Australian traders who set up operations on the larger Aneityum Island just across the channel, mostly lived on Inyeug as they figured that the-then cannibalistic Aneityumese were unlikely to attack spooky Inyeug under cover of darkness.

Canadian missionaries also built the biggest church for its time in the South Pacific on the neighbouring Aneityum, its 1000 seats enough for a quarter of that island's population.

The traders and missionaries eventually drifted away due to ill-health or waning years, and abandonment and a tsunami put paid to the church; by the late 1800s Aneityum's near-4000 population had been decimated to just 500 – the legacy of western diseases introduced by the foreigners.

Aneityum and Inyeug faded into obscurity for over a century until in the 1980s the cruise ship Fairstar started visiting Vanuatu, often putting her passengers ashore by lifeboats for a day on this jewel of South Pacific white sand islands.

Fairstar's owners, the Sitmar Line also re-named Inyeug as Mystery Island – as it was always a mystery whether they could land their passengers there due because of unpredictable seas.

After Fairstar was sold, P&O started visiting with its bigger South Pacific cruisers out of Sydney and Brisbane; the company helped build a landing-jetty on the island, and every year its ships now put around 65,000 guests ashore for a day's swimming, coral reef snorkelling, beachcombing, or buying fresh fruits, shells, and souvenirs from the Aneityumese who come across on "ship days."

Mystery Island also has the clean and basic Mystery Island Bungalows: a Double-bed Bungalow that costs $66 a night, Beach Bungalow with two single beds ($33pp per night,) and Guest House with a double bed and three single beds costing $160 per night.

And you'll have the whole island virtually to yourself: Aneityum villagers who may turn-up to occasionally fish, are always well gone before sunset for fear of those ghosts.

It leaves visitors at the bungalows to rise in the morning when it suits, dangle a line for reef-fish or lobsters, beach-walk, snorkel, and ponder what we poor fools are doing back in "civilisation…"

And with no TV, telephone or internet, if isolation becomes too much it's simply a matter of waiting for someone to come across from Aneityum and negotiating a lift back by canoe to explore the neighbouring "big island."

Bungalow guests have to bring all basic food and other needs on the twice-weekly flight from Port Vila – the grass airstrip was built on Mystery Island to service the too-mountainous Aneityum.

Arrangements can also be made to have someone from Aneityum bring over local garden produce and cook for you if you want to experience the local fare. (Details from travel agents or www.vanuatu.travel)

And it's important to check whether during your planned stay, one of those cruise ships isn't going to pop up on the horizon and disgorge its 1000-plus passengers to share the solitude of your 1.5sq kilometre island for a day – the more so if you're prone to sunbaking in the bollocky.

FOOTNOTE: In 1974 while Queen Elizabeth was on her way to Australia from Port Vila aboard the Royal Yacht Brittania as part of a Pacific tour, she made a unscheduled stop at Mystery Island for an impromptu royal beach picnic in paradise. And for the first time, she had no one to wave to…


PHOTO CAPTIONS: 

[] BLINK and you've missed it – Vanuatu's tiny Mystery Island

[] LONG gone cruise liner Fairstar that put Mystery Island on the map

[] TODAY's P&O Pacific Jewel a regular visitor to the island

[] ISLAND in the sun for Pacific Jewel day trippers

[] MYSTERY Island Bungalow for that Robinson Crusoe getaway


Images: Vanuatu Tourism; P&O Cruises; Malcolm Andrews                                

From John Cleese aboard Queen Mary

Greetings land-bound friends!

Here's a little postcard from my deck chair on the Queen Mary 2. I had a simply delightful time crossing the Atlantic from New York to Southampton recently. Just like Michael Palin on a freighter, I worked for my supper too. I wonder if his menu ever included Crab & Baby Shrimp Thermidor?

Performing on board is like visiting with old friends. I played an episode of Fawlty Towers, showed some film clips and told stories, which thankfully, the kind audience found amusing. It really is one of the most enjoyable experiences. Here's a clip of a show on the QM2 from a few years ago that you might enjoy.

