Trailblazer Guide Books

These Trailblazer guides … are a godsend for independent travelers.
 — Travel & Leisure

INTRODUCTION 8

Important notes 9

PART 1: PLANNING YOUR TRIP

Getting to Australia
Making a booking (in the UK and Ireland 11, in Continental Europe 13, in North America 14, in Australasia 14, in South Africa 15, in Asia 15)

Before you leave
When to go 15 – Passports and visas 16 – What to bring 19
Health 19 – Money 19 – Tourist information 19

Rail travel in Australia
Obtaining information 21 – Rail travel centres and booking offices 22
Reservations 23 – Fares 25 – Classes 26

Rail passes
The Austrail Flexipass 27 – Other passes (Great Southern Railway Pass 29, New South Wales 30 – Victoria 31 – Queensland 31 – Western Australia 32)

Major routes and services
Travelling the network 32 – Scenic routes 33

The trains
Introduction 35 – Interstate trains 37 – Other long-distance trains 47 – Suburban and interurban trains 58

Tour and itinerary options
Introduction 59 – Planning a 15-day itinerary 61 – Some 15-day
itineraries with a Flexipass 63 – Itineraries for other rail passes 73
Pre-planned packages 73 – Planning your own itinerary 76
Itinerary variations and side trips (From Sydney 76, From Melbourne 78,Melbourne to Sydney 79, Sydney to Brisbane 81, In Queensland 82)

PART 2: AUSTRALIA

Facts about the country
Geography 89 – Climate 90 – The environment 91 – History 93
Australian society today 95

Practical information for the traveller
Arriving in Australia 97 – Getting around 98 – Accommodation and eating out 98 – Time 100 – Post and telecommunications 100 – Electricity 100 – Banks and money matters 100 – Tipping 101 – Holiday periods 101 – Culture and leisure activities 102

PART 3: THE RAILWAY SYSTEM

History
Introduction 103 – The problem of different gauges 103 – Rationalization and line closures 107 – Electrification and modernization 108 – Facts and figures 109 – The public face of the system today 111

Trends and the future
Fragmentation 113 – Traffic and attitudes 113 – The future? 114

PART 4: CITY GUIDES AND PLANS

Intercapital connections 116 – Station locations 119

Sydney
Orientation 120 – What to see and do 120 – Where to stay 125 – Where to eat 125 – Day trips from Sydney 128 – Longer trips from Sydney 130

Melbourne
Orientation 131 – What to see and do 131 – Where to stay 133 – Where to eat 133 – Day trips in the suburban area 138 – Day and longer trips from Melbourne 139

Brisbane
Orientation 142 – What to see and do 142 – Where to stay 143 –
Where to eat 144 – Day trips from Brisbane 145

Adelaide
Orientation 152 – What to see and do 152 – Where to stay 153 –
Where to eat 156 – Day trips from Adelaide 156

Perth
Orientation 157 – What to see and do in central Perth 157 – Where to stay 157 – Where to eat 160 – Excursions from Perth 160

Canberra
Orientation 162 – What to see and do 163 – Where to stay and eat 164

Darwin
Orientation 165 – What to see and do 165 – Where to stay 166 – Where to eat 167

PART 5: ROUTE GUIDES AND MAPS

Using the route guide 169

Trans-Australia routes
Sydney to Darwin (via Broken Hill, Adelaide and Alice Springs) 170 – Tarcoola to Perth (across the Nullarbor) 188 – Perth to Bunbury 194

South-east Australia
Adelaide to Melbourne 196

Coastal and inland routes in Victoria
Melbourne to Ararat 200 – Geelong to Warrnambool 201 – Melbourne to Swan Hill and Echuca 203 – (Melbourne to) Seymour to Shepparton (and Cobram) 206 – Melbourne to Sale and Bairnsdale (Gippsland Line) 207

Melbourne to Sydney and branches
Melbourne to Benalla 209 – Benalla to Albury/Wodonga 210 –
Albury/Wodonga to Junee 212 – Junee to Griffith 214 – Junee to Goulburn 215 – Goulburn to Sydney 217

Sydney to northern NSW and Brisbane
Sydney to Newcastle/Maitland 218 – Maitland to Werris Creek 220 – Werris Creek to Armidale 221 – Werris Creek to Moree 222 –
The North Coast route (Maitland to Brisbane) 223

The Sunshine Route: Brisbane to Cairns
Brisbane to Bundaberg 227 – Bundaberg to Rockhampton 229 –
Rockhampton to Proserpine 231 – Proserpine to Townsville 232 –
Townsville to Cairns 233 – Cairns 235

Routes in outback Queensland
Brisbane to Charleville 237 – Rockhampton to Winton 242 – Townsville to Mount Isa 247 – Kuranda Scenic Railway 250 – Kuranda to Forsayth 251

PART 6: FOR THE ENTHUSIAST

New South Wales and Canberra 255 – Victoria 261 – Queensland 263 South Australia 270 – Western Australia 272 – Northern Territory 274 – Tasmania 274

Envoi 276

APPENDICES

A: Flexipass deadlines 277    D: Glossary of railway terms 282
B: Bibliography 280    E: Bus/rail connections 283
C: Australian English 281

TIMETABLES

1    Perth-Alice Springs-Darwin p61
The Ghan (Adelaide-Alice Springs
-Darwin) p40

2    Sydney-Melbourne-Adelaide p63

3    Sydney-Broken Hill-Adelaide p77

4    Riverina links from Main South
Line p80

5    Townsville-Ingham p84

6    Cairns-Tully p85

7    Normanton-Croydon p87

8    Sydney-Dungog-Gloucester p130

9    Geelong-Melbourne-Adelaide-
Sydney p139

10    Melbourne-Bendigo-Kerang-
Swan Hill p141

11    Cooroy and Gympie trains p151

12    Perth-Toodyay-Northam p161

13    Sydney-Newcastle-Branxton p257

14    Brisbane/Cairns to Proserpine and
Shute Harbour p265

15    Brisbane-Yandina by rail p269

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