[ed. placeholder with photos. i'll come back and add my ramble]
today we started the journey back to wellington. we’re taking the long way home
gisborne
Tag Archive for 'travel'
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[ed. placeholder with photos. i'll come back and add my ramble]
today we went on a trip on the rails – and a trip back in time.
nz rail is the national rail service operating 3 lines:
- the overlander between wellington and auckland
- the tranzcoastal from picton to christchurch
- the tranzalpine from christchurch to greymouth (we took this one on our 1995 vacation)
side story – the rail system was owned by the crown (government) until 1990 when it was sold by the national party (more conservative) led government to an australian company. the current labour party (more liberal) led government has just repurchased the system and rebranded it kiwi rail. with the national party on track to win the elections coming up later this year we’ll have to see what happens next. national says they won’t change what is done – but stay tuned.
our trip today was on the overlander.
after an early start we caught the 6:35 bus from island bay to the train station in plenty time for our 7:35 train. the train is a great way to see the country. our train had an observation car at the back with couches, a coffee table and full wrap-around windows. the conductor did a great job pointing out the sights as we went along. if you wanted to get a good photo without the glare from the windows you could go to an open platform at the front of the train. it was quite chilly outside, but it was a great experience with the sound of the train and the countryside rushing by.
today’s trip was one of a series of specials runs during the winter – a steam engine saturday.
when the train arrived in felding they stopped and hooked up a fully restored steam engine to do the pulling. for our run we had JT1211 (gloria) – a 1938 engine built in 1938 at the north british locomotive company of glasgow scotland. gloria is one of a collection of steam trains and vintage carriages that have been fully restored to operational levels by Mainline Steam – a organization founded by ian welsh and run by a group of very committed train enthusiasts. putting aside for a moment the level of financial backing that ian has provided, i can’t fathom the level of dedication required to locate and buy an old engine or carriage, transport it to your workshop, fully restore it to safe operating condition, and finally secure all the permits and insurance required to operate on the mainline.
having purchased much of what remains in new zealand ian has now turned his focus to south africa and zimbabwe – where the classic trains are being sent to the scrap heap. this raises the challenge level even a bit higher.
one of the recent acquisitions – Ja1240 under restoration in the auckland depot.
with gloria pulling we travelled from felding to taihape where they unhooked gloria and the northbound overlander continued on it’s journey to auckand. we had a 3 hour lunch stop in taihape waiting for the southbound overlander to arrive. gloria would then be hooked up again for the trip back to her depot in felding.
with a disclaimer that it was a drizzly saturday afternoon i can safely say that we will not be planning any future holidays around taihape. very little going on in this small country town. we arrived at 12:15 and by 12:45 had completed our walk around town. the train for our return trip wasn’t schedule to arrive until 3:15 so needed to find some place to settle in. ultimately we found a small towny bar with a fireplace. the menu looked way too complex for the old timer who was the barkeep and chef, so i passed. the jboss was more adventurous and was rewarded with great food.
taihape is known as the gumboot capital of new zealand and hosts the annual gumboot day. the local lions club was at the train platform selling pancakes shaped like gumboots and the train club was there hawking souvenirs. i was a good citizen and gave them both some business.
the wilson building was the highlight of taihape. the lights of wellington harbour from the outdoor platform of the speeding train.
we arrived back at wellington station at 8:25 after a full day on the rails. a quick bus ride got us back to island bay just in time to get dinner from the local malaysian takeaway before they closed.
i’ve posted more pictures and movies from our trip here.
today is the queen’s birthday. and we joined other members of the commonwealth in taking today off in celebration
best thing is that today is not really the queen’s birthday. her actually birthday is april 21st. but april is not the best time of year in england for a day off – so it’s celebrated on the first monday in june. i always thought moving washington’s birthday to a monday (back before the invention of president’s day and the disappearance of washington’s birthday) was a bit lame, but this is a whole other league.
whilst looking for an image of the queen eating birthday cake (i gave up – kudos in a future posting to anyone who can find one – must not be viewed as appropriately regal) i found that the british monarchy has it’s own youtube channel. seems that whole internets thing that W talks about is really catching on.
today we went on a tramp on mt taranaki.
the day started out cold and drizzling, but we decided to head to trailhead and see if the weather cleared. when we arrived things were better, but knowing how extreme conditions could be on the mountain we checked with the doc ranger before starting our tramp. after getting the go ahead from the ranger as we were heading off to the trail we passed a group of 10 or so indian lads in their twenties – in short sleeves and sneakers for the most part. i give them credit for getting out and doing something, but we’re at the base of a alpine zone with severe and rapidly changing conditions. not surprisingly the rescue service here does a brisk business coming to the aid of tourists. they are currently looking for a polish tourist who went off on a tramp alone without filing a route plan – total needle in a haystack.
we turned around at the alpine tree line. wild winds and bitter cold as you left the protection of the forest.
you can see the dramatic change in the photo on the left above.
in the photo and map above you can see the clear boundary between the native forest in the national park and the surrounding farm land.
it’s a three day weekend so we’re off to new plymouth to see some more of nz and hopefully go for a tramp on mt taranaki.
as we passed though hawera (home of nz’s largest private collection of elvis memorabilia) we got our first view of our final destination – mt taranaki.
next small town down the road is manaia. the framingham post office looks a bit bland in comparison to the manaia post. you can see the royal cypher of king george v at the top of the building. with his reign from 1910 to 1936 his mark is on all the great art deco works. the build on the right is a small hotel & pub.