Now that I'm back in the UK, there are only a few more weeks before I'll be out on tour again in Scandinavia. I'll need to brush up on my Norwegian and continue rehabilitating my bionic knee, which is feeling much better, thank you. So much better, in fact, that when I return from my Nordic tour, I don't know whether I should book a trip to Fatima or visit Haggis.

Finally, one of my minons found that someone was asking if I was the funniest man alive. It was good to see that people on that site are no longer asking if I'm alive.

Until next time,

Admiral Cheese

P.S. The minions have asked me to remind you that the UK and US shops are bursting with stylish togs to display your good taste and intelligence.

Sabah, Malaysian Borneo: An adventure paradise close to home

With ample opportunity for diving, jungle trekking, wildlife spotting, mountain climbing, caving, rafting or four wheel driving, Malaysia offers a zenith for adventure seekers and the island of Borneo, is often considered Malaysia’s adventure capital.

Malaysian Borneo boasts 16 of the nation’s 19 national parks and Kinabalu Park, with the towering Mount Kinabalu is undoubtedly the island’s biggest attraction.

Even for those not wishing to climb the mountain itself, the park has numerous walking trails with spectacular views. The area is a botanical paradise; over 1,000 species of orchids grow, insectivorous pitcher plants are at home in the park, as are dozens of species of rhododendrons. Nearly 300 bird species live in the park along with multiple other animals from squirrels to snakes. Lucky visitors may even catch a look at the Rafflesia, the world’s biggest flower.

Responsible for most of the accommodation in Kinabalu Park and Asia’s first fully integrated lifestyle resort in Kota Kinabalu, Sutera Harbour is a popular choice for visitors.

Sutera Harbour Resort is a 384-acre fully-integrated property development on the coastline of Kota Kinabalu city centre in Sabah, Malaysia.

Sutera Harbour’s upmarket Magellan or affordable Pacific Sutera properties are located just ten minutes from the airport and five minutes from the heart of Kota Kinabalu and are a great base to spend a few days discovering Kota Kinabalu, gaining strength or braving other soft adventure activities such as white water rafting on the nearby Padas River.

Both hotels are located in the one resort with 14 restaurants, spacious rooms, two luxurious Mandara Spas and world-class recreational facilities including a 50 metre lap pool, a fully equipped gymnasium, bowling alley, squash and tennis courts.

Operating most of the accommodation in Kinabalu Park, Sutera Harbour can easily organise a three night adventure for climbers. Sutera Harbour run cosy accommodation at Park Head Quarters, the Laban Rata rest house at 3272 metres on Mount Kinabalu and accommodation at the therapeutic Poring Hot Springs where many climbers soak their weary muscles after the climb.

For climbers who seek a little additional adrenaline and a physical challenge, Mountain Torq’s Via Ferratta experience offers brave climbers the chance to hang off a mountain at 3776 metres with little or no mountain climbing experience.

Mountain Torq’s Low’s Peak Circuit is the world’s highest Via Ferratta at 3776 metres or there is the lower and slightly less arduous Walk the Torq route at 3520 metres. Climbers who attempted the Via Ferratta have preference to stay in Pendant Hut, a cosy and eco-friendly alpine lodge located on the Laban Rata rock face.

Even the hardest adventurers need time out to rest and rejuvenate and Sabah’s pristine white sand beaches, luxurious resorts, designer golf courses and blissful spas offer idyllic downtime.

For some purely indulgent luxuriating, the Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort is a beautiful place to spend time at sea level. Stretching along a white sand beach on the South China Sea, the resort boasts some of Kota Kinabalu’s best restaurants, lush recently refurbished Ocean Wing Rooms, two pools, an orang-utan sanctuary and a fabulous spa where a traditional massage will relieve tired muscles.

When travelling around Malaysia or to other parts of the world, a few days in Malaysia’s vibrant capital, Kuala Lumpur is a must. Mouth-watering food, affordable accommodation, exceptional shopping, spas and a lively multicultural environment, make KL a popular stopover destination for Australians.

