After four days on mountain bikes we decided to take a train ride. The Taieri River Gorge Train to Dunedin. Bob loves trains and was really hoping to do the ride from Christchurch to Greymouth across Arthur’s Pass but it wasn’t fitting into our schedule. We asked other cyclists about the Taieri train and they all encouraged us to go.
I love watching spectacular scenery going by. Bob does the driving because he worries about other crazy tourists forgetting which side of the road to be on, so he misses out on a lot of the stunning views. He was like a kid in a candy store… he would not give up his choice location on the “back porch” of our coach.
You can see Ann also enjoying standing outside watching the world go by.
No need to say more…just enjoy the pictures! You certainly can see where the word gorge-ous comes from!
The train station is in the middle of nowhere. You drive 20 minutes over a shingle (gravel) road from the nearest pavement to get here.
Our train car.
Here's the gorge. In the far left you can "just" see one of the bridges that we travelled over.
Yow! Some of these bridges spanned some deep ravines and were barely wider than the train.
The tunnels were no wider than the bridges. You had to be careful not to stick your head out the side going into one of these. Inside, there was less than a foot of clearance on either side.
The two hour ride brought us into Dunedin along the coast where we stayed the night at a nice little Bed and Breakfast before heading back the next day. (This is the train station)
The station was beautifully preserved and a real throwback to another time.
Downtown Dunedin. This shot reminded us that for most of our three weeks on the South Island we didn't see any stoplights. Nothing but very small towns. And the only traffic jams were a farmer and his dogs driving their sheep across the road.
OH! Holy Cow! Thank you! thank you! A GREAT way to start my day! Scrubb hard!! xxoo J