“The Last Frontier” (Part 1 of six) chugs through Queensland in Australia's north, rugged territory of rain forests and deserts with gold and man-eating alligators. Scott McGregor hosts.
Scott discovers an amazing part of Byron Bay's rail history and relaxes at the Railway Friendly Bar before boarding the NSW Countrylink and heading south. At Newcastle, Scott jumps off the passenger services and hitches a ride on the giant Hunter Valley coal trains. We visit Scott's hideaway in Mudgee to collect a hand trike so he can take us on his favorite line to Cowra and then, finally make it to Sydney via the famous Zig Zag railway.
The journey on the Indian Pacific continues from Broken Hill to Adelaide. Scott visits the opulent Adelaide railway station before heading north on the famous Ghan passenger train to Alice Springs. He re-traces the now defunt 'Old Ghan' line and adapts to an old method of travel - camels - which carry him back through history and past many evocative place names including Oodnadatta, Marree, Farina and onto Quorn, home of the famous Pichi Richi railway. Back on the rails Scott meanders through the Flinders Ranges and finally back to Port Augusta where he awaits the Indian Pacific that will take him into Western Australia.
Scott briefly visits Cook before arriving in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, home of historic gold rushes and a pivotal location for Western Australia's rail history. After a quick stop in Perth, it's off south to timber country and the Hotham Valley railway. Here he is put to work priming steam engines for the Pinjarra to Dwellingup tourist trip. Pibara, in northern Western Australia, is Scott's next destination, where he gets a lift on one of the longest and heaviest trains running on the planet.
There's a saying that in Victoria, all lines lead to Melbourne. Unlike the other states, Victoria did not have to battle the tyranny of distance. As a result, Victoria railways have a regal nature all of their own. Scott has a number of adventures in Victoria including hiring his own tram for a tour through Melbourne, driving himself around the state in a 1920's rail car, exploring Bendigo and the goldfields of Ballarat before heading up to the Murray River and those elegant 'steam cousins' the paddle steamers. After a detour through the Victorian high country Scott finally drifts towards Port Phillip Bay before heading over to Tasmania.
The birthplace of Australian rail. It once had a thriving rail network, one of the busiest in the country however nowadays there are no passenger railways left in the state. Scott visits Queenstown and a special line called the Abt railway. As the centenary steam tour continues we venture through Port Arthur, come in contact with some very interesting locals, and experience an adventure which is one of the most remarkable of all and a memorable final installment to this landmark series.