Riverina Rail Tour

Your Riverina adventure starts at Sydney’s Central Station. Once
onboard the Aurora Australis, and either choose to relax in the
lounge carriage, or settle into your cabin while we travel south
from Sydney. Lunch will be served onboard the train today as we
travel to Goulburn, where you will have the choice from two
off-train experiences.

Option 1: Retford Park National Trust
Built in 1887 by the Hordern family and lavishly redesigned by
James Fairfax in the 1960s, Retford Park is a place of great
heritage significance located in the heart of Bowral, Gundungurra
Country.Be amazed by the ‘Portuguese Pink’ mansion while
wandering the pristine gardens dotted with sculptures and
artworks. With 60,000 artefacts, textiles, and furniture within its
collection, here enjoy a guided house tour, and a stroll around the
stunning gardens.

Option 2: Fairground Follies
The Fairground Follies at the Antique Mechanical Music Museum
features a most exciting and unique collection of fairground and
mechanical music. “Where good times of the past, make great
times for today”. An interactive experience featuring cultural
music, folk art, a 100-year-old carousel and much more. This
is an enchanting attraction, a magical place filled with music,
entertainment and history of antique mechanical music. Enjoy a
guided tour and afternoon-tea.

Following your first day of touring, rejoin your train in Moss Vale
and enjoy dinner onboard as we travel to Goulburn and stable for
the evening.

Enjoy breakfast onboard as we leave Goulburn and continue
along the Main South Line. We pass many interesting villages and
towns today as we travel through the Canola Trail, so keep an eye
out for the many grain silos adjacent to the rail line. Our train then
arrives into Junee, and there is an opportunity to watch the Loco
Runaround movement.

Our first stop for the day is the Historical Railway Museum featuring
a 100-foot turntable, showcasing steam and diesel locomotives.
The Junee Roundhouse is one of just a few surviving, working,
railway Roundhouses in the Southern Hemisphere. It is uniquely
Australian as its size, being fully circular and having a long, ‘100
foot’, turntable. While the Museum is part of the Roundhouse, the
other part, including the turntable, is still used as a diesel locomotive
servicing facility by Junee Railway Workshop.

Have you ever wanted to see what happens at a licorice factory?
Your next stop is the Junee Licorice & Chocolate factory. As soon
as you step foot in the front door you’ll be immersed in the delicious
aroma of licorice and chocolate, one of chocolatiers will talk you
through the process of licorice and chocolate production and you’ll
witness it being made before your eyes.

We then have a short drive to Coolamon where our lunch spot
awaits. Enjoy a tour with an artisan cheese maker located in the
heart of the Riverina, known for creating an innovative range of
handcrafted cheese, followed by lunch.

There is free time to wander about Coolamon town before we rejoin
the train and head onto Murrami. After dinner onboard, enjoy a
special stargazing experience in Murrami.

Today you will enjoy breakfast onboard before departing on one of
the below off-train experiences.

Option 1: Meet The Producers – Morella Grove Farm, Southern
Cotton Gin and Whitton Malt House
Nestled in the lush Riverina region of New South Wales, Morella
Grove is where the essence of nature meets Frank and his family’s
passion for excellence. This award winning producer of olive oil,
following a paddock to plate philosophy is your first stop of the
day. Morella Grove is a beacon of sustainability, in the Riverina’s
arid beauty, they practise minimal intervention, respecting and
nurturing the natural environment. Next is it a visit to Southern
Cotton, an independently owned ginning facility located in Whitton.
Consistently ranked as one of the best gins in Australia, the privately owned Southern Cotton provides fast, timely ginning for local
growers. Your tour concludes with lunch at Whitton Malt House.

Optional Upgrade: Whisky Tasting at Whitton Malt House
(limited capacity)
Try a curated selection of fine whisky’s.

Option 2: Farm & Vines – Murray Cod Farm And Calabria Wines
Specialising in producing premium pond grown Murray Cod, join a
guided tour of Murray Cod Farm, which is committed to sustainability and operates with a focus on improving the natural environment. From here, journey onto Calabria Family Wines, where you’re invited to savour the essence of the families’ wines and the warmth of their traditions. Renowned for Italian hospitality, at Calabria Family Wines you will experience a fusion of flavours and aromas through the café bar menu, new museum and sensory wall, plus explore exquisite wines and discover new favourites. Enjoy a wine-tasting and Italian shared platter style lunch.

Following your tour, rejoin the train in Yenda and travel onto Temora
where we stable overnight, enjoying another delicious dinner onboard

Breakfast this morning is onboard before experiencing Temora. Today you can choose one of two Temora tours:

Option 1: Bundawarrah Centre
Visit the Bundawarrah Centre which houses the Temora Rural
Museum. Spend the morning experiencing the history of the region
including a cottage of hardwood slabs that was Sir Donald Bradman’s first home, a one room public school, bush church, country dance hall, printery, flour mill and ambulance station. Next is the Ambulance Museum which includes ambulance vehicles and conveyances dating back to 1897.

Option 2: Temora Aviation Museum
Alternatively spend the morning exploring the Temora Aviation
Museum which was built on the site of the biggest and longest
lasting RAAF Elementary Flying Training School during World War
II. There are three main exhibit buildings to discover, the Museum
which is in the original 10 EFTS Guardhouse; the second exhibition
area, located in the Engineering Hangar overlooking the aircraft
which are currently in maintenance; and the Display Hangar which
houses the new exhibitions area along with the aircraft.

Coaches will return you to Temora Station where lunch will be
served in the dining carriage as we travel on freight only lines via
Stockinbingal. There are many freight trains to pass on this single
track line, and we are likely to experience delays. Dinner will be
served onboard the train as we travel through Parkes and onto the
Broken Hill line to Orange Rail Yard.

Enjoy breakfast as we travel from Orange and towards the Great
Dividing Range. On through Lithgow and through the 10 tunnels that
replaced the Lithgow Zig-Zag, then cross the Darling Causeway on
the way to Mount Victoria. Stopping at Mount Victoria, we disembark for a fun adventure on Lithgow’s Zig Zag Railway. Soak up the sights, smells and scenery on Australia’s historic rail adventure – the Zig Zag Railway. Established in 1869, you’ll enjoy a relaxing ride on the romantic, nostalgic, impressive steam locomotive as it hauls you over the Great Lithgow Zig Zag. With a grazing boxed lunch
provided, you’ll then have free time in Leura and Katoomba before
reboarding the train for the last leg of your Vintage Rail Journey as
we arrive back into Sydney Central Station