The Savannahlander is more than a train. Its a step back into the past into the great traditions of bush rail travel. It is the antidote to all the robust commercialism of the Cairns holiday scene.

"All aboard!" Set your watches back 40 years. Relax and enjoy.

A two carriage rail motor of 1960's vintage, this is no luxury train. Leather bench seats are surprising and the leg room spacious. Air conditioning is the open window. Refreshments are beer and coke, served by the relief driver at the rear of the carriage from a iced bucket.

Food is packets of chips.

The train departs Cairns weekly for Almaden where you stay in the pub for the night then proceed south west to the old mining towns of Einsaleigh and Forsayth (another pub night).

The return journey overnights at Mt. Surprise (yes-another pub) with a 10 hour journey back to Cairns the next day.

This is a historic line built to serve a mining boom at the turn of the century. A mixed goods train ran to Forsayth once a week until 3 years ago. One carriage at the end of the trucks was kept full by hardy travellers intent on experiencing one of Australia's last genuine bush lines. They kept up the tradition and convinced the Queensland Government to keep the line open in the interests of tourism.

Now it's more comfortable. However a return journey will mean at least 3 nights in bush pubs or you can combine it with a visit to the famous lava tubes at Undarra - the longest lava tubes in the world, which as they say, is another story.

The little train appears lost on the long platform of a gloomy Cairns Station so early on a glorious tropic morn and immediatley one doubts the wisdom of attempting the journey. Such doubts quickly disappear as the train picks up speed through leafy suburbs and scented tropical airs waft in through the windows. And isn't it good seeing people driving to work when your on holiday!

Soon we begin to climb the famous scenic route along the Barron Gorge to Kuranda, stopping of course for photos, then the little train gathering speed, sweeps through rainforest to the flat fields of the Atherton Tableland and the town of Mareeba.

Soon the countryside becomes more rugged. Under wide open skies the train picks up a roll, rocking onwards through an unpopulated land. The journey becomes hypnotic, the driver's announcements in a laconic, broad Queensland accent gets lost in the breeze, and one wonders what could possible lie ahead in this wild land. Time for a drink.

Now its the mango fields of Dimbulah and as I nod off the driver takes a "smoko" at Lappa Juction where the ruins of the Espanol Hotel, built by Spanish Barbara is full of relics of another era.

Another lazy hour, or was it two, comes Almaden the overnight destination. This sleepy hamlet where horses and cows wander the main road sounds Spanish but is indeed a local Aboriginal name. It was the junction of the line to the Chillagoe copper mines. Over the road is the Railway Hotel with an unpromising facade of a stark Western Queensland Hotel. But in fact it's a little paradise with green and leafy gardens, abundant bird life and good tucker and beer. And a comfy bed.

From here you can take a tour to Chillagoe to fill in the afternoon, find a shady tree for the rest of the day or talk to the horses in the street.

Next morning the track enters true Savannah country away from any roads. The siren warns cattle to clear the track, kangaroos bound along in rhythm, galahs rise up in white storms from clumps of trees and eagles soar above. Forgotten townships and mine sites slip by. The driver calls "smoko" at a bower bird mound and then later to stretch our legs along a river bed.

This is the art of real travel. Take a book. And a good friend if your lucky. The bush rolls by at a leisurely pace. Fresh breezes fan through the windows. The day develops its own rhythm.

Perhaps the last few hours are the best as the track winds through the granite country of the Newcastle Range. Here during the wet season waterfalls pour down the granite cliffs.

The terminus is Forsayth, a bush town with a dozen or so mango munching cows and 70 odd people. The Goldfields Hotel is the overnight stop. The last of five pubs that quenched miners thirst in a brief but rich gold rush. Your sure to meet some genuine Aussie characters here.

From Forsayth there are tours to the Cobbold Gorge just 50 km south.

My suggestion:
Take the train from Cairns to Forsayth. On the return hop off at Mt Surprise and enjoy a night at Undarra Lava Lodge and experience those marvellous lava tubes. Then take a bus back to Cairns or a flight if your well heeled.