An inconic rail journey through the remote and rugged landscape of the world-famous Taieri Gorge is how it was billed - so we thought why not! A 5 + hour return train trip through the Taieri Gorge with stunning views and an amazing commentary.
We arrived at the Dunedin train station early thinking we would be first on board to grab the best seats (first come first served), but we were far from the first people there - about a dozen had the same idea and arrived even earlier - oh well, we ended up having great seats and Julie and Steve from Brisbane switched sides at the half way point so we had a different view back - so, it all worked out …
We had an an amazing commentator, who had so many stories that date to the gold rush in and around Dunedin and the need to build the railway. There were funny stories of British airmen constructing bathtub with sail to ‘sail’ down the rapid waters towards the areas where gold had been found; to heart breaking stories to a whole family who came over (couple + 9 kids) and husband died in railway accident and ‘Mary’ had to raise her 9 kids in remote New Zealand in the 1880’s. She opened a tea shop at one of the stops (3 o’clock stream - funny story there) and eked out a living and raised her 9 children.
The views were stunning and we lucked out and had great weather as you can see from the photos. The tunnels were so narrow is seemed the train would not fit - you literally had inches on each side to spare. And the tracks that went over the water were not for the faint of heart.
We had a great time on the train and learned a lot and would definitely recommend this to people going to Dunedin - it really was quite interesting and on a great weather day - amazing scenery.
Cheers
Robert and Ted
