Sunday - A grand day out on the railway!

Today was the day for the long awaited trip on the Taieri Gorge Railway. We were up early (first time having to use the alarm), then sorted out the van before driving to Dunedin Railway station.

A splendid Victorian railway station that was built in the 1870s, it has ornate carvings, mosaic floors and a serious railway clock.

The line itself was begun in 1879, but it was 1889 before the first section was open. The final section to Cromwell was only finished in 1921!

Nowadays it is only open to Middlemarch in the Central Otago area, and is run purely as a tourist train.

 

One of the first viaducts is the Wingatui, 197 m long, and one of the largest wrought iron structures in the Southern Hemisphere.

It runs 47 m above the Mullocky stream, and of course the train was crowded with people trying to get photos of it.

There are several more viaducts on the lines, plus narrow tunnels, and spectacular views. Occasionally the train would stop to allow us to get off for more photos.

 

 

I took far too many photos, and can't really decide which ones to keep until I can see them on a big screen, so I'll only put a couple up here.

Middlemarch is a tiny town on the Strath Taieri Plain, population about 250. It's the eastern start for the Otago Central Rail Trail, and is a popular place for hikers and bikers. We just walked over the road to a cafe and had a meal! Food was delicious, but there was far too much. We got talking to the couple next to us, Sally and Ian, and learnt she was a quilter, and used to have her own quilting shop. Ian was a dairy farmer (4th generation on the same land) and now grows fruit. Sally shared lots of info on where to find quilting supplies, and has offered to let us stay in their B&B near Nelson when we are up that way, just in case we are fed up with the campervan by then.

The plains are an enormous area, with a few buildings and lots of sheep! Everywhere looked brown and parched, and it was littered with huge jagged boulders.

Both Mick and I thoroughly enjoyed the trip, spending almost the entire time standing in the open watching the view go past.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leaving the train again at Dunedin we decided to drive down to the Catlins area, and find a DOC campsite near Owaka. As we left the Taieri area and drove further south we saw green fields and hills, the first time we had seen green grass without it having been irrigated. Driving through the town of Owaka we spotted a sign for Teapot Land, and had to stop and take a photo or two!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Past Owaka we turned onto a dirt track road for 7 km, and for the last few hundred meters had to do some serious sheep avoidance. All was worth while though, and we are now parked up by the beach, with drinks in hand watching the sea.

 

This is the view from our van - bliss!

 

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