'Murder on the Rattler Express' Is the New Queensland Train Tour Combining Sightseeing and Sleuthing
Don your best 1920s outfit and get immersed in a murder mystery while you journey through the Mary Valley.
Riding the rails is one of the best ways to see a new destination, as anyone who has ever caught a train through Japan or across Europe already knows. Staring out the window isn't the only thing to do on some locomotive journeys, however. Mexico has an all-you-can drink tequila train tour, for instance — and now Queensland's Mary Valley region is launching its first murder-mystery train tour.
Murder on the Rattler Express is the themed railway trip you can take even while you can't leave the country — and an excuse to see a part of the Queensland you mightn't have ventured to otherwise, too. Yes, it's basically the Mary Valley Rattler's version of Murder on the Orient Express. When Agatha Christie's book was turned into a movie again a few years back, these type of events were always bound to pop up. Sequel Death on the Nile is due to release in cinemas next year as well, so consider this your excuse to get sleuthing again in the interim.
Dressing up, trying to solve a murder, scoping out the sights, sipping drinks, eating dinner: they're all part of the ride. And if it all sounds a bit familiar — other than from your reading and watching — you might be thinking of the 13-hour escape room train trip that recreated Murder on the Orient Express en route from Helsinki to Rovaniemi in 2017.
For this Queensland-based opportunity to step into Hercule Poirot's shoes — or to emulate whichever other detective you prefer — you'll need to don your 1920s-style finest, pretend you're in Hollywood a century ago and enjoy an onboard gala soiree. Of course, that's when the murder-mystery component of the trip starts. You know how it works from there, with each passenger becoming a character in the story and charged with trying to work out who offs someone on the journey.
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After departing from Gympie Station, attendees will travel to the village of Amamoor, which is where the fictional murder will take place. Then, you'll spend the return leg unleashing your inner Sherlock. Afterwards, at the Rusty Rails Cafe back at Gympie Station, the culprit will be revealed over a two-course dinner — with tickets to take part costing $195 per person.
Murder on the Rattler Express makes its debut on Friday, August 13 from Gympie Station, Tozer Street, Gympie. For further information — or to book — head to the Mary Valley Rattler website.
