We *heart* Puffing Billy
In my opinion, no childhood is complete without breathing in the fresh damp mountain air, swinging your legs outside the moving carriage of Puffing Billy, hearing that infamous “toot” echo in the hills, and getting covered in small particles of soot!
Where and When: multiple stations and timetables, click here to visit the very extensive website.
Cost: one-way Belgrave to Lakeside: Adults $22, Child $11, under 3 free
After taking the kids for a day trip to the mountains, that included a ride along half of the Puffing Billy track (husband dropped us at Belgrave and met us at Emerald Lakeside) my childhood enthusiasm was rekindled – it was even better than I remembered. The one-hour journey was over all too quickly.
The survival (and continuing operation) of Puffing Billy is a credit to the hundreds of volunteers who keep it on the tracks.
If you want to avoid getting a little soot in your eyes (it didn’t bother the kids) wear sunglasses or try and get a carriage near the back or don’t stick your head out like me! Oh and if you want to get a photo with the driver – make sure you head straight down to say hello as we were the first to do so and then the engine was uncoupled, so I think only one other was as lucky as us!
Want to know more about things to do when you arrive at Emerald Lake? Click here for our review.
What about other things to do in the Dandenong Ranges – click here.
[…] Emerald Lake Park and Puffing Billy […]
[…] any season this park is a beautiful destination. Emerald Lake is a major station for Puffing Billy and one of the best ways to escape a hot summers […]