#SheTravels: Brisbane To Taree NSW By Train – Ruth Greening

The suggestion to meet up with my writing colleagues for a two weeks mini-treat in a town called Old Bar needed answers to only two questions. Where is Old Bar and how do I get there? 

A brief online search set me in the right direction and provided quick answers to my queries. Old Bar is a mid-coastal town in NSW,  a short drive from the Taree train station. Wonderful, I was able to travel directly from Brisbane to Taree by train. I booked my seat, excited by the prospect of seeing the countryside as we crossed the Queensland-NSW border. 

Travelling by Train

I love train travel and admittedly do more in Europe than I do in Australia. So this year I have already decided to see more of my country by rail. Our writing retreat was the perfect opportunity to travel interstate by train. It worked out well, I was able to sightsee, read, crochet, eat and chat with interesting people with a mini nap slotted in.  

To prepare I Googled  “book train from Brisbane to Taree NSW”  as my friends advised this was the closest station to Old Bar. Booking was online and I was taken directly to the NSW Trainlink Train. 

On the XPT train, there is the option of economy or first class.  I elected first class as the seat reclines and there is more legroom. Given the pricing, why wouldn’t you go for comfort? Baggage limits are 20kg for suitcases and hand luggage 10kg with no provision for excess luggage and is the same for both classes. 

With the seniors discount my fare was $141.80 return which I thought was amazing. The XPT was fabulous it has large windows, and clean toilets and the buffet dining was great. They provide good-sized card box box trays to take back to your seat. On the way down I had a roast lunch, it tasted as if home home-baked. 

Departure from Roma St Brisbane was 6 am. Being a newbie to interstate rail travel I arrived at the station by taxi around 5 am. Roma St is undergoing major construction and unsure where to go I didn’t want to take the risk of being late. Also, the check-in baggage section closes at 5.30 am. All went smoothly and I was impressed by how simple it was to find Platform 3. 

The waiting area was clean and comfortable for a chilly winter morning. I had to seek out the check-in section as it was on the platform itself and I am assuming it is temporary until the underground renovations are completed. The only item I missed was choosing my seat number. I was allocated an aisle seat.  I had two people sit next to me during some of the stops. Interesting the train master in Taree advised it was best to call them to book and then I could choose my seat. 

The trip down took around 8 hours and 40 minutes. The time seemed to fly and with the reclining seat, I was comfortable. We had around eleven stops which were brief and efficient. The stops included Kyogle, Casino, Grafton, Coffs Harbour, Yerunga, Sawtell, Nambucca Heads, Macksville, Waupole and Kendall. 

The staff were friendly and helpful, such a bonus. I was captured by the changing landscape as I left tropical palm trees transcending into semi-tropical flora. Sugar plantations, herds of cattle and horses with a few sheep flashed by. The landscape quickly turned to fields of yellow grass, scribbly gum trees and bright yellow wattle, yet there remains a hint of the tropics in the northern section of NSW. It is a superb luscious part of the state. 

Mid-coast NSW

The name Old Bar comes from the shifting sands where the river meets the sea, surrounded by dazzling white sand. It has a population of approximately 4500 people, it is located around 18 kilometres east of Taree and it takes 15-20 minutes to drive to the Taree train station in NSW. It is the most picturesque delightful town near the beach. I understood why the area is well-known for its surfing beaches. 

I witnessed with envy as the perfect rolling waves reached the shoreline and wished I had my Bob McTavish longboard with me. It has been a while since I surfed but these waves for little old me were my ideal. Not too high and a long surf to shore. The beach is patrolled during the summer months and the local Surf Lifesaving Club is perfectly located on the beach. 

To treat ourselves to a needed break from hours of writing, we visited some of the local destinations. They were no more than half an hour’s drive from Old Bar. 

Forster, named after William Forster the 4th Premier of New South Wales, has a population about double that of Old Bar, also known for its stunning waters and beaches such as One Mile Beach. The area was well known in the early days for its timber-cutting sawmills. Timber was collected from the lakes and rivers by log punts which are flat-bottomed wooden boats with no keel and very manoeuvrable in shallow waters. 

There is a bridge, built in 1959, over the Coolongolook River that marks the entrance to Wallis Lake and Links Forster and the smaller town of Toncurry (meaning ‘plenty of fish’). Before the bridge, a punt service had been operating since 1890. 

There are many stunning places to visit such as Black Head Beach where there is an outdoor swimming pool, and Wallabi Point Beach. I wished I was staying longer.

Coming home to Brisbane

The return trip from Taree was overnight with an 8 pm departure time. It meant I could sleep for a few hours although on this leg bedsitters were not available. Due to track work, we were advised that the final leg of the trip would be by road coach. It was a seamless change over at Casino and the trip from there to Roma St was pleasant. I managed to doze off for about 1.5 hours. On arrival I was lucky, there was a taxi waiting at the ramp.

The life of a retiree is about travelling mid-week. I highly recommend regional train travel and already considering my next destination. 

https://transportnsw.info/regional/regional-train-coach-facilities/xpt-regional-trains

https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2016/SSC13073

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forster,_New_South_Wales