Train trips and holidays just seem to go together, and today we enjoyed two excursion train trips. Our first trip was leaving from the historic Dunedin Station. After booking in and receiving our seat numbers, it was all aboard the Seasider to travel up the main trunk line for a two hour journey to Palmerston. This section of the line was completed in 1879, and the carriages were pulled by a DJ diesel electric locomotive.
Our carriage had panoramic windows which gave excellent views as we travelled past pretty little settlements shrouded in mist along the coastline, such as Blueskin Bay, so named because the local chief Te Hikutu had a moko (tattoo) covering his face which gave his skin a blue appearance. This bay has a cockle industry with the delicacies sold in local restaurants and overseas as clams. Karitane was another small place with an interesting history. It was the home of Truby King, who founded both the Plunket Society and the Karitane Hospital programme to help new mothers and their babies. Most New Zealand babies were Plunket babies with the nurses coming to homes to weigh and assess the baby’s growth and help new Mums with any baby care problems.
After leaving the coast line the journey took us inland, and through four tunnels, finally arriving in Palmerston, named after Lord Henry Palmerston who served two terms as the British Prime Minister in the 1880s.
We boarded the Taieri Gorge Railway at Pukerangi (meaning “hill of the heavens”) later in the afternoon for our second train trip of the day. The TV series “Great Scenic Railway Journeys” calls this trip one of the world’s great train trips, and we travelled through 10 tunnels.
For this trip we were seated in vintage 1920s heritage carriages with opening sash windows, which proved very convenient as they could be raised for taking photos. We travelled slowly through the deep sided schist covered Taieri Gorge and were kept entertained by the running commentary which told of the building of the line, and the lives of the early settlers.
The tiny station of Hindon has a sculpture of a dog, by Bill Adams of Oamaru. This is a dedication to the collie sheep dogs that have worked the land for the last 150 years. The dog featured is called Sue, but she doesn’t look too much like a collie to us.
The magnificent Wingatui Viaduct is the largest wrought iron structure in New Zealand. At 197m long and 47m above Mullock Stream it is the largest structure on the line. Robin manipulated his camera through the open carriage window to get a photo of this wonderful piece of engineering.
Dropping down through the gorge, we travelled through the Taieri Plains and rejoined the main trunk line, which took us through farm land before returning us once again to civilisation and the city of Dunedin at 6.30pm. In between our two train trips we went on a gold mine tour, but more about that next time.
No comments:
Post a Comment