On Tuesday, November 15, 2011 5:53 PM, "David Mann" <d...@multisport.net.nz> wrote: > Is he going down to ride on the Kingston Flyer? That one's only just > started up again but it's in the middle of nowhere. There's also the > Weka Pass Railway just north of Christchurch. They're the only steam > trains I know of in the South Island but I'm no reference on the matter. > > The Taieri Gorge Railway is worth doing if he gets to Dunedin. I assume > he'll do the Coastal Pacific and Tranz Alpine, they are both must-do. > > If he has some spare time (and transport) in Wellington, he could pop > over the infamous Rimutaka Hill Road to see the old fell locomotive on > display in the museum at Featherston. Apparently it's the only remaining > fell loco in the world. That railway is now the Rimutaka Rail Trail > which is spectacular but very steep. > > There's really not much passenger rail left in the South Island. We used > to have a service from Christchurch to Invercargill but it was closed > down a long time ago. He'll probably be underwhelmed when he sees our > railway station. The stations in Wellington and Dunedin are beautiful > though.
It's an organised tour with Mainline Steam (http://www.mainlinesteam.co.nz/) using mainly their own locomotives and carriages. The tour started in Auckland, headed across to Napier and Gisborne, then down to Wellington and Picton. Then across Cook Strait to Christchurch and through Arthur's Pass to Greymouth before heading back to Auckland. At the moment he's probably on the ferry heading back to the North Island. They had some time in Christchurch - Chris had been there before and loved the place. He's been shocked by the damage. He's putting together a photo book of the trip which I'm looking forward to seeing. Cheers Brian ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Brian Walters Western Sydney Australia http://lyons-ryan.org/southernlight/ > > On Nov 15, 2011, at 10:52 AM, Brian Walters wrote: > > > G'day all > > > > My son, Chris, is currently on a three week rail tour of New Zealand. > > Even if you aren't especially interested in railways, this You Tube > > video shows some excellent views of the NZ countryside. > > > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV_bgrbwn60 > > > > > > > > Cheers > > > > Brian > > > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > Brian Walters > > Western Sydney Australia > > http://lyons-ryan.org/southernlight/ > > > > -- -- -- http://www.fastmail.fm - Send your email first class -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
