As an early Mothers Day present, Marco and Suzie purchased VIP tickets aboard the Mary Valley Rattler. The train departs from the old Gympie Railway Station that has been restored to its former glory. The train is run by volunteer workers and it is really a credit to them as to how professionally everything operates.
Our journey was the annual "Bushrangers" ride where people were invited to dress in period costume. Many did and put a lot of effort into their costume. The bushrangers come riding along the track on their trusty steeds and ambush the train at one of the stops. When they board the train they go from carriage to carriage demanding, at gunpoint, the gold that we are given as we board the train.
Waiting for us, on entry to our cabin, is a delicious tray of snacks including cheese, salami, pickles, grapes, chocolates, biscuits both sweet and savoury. It was a meal in itself but at our destination lunch stop at Amamoor Station, we were handed a lunch pack that consisted of Thai Beef Salad and Chicken Nachos! Everything was soooo delicious.
Once we reached Amamoor Station the train is detached from the carriages and turned around on a giant turntable. I have seen these operate previously and the process still amazes me.
Amamoor is a very cute little village that consists of nothing more than a general store but a couple of the locals have set up produce stalls that are well patronised. I didn't see anything that I needed.
On the journey to Amamoor our carriage was the second from the front so of course on the return we were second from the back. It was certainly a lot rougher on the return journey but still very enjoyable. I would thoroughly recommend the Mary Valley Rattler if you are in the Gympie area. It is a unique experience that embraces the early days of steam travel. There were certainly bushrangers in this area at the turn of the century and even though our bushrangers were "pretend", it would have been terrifying for travellers back then.
No comments:
Post a Comment