3 Feb: Fancy Pants and Fine Dining On The Q Train

After one too many sightings of the Q train as we pedaled, huffing and puffing, along the Bellarine Rail Trail we decided we had to find out what the fuss was all about. We booked a ticket, put on our fancy pants, and hopped aboard the Q train for a gastronomic journey around the Bellarine Peninsula. To add to the novelty the train was pulled by a very photogenic steam locomotive which had been beautifully restored by the Geelong Steam Preservation Society.

Warning: there are a lot of train and food pictures coming up.

The Q train carriages were once the Sunlander, carrying Queenslanders up and down the coast between Brisbane and Cairns. Now repainted, refurbished, and furnished with linen tablecloths and sparkling wine glasses, they provided a cosy place for fancy pants people like us to eat fancy food, drink fancy drinks, and generally feel very fancy.

Q for Queensland and Queenscliff.

 

The loco was busy working up a full head of steam when we arrived at the Queenscliff station. We met our waiter, Daniel, and were shown to our seats and given our appetisers. Like everyone else, we quickly abandoned our drinks in our cubicle, and ran around taking steam train photos. A strong, cold wind blew, making the steam even more impressive and the cabins even cosier.

 

 

First and second course saw us amble along beside Swan Bay, dividing our attention between the food and the view. Daniel introduced us to each course with a detailed and enthusiastic menu-related spiel and a first name introduction to the wine/beer/mocktails that had been carefully curated to complement the cuisine.

Swan Bay from the train.

More cutlery than I'd seen in a long time.

Post appetizer, pre first course.

More from the train.

 

We had barely swallowed second course before we stopped at Suma Park, where we all got out to stretch our legs.  

 

 

Much better dressed this time.

The train very considerately backed up and then did a drive by with maximum puff for photography purposes, the wait staff becoming quite stressed with the additional responsibility of keeping hordes of camera-wielding fancy-pants-wearing well-fed culinary tourists from being run down by the very train they were endeavouring to photograph.

 

 

 The end of third course coincided with the end of the line at Drysdale.  We might have been noshing our little heads off but the train had been working hard and needed water, while the wait staff had to deliver a packed lunch to the loco crew who, believe it or not, had also been working hard.  We all milled around on the platform and took steam train photos again, and the loco crew hammed it up for the cameras.

 

 

Once the loco was fed and watered there was naught to do but settle back into our seats for courses four and five on the downhill run back to Queenscliff. Thankfully the train stopped beside the bay for us all to gobble down the final morsels enjoy the view one last time before pulling in to Queenscliff and rolling off the train with our belts a few notches tighter than when we got on. Not that that stopped us from taking the complimentary red velvet truffle which was pressed upon us as we left, though.

 

Our friendly waiters: guess which one is Daniel and which one introduced us to lots of menu items and never told us her name?

 

The final train photo.

Dessert.

We returned to our Airbnb and had a little nap. I went for a walk but what with the cold wind and showers I was soon home again.

We skipped tea. It didn't feel the same without Daniel there to introduce us to our dinner, and for some reason we weren't very hungry.