Choo Choo.
We are heading to Puffing Billy.
When the boys heard that they were going to ride a steam engine ala Thomas the train during our Melbourne holiday trip,they were excited.
Puffing Billy is Melbourne century old steam engine train located outside the city at Dandenong range. Touted as one of Melbourne attraction for kids, we had made this our first day trip experience for this trip.
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| Australian Scones |
Is the train like Thomas the train? is it blue? Got a lot of smoke ?
Well we will soon find out!
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| Grants |
Our day trip was booked from
Melbourne's Best Tour. We chose this tour agency as it had good review on
tripadvisor as well being one of the easier tour to book online.
Compared to the huge buses that lined up along Federation Square, our bus ride was tiny . However we have only a group of nine, so travelling in a smaller group suited us. We set off at 8am on the dot from Federation Sqaure to our Choo Choo Adventure.
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| Grant |
The first stop was at Grant on Sherbrooke , about an hour ride from the city. This quaint little tea house was where we had our breakfast of scones and tea. As we were in a smaller group, we reached the destination earlier than those travelling on larger tour buses such as ATT Kings.
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| White Parrots |
The stop itself is touted as an attraction as there are plenty of parrots around. Stopover lasted about 30 mins. Good short stop for photos to add to your holiday collections.
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| Puffing Billy Railway |
After 10 minutes, our next stop was Belgrave station.Here we took the train through forested areas for one station to Menzie's creek. The train actually travels much longer to Lakeside station , but for tours, we are only given a ride to Meinaie's creek lasting about 30 minutes.
So it was not a blue train, but rather a red cheery machine puffing out steam that greeted us. The boys were not disappointed despite the colour.
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| Choo Choo |
A single trip ride to Menzie's creek cost Aud 21.5 per adult. However if you are travelling by car, consider a round trip all the way to lakeside and back at Aud 49 per adult.
Full rates
can be found here.
So what was so special about a train ride?
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| All aboard ! |
The ride itself was the highlight. You have the option of sticking your legs out of the carriage for the trip. An option the Wackies wasted no time to do.
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| Bye bye Mr conductor. |
Get your cameras ready as you go. You would not want to miss the shot of the train going over a wooden bridge . This was probably the 'scariest' moment of the trip.
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| Over wooden bridge |
For most of the trip, you will be passing through lush forest. Look up and you may spot a wild animal or two.
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| Stick out your legs! |
The ride is safe enough for children 3 and above. Train speed is only 15 miles per hour. We do suggest you to hang on to them tightly just in case they fall out!
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| Riding the Puffing Billy |
We were kind of hoping the ride to be a little longer. However since we were on the tour package, the adventure ended too soon. Our bums were barely warm up during the trip.
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| Menzie's Creek |
The tour ended with a quick stopover in a little village shop. By 1pm we had reached Federation Square.
The Puffing Billy was an interesting experience. Although it was a tad short, nonetheless it was something we have not done before. Holidays are all about experiencing new things, exploring new places and build new memories. Thus Puffing Billy ticks off all of these boxes
Trips from Melbourne Day tour cost $95 per adult and $47 per child . Child under 3 goes for free ( without a seat on the bus). Trip includes Devonshire Tea and scone. Trip are supposed to complete at Federation Square, but our driver was kind enough to let us down at Melbourne Museum.
And before we forget, Thomas the train will make a special appearance this Spring at Puffing Billy! If you are planning a trip from 18 Oct to 16 Nov on the weekends, you will be in for a treat!
Details here.
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