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newzealand.com
Touring New Zealand by train is an exercise in relaxation, plus you’ll see parts of the country that aren’t visible from the road.
While each of New Zealand’s great train trips has its own personality, they all offer warm hospitality and expert commentary as they carry you in comfort through the youngest country on earth.
New Zealand’s challenging landscapes demanded some remarkable feats of early railway engineers. Thanks to their skill and determination, our great train trips travel through remote national parks, across spectacular volcanic landscapes, over braided river valleys and alpine passes and along rugged coastlines with steep mountains on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other.
Each great train trip can be completed as a single journey in one day. Or, with a multi-day Scenic Rail Pass, you can hop on and off to explore attractions along the way. The pass is also a convenient way to combine several of New Zealand’s great train trips into the rail journey of a lifetime.
This great train trip is a remarkable 12-hour journey through the volcanic heart of the North Island. Highlights include Tongariro National Park and the Raurimu Spiral, an amazing feat of railway engineering.
The Overlander’s carriages all have large windows for panoramic views of the magnificent landscapes. At the rear of the train, a special observation carriage includes lounge-style seating surrounded by glass on three sides. There are also open-air observation areas and a buffet car for meals, drinks and snacks.
The Overlander offers some wonderful opportunities to break your journey with overnight or multi-day stops. Travelling south from Auckland, by mid-morning you reach Otorohanga, gateway to the Waitomo Caves area. Here you can enjoy walks through ancient limestone caves and an underground boat ride beneath millions of twinkling glow worms.
Further south, the Overlander reaches Taumarunui and the Whanganui National Park, renowned for its multi-day canoe journeys through remote wilderness.
At Raurimu, the train climbs 132 metres in just 6.8 kilometres using a marvellous piece of railway engineering called the Raurimu Spiral. It’s nail-biting stuff. South of Raurimu the Overlander stops at National Park and Ohakune. These towns are bases for the hiking trails and skifields of Tongariro National Park.
Gifted to the nation by Te Heuheu, Paramount Chief of the Ngati Tuiwharetoa people, this pristine area is home to three magnificent volcanic mountains - Tongariro, Nguruahoe and Ruapehu.
The Overlander’s final leg rolls through Manawatu farmland before joining the west coast south of Paraparaumu and turning inland to the heart of downtown Wellington.
Find out more about The Overlander
From Wellington you can make the leap to the South Island by ferry. It’s a picturesque three-hour journey that finishes with a cruise through the Marlborough Sounds, a system of ancient sunken valleys that form a spectacular network of steep-sided waterways.
The Cook Strait ferry docks in the historic port town of Picton, where you can catch the Coastal Pacific railway south to Christchurch. At first you’ll enjoy views of the Marlborough wine area before the track turns to follow the coast.
The scenery is remarkable, with the Kaikoura Ranges rising steeply on one side and the Pacific Ocean swells washing over a rocky coastline on the other. Seals and penguins can often be seen on the rocks.
If you have a rail pass, make a stopover at the town of Kaikoura for a whale-watching safari. The next stage of this journey chuffs across the Canterbury Plains, where vast braided rivers dissect a patchwork of horticultural and farming landscapes.
In total, the Coastal Pacific carries you through 22 tunnels and across 175 bridges.
Find out more about the Coastal Pacific
The fantastically scenic rail trip on the TranzAlpine - one of the world’s greatest - crosses the Southern Alps on a journey that links the city of Christchurch to historic Greymouth, a river town on the rugged West Coast. Highlights include the Staircase viaduct, Arthur’s Pass National Park and the Otira tunnel.
The first leg of the journey travels through horticultural and farming areas of the Canterbury Plains. At the town of Springfield the track turns away from the main highway to join the braided Waimakariri River before curving west around the northern boundary of the Korowai Torlese Tussocklands Park.
Near the aptly named town of Staircase, your climb up the Southern Alps begins in earnest, aided by a series of spectacular viaducts. As the train rolls up the Craigieburn Valley, the landscape becomes increasingly alpine, with dry tussock grasses, scree slopes and steep mountains rising from the valley floor.
At the town of Arthur’s Pass, the train takes a breather and you can stretch your legs on the platform.
Arthur’s Pass is a great stopover. The town is within a beautiful alpine national park that has a network of hiking trails - everything from easy family walks to multi-day hikes for experienced alpine adventurers.
Leaving Arthur’s Pass, the TranzAlpine passes through the 8.5 kilometre Otira tunnel to emerge in Otira Gorge on the west of the great divide. In contrast to the dry beech forests and braided rivers of the eastern side, the western landscape is lush and green with fast-moving rivers. Pretty Lake Brunner is a highlight on the way to Greymouth.
The TranzAlpine covers 223.8 kilometres in four and a half hours. There are 19 tunnels and four viaducts including the 73 metre high Staircase Viaduct. An outdoor viewing carriage will get you close to the fresh alpine air and spectacular scenery.
Dunedin to Middlemarch on the Taieri Gorge Railway
Departing daily, this rail trip follows the historic Otago Central Railway route. West of Dunedin the train climbs north through the scenic Tairei River Gorge to Pukerangi or Middlemarch on the Strath Taieri Plain.
The journey includes 10 tunnels and 12 viaducts. The largest viaduct - 197 metres long and 47 metres high - is a magnificent iron structure built in 1886. The Taieri Gorge Railway is a great way to discover the history and striking landscapes of Southern and Central Otago; it’s also an inspiring way to start an adventure on the Otago Central Rail Trail, a five-day biking and hiking route between Middlemarch and Clyde.
Find out more about the TranzAlpine
For more information on new Zealand's great train journeys on The Overlander, Coastal Pacific, TranzAlpine or to buy a Scenic Rail Pass visit www.tranzscenic.co.nz
By Jeannie Bourke