Introducing the Great Southern’s New Off Train Experiences
Did you know the Great Southern turns five this year? To celebrate the rail journey's fifth birthday, we're excited to reveal three new Off Train Experiences: Fallen Giants Vineyard, the Hunter Valley Helicopter experience, and the National Gallery of Victoria.
If you’re chasing the summer sun and travelling up the east coast to Brisbane, you’ll visit the Grampians (Gariwerd). Known for beautiful landscapes, rugged sandstone escarpments, high rocky plateaus and sheltered gullies, the Grampians have inspired works by Australian writers, poets, photographers and painters. The new Off Train Experience here is a visit to Fallen Giant Wines, a family-owned winery and vineyard producing award-winning cool-climate wines. Here you’ll enjoy a guided tour around the winery and sample local produce and the best organic wines in the region. The rest of the afternoon is spent in an alfresco venue framed by vines and mountains.
If you decide to travel down the east coast being wined and dined from Brisbane to Adelaide, you’ll have two new Off Train Experiences to choose from. The first is in the Hunter Valley, one of Australia’s major wine regions, with a viticultural history dating back to the early 1800s. If you’re someone who likes to take to the skies, you can do so with the new Hunter Valley Helicopter upgrade experience. The afternoon begins with a cellar-door tasting at Brokenwood Wines and Twine Restaurant before a spectacular 15-minute helicopter flight over Hunter Valley. You’ll soar over Broken Back Range to see Pokolbin State Forest, Hunter Valley Gardens and the rolling green hills of the valley.
The second new Off Train Experience on this route is in Melbourne, Australia’s cultural capital. Here, guests can now choose to visit the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), the oldest and most-visited gallery in Australia, to take a guided tour and learn about the current exhibitions and permanent collection, which houses works by Rembrandt, Picasso, Dali, Degas and more.
The Great Southern is a spectacular epicurean adventure that travels the east coast. The Off Train Experiences offered as part of the journey showcase the best of the region with something for every mood, taste and traveller. Book your Great Southern summer adventure today.