we were traveling on state highway 45, known as “the surf highway” as it has easy access to many great surfing spots.
we had expected the road to travel right along the coast similar but realized after a bit that we were always a few k’s from ocean and were frequently passing small country roads that snaked off to the shoreline. we picked one just as it was starting to get dark.
it’s hard to tell from this photo, but the road ends at a cliff with the ocean crashing onto the rocks several hundred feet below. no fence or barrier.
looking back from the shore we had some great views of the mountain.
after arriving at our motel in new plymouth we took a walk into the cbd. lots of great architecture including a movie house with a neon marquee.
the jboss has done some homework and had a list of potential places for dinner. but it’s never that easy. antony left the map back at the motel so we wondering around a bit looking for choice #1. can’t seem to find it. choice #1 is out of business and is now something else. on to choice #2. much harder to find and after asking some folks on the street, and then again at gas station we find it. we review the menu posted outside. looks good, but a bit expensive. we finally decide to splurge a bit and head in. sorry – all booked for the evening. can someone explain why they watched us noodle over the menu for several minutes knowing they were full? most of the other places were either packed or spookily empty with the owner looking at you hopefully as your pause outside. we ultimately decide on a pub.
turned out to be a fine choice. the finals for the super 14 rugby season were on and soon after we arrived the place filled up nicely. the food was just ok, but the beer was fine and it’s hard to beat the neighborhood pub atmosphere.
the shots below are from our drive home, once again along sh 45.
in new zealand good friday and easter monday are state holidays so that means a 4 day weekend for everyone. trying to learn from our christmas mistake of not booking early the jboss had planned and booked a trip for us to the tongariro region and a relaxing spa visit for gromit.
on our trip up we went the western route through wanganui. since it was good friday the town was locked up tight, but looked like a great place to visit and we’ll put it on the list to return to soon. we did find one cafe that was open and given the holiday we set our expectations low. i was expecting mediocre fish & chips. turns out it was very good. great english beer selection and i had a venison burger with mango chutney. hard to beat.
another great tree lined main street with cafes, shops and a majestic old theatre. almost all of the banks in new zealand are australian owned (like the one above) including unbelievably the bank of new new zealand and new zealand bank.
right past the cbd was a huge park along the river. the children’s area was themed around nursery rhymes with the 3 bears, humptey dumptey, etc. inside the big pumpkin was a prep area, huge grill and picnic tables. most of the public parks here have public grills that gas fueled and free to use. they have a flat metal cooking surface like at mcdonalds and are started just by pushing a button. a lot easier (and safer) than everyone bringing charcoal and dousing it with lighter fluid. at one end of the park was the ultimate tree house.
after we passed through wanganui we decided to take the scenic backroads up to our destination. the guidebook described it as a can’t miss vistas – so how could we pass?
i’m not keen on living out of the city, but if i were the homestead in first photo would be ideal.
two stories behind the second picture. firstly the sign on the cliff. you are entering a single crewed ambulance zone. that means when the ambulance arrives the paramedic can either treat you – or drive – but not both at the same time, so try not to be an idiot and need any urgent medical care. keep that in mind for the photos below. and why is jackie laughing? she is wearing sandals and has just stepped in a pile of poo. guess who’s riding on the roof rack for a while?
the last photo could easily be from vermont, and was a brief glimpse of fall. we had great tall, slender birches lining the road for the early part of the drive.
the drive started out on a nice winding paved road, but the pace quickly slowed as the road turned to gravel and was frequently shared with local livestock.
the first shot is great on several levels. firstly the bulls lining the road. “sure – come on down. we’re nice and friendly. ignore the horns. and forget about the sign reminding you that this is a single crewed ambulance zone. what are you waiting for?” nextly is the 100 kph speed limit sign. 100 kph is about 60 mph and is very fast for a paved country road. much less a gravel road with a steep drop off on one side. or more so for a single lane, gravel road with a steep drop off lined by bulls.
at one point we let a local farmer pass and the visibility dropped to zero. we assumed we’d know when we hit the livestock.
as we emerged from the country road our final destination – mt tongariro – came into view.
the last town before we arrived at tonariro was raetihi. more than a bit depressing since it was clearly struggling and a shadow of its former prime.
yet another former bank of new zealand building shamefully degraded to office for a local radio station.
so when the town elders were sitting around the table in the late 1930′s trying to decide how to celebrate the town’s upcoming centennial, how did the conversation turn to a rest room?
mt ngauruhoe at sunset in another this-is-why-we-moved-here images.
our home for the holidays is the wilderness lodge in national park. yes – the name of the town is “national park”. the first several conversations about where we were staying had a who’s on first quality.
a: “so, where are we going to be staying on our holiday?”
j: “we’re booked at the wilderness lodge in national park”
a: “great – what town is that in?”
j: “national park”
a: “right – but what town are we nearest to?”
j: “the lodge is in in national park”
at this point i give up and don’t see the light until we pass the state highway sign that welcomes us to national park.
after we unpack the car we head up to the lodge for dinner only to find out that they are booked up for the night. this was a bit surprising since the small dining room never seemed more than half full. feeling bad they offered us a bowl of fries. so our good friday dinner was fries & beers on the couch watching willy wonka on the telly.
we were off to bed early after setting the alarm for 0530 so we could catch the 0630 shuttle bus for our big tramp tomorrow.
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