Experience the Dandenongs

If you’re nodding, you’ll be a jazz fan, so have you got your diary handy?  What are you doing on the evening of Fri June 22^nd?  I hope you’re free, because we’ve got a gorgeous winter’s night out of beloved jazz for you.

Buy a ticket for Puffing Billy’s Jazz Train and your night’s entertainment starts the minute you arrive on the platform, where the Mast Gully Quartet are playing away alongside Puffing Billy, as you’re passed a glass of bubbles.

Once you’re all aboard the first class train carriages, it’s time for a lovely journey through the Dandenong Ranges aboard a toasty warm train carriage journey, sipping on your soup as you go.

When you arrive at the beautifully restored historic Packing Shed, choose from an incredible selection of roast meats at the carvery and enjoy a sit down dinner in front of a roaring open fire … and more live jazz.  Some people even take to the dance floor!  So as you can see, it makes for a pretty special night for jazz lovers.

There were jazz fans who’d come all the wayfrom Sydney, dining at our table the night I went, and a couple on a table nearby got engaged which had the whole room singing and cheering.  Like I said, it’s a pretty special night out for everyone – lovers of jazz, fine food and wine and of course the timeless beauty of travelling by steam train.  Book now to avoid missing out.

Helen Collier is a local writer in the Yarra Valley with her own business JustWords

A day excursion to Emerald Lake Park aboard Puffing Billy Steam Train ticks all the boxes for a fun affordable family day out, available every day during the Easter Holidays.

What will be your highlight?  Will it be:

- Hanging your legs out over the side of Puffing Billy and waving to the cars at the train crossings?
- The walks through the park, testing your strength at the outdoor gym area, with two playground areas for the kids to enjoy?
- Visiting the model railway village, the largest of its type in the Southern Hemisphere
- Taking a paddle boat out on the lake if the weather’s nice, (but trying not to crash)?
- Fishing at Emerald Park Lake (remember to have your license on you)? or
- BBQ-ing your freshly caught fish at one of the free BBQs at the park (maybe pack a picnic just in case the fish aren’t biting)?

Once you’re all happily exhausted, and its time to head for home, hop back on board Puffing Billy and enjoy the gentle scenic train journey back through the lush scenery of the Dandenongs to Belgrave Station.

Family Fares (for up to 2 adults, and up to 4 children) make this really affordable, especially as you can spend the whole day there, with so many fun things to do at the park.  And Family Fares are considered an ‘open return’ so you can just come back when you’re ready.  It couldn’t be easier – you don’t even need to book.  So if you wake to a glorious sunny day, just grab your family and friends and head on over.  People even come up from Melbourne on the train to Belgrave Station – and then walk across to climb aboard Puffing Billy.

It’s funny, but what people love most about goingon Puffing Billy, is being allowed to sit with their legs dangling over the side of the train, because where else can you do that in this bureaucratic age?  Most of the ‘fun’ activities we remember from our carefree childhood days are no longer allowed.

So…take a trip on Puffing Billy this Easter and treasure the freedom to sit as you please, legs dangling or not, and enjoy a treat from the bygone days of yesteryear.

Helen Collier is a local writer in the Yarra Valley with her own business JustWords

Are you on the look out for something different to do with your family and friends, located in majestic surrounds but easy to get to and which involves eating and drinking fantastic food & wine?

I have just the thing for you…a food & wine lovers’ journey on a steam train!

The team at Puffing Billy Railway have been planning this meticulously for months, as it’s a pretty special, unique event.  Everyone’s ensuring this historic steam train is in tip top condition, gleaming and shining, ready for a rather magic evening of Steam & Cuisine.

Over in the Yarra Valley, Simon Napthine of TarraWarra Estate and Allan Nalder of Helen’s Hill Winery have finalised their

wine lists and are busy preparing their notes which they’ll share with Puffing Billy’s passengers about their locally grown wines. Most importantly, they’re practicing the art of pouring wine on a moving steam train!  Cameras at the read folks…

Over in Tecoma, local produce is being discussed with our caterers.  Chicken, beef tenderloin, sun dried tomatoes, pine nuts, fetta, spinach and the freshest seasonal vegetables will all be required to make dishes worthy of being served alongside the fine wines being poured aboard Puffing Billy for the evening of Steam & Cuisine.

The heritage dining carriages will be waiting at the platform well in time for this special departure at 7.00pm.

Word is getting around about this opportunity to have an exclusive wine tasting onboard such a historic steam train.  It’s known as the Puffing Billy Steam & Cuisine Wine Train and it’s a must for food and wine lovers.

I’m just worried that you’ll miss out – after all, the Steam & Cuisine Wine Train only operates on two nights; Friday 10 February with TarraWarra Estate and Friday 9 March with Helen’s Hill Winery.  Sue in Puffing Billy’s Customer Service Centre has already started taking bookings and chances are they’ll sell fast.  You can visit www.puffingbilly.com.au for more information.  You can make a booking online or just call Sue on 9757 0700.