The KLIA Express high-speed train service costs 35 RYM one way, or around $AUD 12.00, takes visitors directly to the city centre where a range of great value hotels are conveniently located close to efficient transport.

For active appetites, sampling Malaysian delicacies derived from Malaysia’s three main ethnic influences; Malay, Chinese and Indian, will be a highlight. Spicy aromas and exotic fruits greet you at every turn and the delectable flavours are complemented by very palatable prices.

Along with indulgent eating, pampering and relaxation, Kuala Lumpur boasts a range of unique attractions including the majestic Petronas Twin Towers, fun parks, the KL Lake Gardens, the historic National Museum and the royal Istana Negara (official residence of his majesty The King of Malaysia).

Centrally located in Kuala Lumpur, the Berjaya Times Square offers a convenient base to get the most out of a stopover in Kuala Lumpur.

To book a holiday to Malaysia, call Flight Centre on 1300 939 414 to book or see
www.flightcentre.com.au/world-travel/malaysia

Malaysia airlines flies 47 times a week from Australia to Kuala Lumpur and has regular
connections to Kota Kinabalu www.malaysiaairlines.com

For more information visit www.tourism.gov.my


===============


Deals available from Flight Centre

Flight Centre has a two-night package that includes accommodation at the 4-star Berjaya Times Square in a Deluxe Suite and breakfast daily. Priced from $149* per person twin share.

Valid for travel from August 16 to December 14, 2010, and from January 4 to March 31, 2011 and valid for sale until September 30, 2010

Phone Flight Centre on 1300 939 414 bookings or see www.flightcentre.com.au/world-travel/malaysia

Flight Centre has a two-night package that includes accommodation at the 5-star Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort & Spa in a Superior Rainforest View Room and breakfast daily. Priced from $239* per person twin share.

Valid for travel from September 1 to December 20, 2010, from January 5 to 31, and from February 8 to March 31, 2011 and valid for sale until September 30, 2010

Phone Flight Centre on 1300 939 414 bookings or see www.flightcentre.com.au/world-travel/malaysia

Flight Centre has a two-night package that includes accommodation at the 4-star The Pacific Sutera in a Deluxe Golf View Room and breakfast daily, plus a welcome host, a welcome tea, a tropical fruit basket, a welcome gift, and nightly turn down service. Priced from $189* per person twin share.

Phone Flight Centre on 1300 939 414 bookings or see www.flightcentre.com.au/world-travel/malaysia.

Flight Centre has a two-night package that includes accommodation at the 5-star Magellan Sutera a Deluxe Garden View Room and breakfast daily, plus a welcome host, a welcome tea, a tropical fruit basket, a welcome gift, and nightly turn down service. Priced from $205* per person twin share.

Phone Flight Centre on 1300 939 414 bookings or see www.flightcentre.com.au/world-travel/malaysia


GETTING THERE …

Return economy airfares to Kota Kinabalu with Malaysia Airlines are priced from $1069* per person, departing Sydney.

Price includes airfare taxes and is valid for travel between September 1 to December 8 and from January 15 to March 31, 2010.

Phone Flight Centre on 1300 939 414 bookings or see www.flightcentre.com.au/world-travel/malaysia

Britain Calling: August 2010

Britain

Roald Dahl Day celebrates the work, life and legacy of one of the world’s best-loved storytellers.

It takes place on his birthday, 12 September, at the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre and in the nearby Gipsy House garden in Great Missenden in the south of England, where Dahl lived and worked. The museum’s special events and activities will be overseen by Miss Trunchbull, a character from one of his best selling books Matilda. Behind-the-scenes archive tours will offer a rare chance to view original Matilda manuscripts. Peter Bentley, author of The Great Dog Bottom Swap, will be running workshop sessions. Members of the Royal Shakespeare Company will entertain visitors with Matilda-themed storytelling in anticipation of the RSC’s production Matilda, A Musical opening in Stratford in November. Other events will include guided village trails, magicians and face-painting. Roald Dahl’s garden at Gipsy House, a short walk from the Museum, will be open free of charge for the day. Visitors can take a peek inside the author’s famous Writing Hut (above) and explore the maze and gypsy caravan that inspired Danny the Champion of the World. As well as Matilda, Dahl’s books for children include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach and The BFG. Dahl died in 1990. Roald Dahl Day events and activities will also be taking place nationally throughout September.

