By Caz Parker
‘An itinerary without train travel is very lacklustre,’ says Tim Fischer (former deputy prime minister), who returned to Byron this week to speak at the Byron Writers Festival. Describing his last trip to Byron he says, ‘I loved the beaches and hinterland but was very sad to see the rusty train tracks. I’m glad to hear light rail is coming to Byron.’
Mr Fischer is a prolific author whose works include Transcontinental Train Odyssey. The Ghan. The Khyber. The Globe and Trains Unlimited, in the 21st Century. He says, ‘You can enjoy the relaxation of train travel on every continent in the world’.
‘I really urge people… don’t stay in Venice [Italy]! It’s expensive, and you can’t roll your trolley bags on the cobblestones. It’s far better to stay in nearby Padova, thirty minutes away by fast train, and commute to Venice. You’ll save an extra $1,000 on accommodation to spend on shopping. Scott McGregor (of Railway Adventures) and I proved this two months ago and it works an absolute treat.’
He recommends the European Alps for dramatic scenery: ‘You can catch a train right up to the base of the Matterhorn and just be in awe. Train travel is the best of the best, to indulge and relax.’
For train-travel dining, he describes the majestic palace Le Train Bleu Restaurant, in the heart of Gare De Lyon train station in Paris, as ‘the best train restaurant in the world’.
Mr Fischer, who is also the former chair of Tourism Australia, shared some of his recommendations of closer-to-home destinations: the towering sandstone cliffs of Carnarvon Gorge, Queensland; Bright in Victoria, and the scenic Great Alpine Road to Mount Hotham; Deloraine, Tasmania, complete with cheeses; Port Augusta, South Australia, and the historic Pichi Richi Railway; Albany, Western Australia, with its National Anzac Centre and beautiful harbour.
‘The southbound Ghan Expedition is as good as an experience as anywhere is in the world,’ he says. The four-day epic train journey travels through remote Australia, from Darwin to Adelaide, with whistle stops at Katherine Gorge, Alice Springs and opal-mining capital Coober Pedy. It is complete with private cabins and luxury dining, and Mr Fischer is adamant the Ghan experience is a trip of a lifetime.
And his favourite NSW destination? Trainless though it may be at present – Cape Byron.
It is good to see Tim Fischer is still endorsing rail travel. When I worked for our aid program the travel staff were often rather amused and sometimes dismissive when I chose to travel by bus or train interstate rather than spending more money flying. When Mr Fischer became one of our Ministers though they learned that he too preferred rail for official travel. I note too he is endorsing the planned tourist tram to Bangalow. I support him in that , and welcome comments from Tramlink that it is intended to take tourists out of the Bay and show them some of the beautiful hinterland and that while it is not intended as a commuter service it might be possible to complement bus services into the Bay (my views are on record that I believe those who want a more sustainable and equitable transport should support the bus-based approaches outlined in the NR Regional Transport Plan). I found it disappointing then that the Trainlink management do not take the same generous approach of Mr Fischer to those who want to develop cycle tourism in the area, to the point of making some absurdly exaggerated comments denigrating the rail trail proposal. I read on their site their comment on the recent rail trail proposal: “…the point here is Mur’bah railway station is not in the main part of town so anyone using the rail trail won’t be putting anything back into that community.” Having walked to town many times from the lovely turn of the century house my great-grandmother built in South Murwillumbah, I knew this was nonsense (it is about a kilometre – a few minutes on a bike from the station to the centre of town. I pointed this out to TrainLink, and suggested that cyclists would be likely to spend their average $200 a day in Murwillumbah and expressed my disappointment that they took such a negative view of other tourist efforts. For my trouble, and perhaps also for responding to other comments with views in support of the bus-based approaches of the regional transport plan, it appears I have been banned from posting on their site! My Great-grandmother was the first European women to live in the Stokers Siding area and her husband helped to build that rail line. Those pioneers brought to the Northern Rivers a neighbourly co-operation that I know many other residents of the region value today. Cycle touring is a form of tourism that one would expect would complement their operation very well). It would be good if train-based tourist operators could work with those wanting to develop cycle tourism and come up with some win-win solutions on the use of the train corridor in the same spirit of cooperation that our pioneers brought to the area.
I loved Tims comment ‘I caught a fast train away from Venice’. In NSW a fast train is a train with an average speed above 85km/hr!