Well… gotta go… I’ve got a booking to make!  See you on Puffing Billy.

www.experienceyarravalley.com.au

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This is a guest blog from Puffing Billy Steam Railway and written by Kine Haugland

A friend of mine recently jumped out of a plane skydiving for her birthday.  She’s 40.  Up until then I thought she and I had a lot in common and that she was fairly normal.  That was until I heard her first words once she’d landed were “Yeah, mmm, it was OK I spose, pretty good view.”  We’ve since decided she must have been born without an

adrenaline gland poor love.  No screaming and yelling and thoughts of death, lips flapping, gasping for breath for her!!  So, no point buying her a voucher for Xmas for the new 240 meter long flying foxes that the guys from Trees Adventure have just installed up at Lake Mountain.  

But she’s missing out, isn’t she?  Because back in Belgrave at Trees Adventure loads of you have been booking your adrenaline flights through the trees in the lead up to Xmas.  And it’s not just the height thing with the flying foxes, there are walls of webbing to get stuck in and skate boards to balance on, on thin bits of wire, in mid air!!!  So…if you want to challenge yourself, (and you know you do), you need to book ahead – especially with the holiday season starting soon – because bookings are essential. 

They are open 7 days a week (Monday to Friday from 11am to 5pm and Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 5pm).  

Go on, book it, don’t stop and think about it.  If I can do it – and I’m the biggest coward out there – you can too.  Now, what to buy my poor fearless friend for Xmas… 

www.experiencethedandenongs.com.au

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Helen Collier is a local writer in the Yarra Valley with her own business JustWords

I went on a flying fox the other day.  And the fox was really good about it, he didn’t seem to mind at all!  No one warned me how loudly it would make me shriek.  Nic Dansin, the rock climber who set up Trees Adventure, told me that shrieking is optional, but not for me it wasn’t. 

It is a brilliant concept.  The course has been set up within this extraordinary beautiful garden called Glen Harrow Gardens in Belgrave (right next to Puffing Billy).  So you really get to appreciate your surroundings and the height of some of the ancient trees as you climb to the top of the 12m platform, ready to launch yourself off into the middle of the tree canopy. And you get to see and

hear birds all around you and then Puffing Billy lets off steam nearby!  It was such fun and I realised you don’t have to be an adrenaline junky to enjoy it.  I’m a massive coward and I had a ball.  You don’t just wiz through the air on a flying fox, you stagger across ropes and webbing and unstable logs that wobble more, the more weight you place on them.  More shrieking.

And I kept thinking what a great Xmas pressie it would make – I’d love to get a Trees Voucher – hint hint.  It’d be the perfect gift for my friends who think they are tough.  Or for my friends’ kids who for once won’t be told off for climbing things.  For a group of colleagues as a team building day?  Or for that friend who’s impossible to buy for because they have everything in life.  If you’re still not convinced, click here to see what Getaway made of it all…

www.experiencethedandenongs.com.au

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Helen Collier is a local writer in the Yarra Valley with her own business JustWords

It is a well-known fact that the Melbourne International Film Festival (or ‘MIFF’ for those more versed in its catchier acronym) has been entertaining crowds in Melbourne for almost sixty years, and is now recognised as one of the largest international film festivals in Australia, if not the world. It is a lesser-known fact, however, that this hugely influential film festival has its roots firmly embedded about 45 kilometres from Melbourne’s CBD in the leafy Dandenong Ranges.

I recently discovered that the first ever MIFF was actually staged in the hill-top town of Olinda in 1952, to a much larger than expected crowd of 600 people. And although MIFF now has become a world-wide name within film circles, it seems that the traditions of quality film and cinematography live on in the Dandenong Ranges to this day through the much acclaimed Hillside Film Festival.

One of the most popular and exciting events in the Dandenong Ranges, the Hillside Film Festival celebrates their sixth anniversary this February 19. The festival brings together a collection of short films from Victoria’s best short film makers under 30. Showcasing short films from both local and state-wide up and coming filmmakers, the festival has grown into one of the most unique and prestigious short film festivals in Victoria, being judged by some of the industry’s most prolific professionals.

The festival takes place at the Cameo’s Outdoor Cinema, set amongst the leafy backdrop of the Dandenongs’ biggest creative hub, Belgrave. A huge art, creative and music scene is one of the features of this bustling town, which you may hear many a local claim to be the unofficial capital of the Dandenongs.

With your own personal headphones and relaxing deckchair provided, the outdoor cinema space is the perfect backdrop for the festival. BYO food and drink – another fantastic feature, which means you can bring your own picnic and bubbly. Live music kicks off the night, and it concludes with Hillside’s own after-party at the gorgeous Earthly Pleasures Cafe across the road. All in all, the Hillside Film Festival is an amazing way to see a great collection of home-grown up and coming talent in an equally amazing location.

The Hillside Film Festival takes place this weekend, Saturday the 19^th February from 7pm at the Cameo Cinema, 1628 Burwood Highway Belgrave. Tickets are available at hillsidefilmfestival.com or Cameo Cinemas on +61 3 9754 7844.