The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, 81-83 High Street, Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire HP16 0AL

Website: www.roalddahlmuseum.org

The Changi Brownlow: Roland Perry

ISBN 0733624642
(978-073-362464-3)
RRP $35.00 August 2010
Hachette Aust Paperback

A moving and powerful story of a group of Australian POWs who organise an Australian Rules Football competition under the worst conditions imaginable - inside Changi prison - and then step into history as they live and die building the infamous Thai-Burma Railway.

This non-fiction book is about Peter Chitty, the farm hand from Snowy River country with unfathomable physical and mental fortitude, and one of seven in his immediate family who volunteered to fight and serve in WW2. The story includes 'Chicken' Smallhorn, the Brownlow-medal winning little man with the huge heart and of officers and doctors like 'Weary' Dunlop, who care for the POWs as they endure malnutrition, disease and often inhuman treatment.

After Singapore falls to the Japanese early in 1942, 70,000 prisoners including 15,000 Australians, are held as POWs at the notorious Changi and adjoining Selerang prisons in Singapore. To amuse themselves and fellow inmates, a group of sportsmen created an Australian Football League, complete with tribunal, selection panel, umpires and coaches. The final game of the one and only season was between 'Victoria' and the 'Rest of Australia'. This attracted more than 12,000 spectators, and a unique Brownlow Medal was awarded in this unlikely setting under the curious gaze of Japanese prison guards.

The match was to be the last one before, in April 1943, Australian POWs were sent from Changi to Thailand to construct a railway and road to be used for the Japanese assault on India. This book follows Peter Chitty and many of the other players on this journey. Half of them would be victims of the brutal conditions, never to return. A total of 23,000 Australian men and Allies died in the trying, depressing circumstances of incarceration and slave labor.

This is a story of courage and the invincibility of the human spirit. The Changi Brownlow highlights not only the Australian love of sport and its power to offer consolation in times of extreme hardship but an unsurpassed strength that helped many of them survive the four-year ordeal.

Roland Perry is well known as the author of a number of cricket books - ranging from biographies of Donald Bradman, Keith Miller, Steve Waugh and Shane Warne, and also accounts of other great tours and teams. Author Location: Melbourne, Victoria.
Tour information on Changi Prison

Struth! Venice's first female gondolier

STRUTH !    

IN his continuing search for the more weird, wacky and wondrous in the world of travel, David Ellis says its taken 900 years, but Venice has finally got its first-ever fully-licenced female gondolier.

Blonde mother of two, Giorgia Boscolo (24) last week passed her final exams after 400 hours of instruction that included propelling a traditional 11-metre, 500-kilogram gondola with a single oar, memorising the names of the extraordinary maze of hundreds of canals around which Venice is built, the quickest routes from point-to-point and to major landmarks, and even having to learn "tourist English."
 
Mrs Boscolo was tested by a panel from the 425-strong Gondoliers' Guild which has been custodian of the ancient skills and traditions of the gondolier since being formed in the year 1094 – and which has previously rejected a number of female applicants, including most-recently a local Venetian and a German-American who has been fighting for twelve years to get a licence (and who recently won court approval to work for a private hotel ferrying its guests only.)

Mrs Boscolo said she learnt her love of working gondolas from her father who spent 40 years on the boats, and said that as a child she would rather spend the day with him on the waters of the canals than playing with friends.
 
And she said that when questioned by her examiners about her physical ability as a woman to propel the long and heavy craft, she told them: "I've given birth to two children, and that was far more difficult and painful."

Gaining her licence means Mrs Boscolo is now qualified to don the traditional white-and-blue striped shirt, black trousers, straw hat and regulation gondoliers' shoes.

And all that remains is to see if she will serenade her passengers with "O Sole Mio" as she ferries them around the canals of Venice, or if she'll have some other surprise up her sleeve.