In fact I had 4 trips on 4 consecutive weekends during that time. I didn't intend for it to be that way, but that's definitely how it turned out - certain trips had fixed dates, others had a number of weekends they could be on but ended up converging together into this block of 4. I don't think I've ever had trips on 4 consecutive weekends in a row, and each had a lot of things to look forward to in their own right. For some of them, the final details of the trip didn't come together until the week or two beforehand - so I was literally planning details of trips while on trips. And yes, these ARE train trips, but they were about seeing the sights too.
So, as a means of 'practicing' doing a blog post similar to what I might do while abroad, here's a blog post about what I've been doing the last 4 weekends.
Trip One: Dora the Explorer, 22nd & 23rd August
This one was seemingly straightforward - I'd wanted to do the Northern Explorer (known as "Dora"), the Auckland-Wellington train for a while. I'd travelled the entire length of the railway line between the two centres in parts but never in one hit. My flatmate Matthew also wanted to do it too - and being a student, he wanted to do it as cheaply as possible. So we settled upon catching the overnight Intercity Bus from Wellington to Auckland (cheap, and saves a nights worth of accommodation in Auckland), and then catch the train from Auckland to Wellington. We'd be a bit tired, but the train would have boring bits through which we could snooze. With KiwiRail Scenic offering a 2-for-1 deal in August, we arrived at a mutually agreeable date (travel up night of Friday 22nd, travel back on the train on the 23rd), booked it all and were set. Flawless plan.
Or so it seemed.
The flaw? Me. 4 hours out from the time we were supposed to catch the overnight bus, I had a bit of a niggling thought in the back of my mind and checked the bus tickets. Booking date? 23rd August, not the 22nd. I'd stuffed up - and some quick phonecalls established that both overnight buses were full. After some other quick research, I reasoned there were 3 options:
Plan A: Cancel the trip, and re-imburse Matt for mis-spending his money (the tickets being non-refundable)
Plan B: Fly up to Auckland that night, stay the night in Auckland and ride the train back.
Plan C: Drive in my car up to Auckland overnight; park the car up somewhere where it could be left safely; catch the train back to Wellington; catch the overnight bus back to Auckland using the already booked tickets; and drive back to Wellington on Sunday.
I wasn't keen on Plan A - I wouldn't get another chance to do the train before I go, plus Matthew was looking forward to the trip. Plan C was semi-tempting, but seemed dangerous because of the long distances driving and the tiredness from not having proper night's sleep. Plan B seemed the most sensible, but also the most expensive. Any of the costs incurred in these options I felt it was my responsibility to shoulder, since I had been the one to make the mistake.
So, a couple of rather pricey last minute airfares later, we were at Wellington airport waiting to fly to Auckland. I suppose they weren't too bad really - accommodation in Auckland was easy and cheap, right by Britomart Railway Station so we'd only have to hop off the plane, and jump on the Airport Bus to the city and then roll out of bed and onto the train in the morning. We got to fly on a 737, which I felt was at least something as I probably wouldn't have a chance to fly on one again before Air NZ get rid of them. Bascially, any upside to shelling out for the airfares seemed good! |
There was of course, scenery to see. More of it interesting than I expected.
(More photos of the train trip are here http://www.flickr.com/photos/deeargee/sets/72157646717784607/ )
This was the most complex of the 4 trips, but no doubt the most adventurous. It had been a few years since I'd visited Dunedin, and even more years since I'd done a Jigger trip up the Taieri Gorge Railway (Jiggers, or Trolleys as they are called down there, are what Railways used to use to inspect track - called Speeders or Section Cars in some countries). Glen McConnochie, the organiser of such trips up the TGR, suggested they might run a trip before I went UKwards and I fed him a bunch of dates which would suit me. He picked out one of those dates, and myself, William and Jessy planned a trip around it. Dunedin isn't easy to get to from Wellington - well, it is, but at a steep price for an airfare. So the most logical thing moneywise was for me and William to fly into Christchurch, and then go with Jessy to Dunedin in a car. This meant taking some time off work to achieve the trip, but that was okay. Jessy managed to borrow a Jigger via Colin Barry, which meant instead of taking Jessy's car we borrowed my brother Spoon's old car Denny Crane as it had a towbar. Trying to get the Jigger inspected as compliant in Christchurch turned out to be more difficult than it was supposed to be, so we ended up taking it down not knowing for sure if we could use it - but we were pretty certain it would comply.
We met up with all the other Jiggers at School Road near Wingatui on the Saturday morning - there were 6 jiggers all up, and after putting them all on the track, starting them up, and having the pre-trip safety briefing, we were off.
(More photos of the jigger trip are here http://www.flickr.com/photos/deeargee/sets/72157647380022052/ )
The Midland Line, between Christchurch and Greymouth is one of my favourite pieces of railway in NZ - mountainous terrain, spectacular scenery only visible from the train and sustained climbs which really make the engines work. That, and there's the chance of snow in winter too. Mainline Steam, once a year run a 2-day excursion over the full length of the line and while I'd crewed or chased this train a few times, I'd never been on it as just a passenger. I'd actually been wanting to do the trip for a while, but had been holding out for Ja 1240 - 2 days of coal burner action in the Southern Alps, that's got to be pretty neat - but it wasn't going to do it before I went. Still, riding behind Ka 942 wasn't so bad - certainly something different than riding behind a J or Ja. My flight down to Christchurch was neat too - it somehow ended up being an Air NZ Koru Hour flight, and some of the free beer had metal bottles. Oh, and for those who read the story further up, the plane was a 737 - so was the flight back to Wellington, so turns out I did have another chance to fly in one before I go off on the OE. |
(More photos of the trip are here http://www.flickr.com/photos/deeargee/sets/72157647411682695/ )
This one, was the shortest trip of the lot and also the easiest as it started in the Wellington region - and sort of happened as a matter of course, since it was just me crewing the steam engine on a trip like I often do. But it was still a trip - a trip by train to the Wairarapa, a region I probably won't get to see again before I go UKwards. It was also the last trip I get to do with Ja 1271 before I head off as well. The day before the trip was spent getting 1271 in steam and everything ready for the outing.
(More photos of the trip are here http://www.flickr.com/photos/deeargee/sets/72157647343228037/ )
So with that, most of the various trips I've wanted to do before I head off are done. *cough* There might be one or two more to do before I go though *cough*
Now that all of that particular block of trips is out of the way, I do find myself starting to get a bit more excited about the upcoming adventure overseas. Part of this is no doubt the fact my UK Visa came through while all of this was going on (much sooner than expected!) and with fewer things to distract me from it, the OE is a bit more in focus now - but I'm still not feeling as excited as I think I should be. Still a little bit to sort, but all the key elements are in place now! So we'll see how I'm feeling closer to the time.