At last we were able to get on the train! It must have been three years ago that we watched the PBS show Great Scenic Rail Journeys when they did two episodes on the New Zealand Trains. It made a big impression on us. So as we were planning our trip we booked this train. Cyclones may delay our trip but it nothing will stop us. Ben took us to the train station and it was not surprising that the station was not manned. Ben told us not to worry and Bill would soon arrive. He was described as the ambassador of Otorohanga, so when a finely dressed gentleman in his 80s showed up with a shirt that had "Otorohanga Ambassador" stitched into it, I knew he was our man. While we waited for the train Bill told us stories of his life and of the town. He was the only person to ride down the middle of Otorohanga in a boa, (during a flood, in a wheel barrel, while the train station was being refurbished and in a taxi, he drove on the 50 plus years. We tagged out luggage boarded the train and were given our seat assignments. These seats were not acceptable as we were both on the isle and I had to sit backward to the direction of travel. We quickly got these fixed and the trip was fun. Lots of mountain peaks and river valleys. Just a few small towns along the way to see. Sheep were in abundance as well as cattle. There were only two tunnels and as we approached Tongariro National Park we went through the famous Raurimu spiral. This is a series of circular turns that allows the train to pass over its pervious track and gain the altitude needed to get to the volcanic uplands
Our Train station in Otorohanga was much nicer than the one in Auckland
Kiwi town
It is Bill!
Farms
Birds, these are Australian Swamphens
Our train was only five or six cars long
Tractors
Lush green feilds
Long vistas
One waterfall
The hills got bigger as out river valley got narrower
Some timber was still standing
These deer were surprised to see the train
We went through the tunnel and came out into a bigger river valley
Our train car
One tiny house
The highlands int he distance
Replanting after clear cutting the timber
Limestone formations
More forest as we got closer to the park
Rocks mixed with sheep on the summit
Lots of sheep
We crossed over the rivers many times
A basket for crossing the river
The only town of any size that we passed through
We stopped at the station and they had commemorative plaques
From way back in time
The narration told us about a classic New Zealand song "Taumarunui; On the Main Trunk Line"
This last river got progressively bigger as we followed its path
Steep banks
The cliffs were white but I suspect they were volcanic in origin
A cool flowing river
The valley is spreading out
The mountains are in sight
A big swamp harrier was flying next to the train
Rocky river
Cotton field
A road ran along the tracks
The Engineer
Starting to gain altirude
Kiwi Rail
Bee hives alogn the spiral
We came out of this tunnel and will be traveling over it
Almost to the top
Top of the spiral
The mountains !
In the shuttle bus
Our destination
