Riding the Iron Ram

On my last post, I closed by saying that I'd see you next time at Karioitahi Beach. Well, I've decided to put that on hold and start this series of posts (probably four or five) about our recent trip to Wellington instead...

The first book by Paul Theroux I read was Riding the Iron Rooster. It is a travelogue of his railroad journeys across China. If you haven't read any of his travel books, you should. He has a gift for taking his readers along for the ride. I have no such gift for description, but I do have one thing his books don't. I have pictures.  

Here are some shots I took on our recent holiday to Wellington.  

We were up early. We took a taxi into Auckland, to the Strand Rail Station, where we boarded our 'Iron Ram.'

Why did I name it the Iron Ram? Well, no other animal represents New Zealand like the sheep does. I understand that they outnumber us humans here by about 30 to 1. And the train acted like a sheep (ram) I think. It would often take off and thunder down the tracks, full of vigour and a bit of menace, but then seem to forget its mission. It would slow and meander around corners and often stop as if it was deciding where to go from here. Then it seemed to notice the tracks again and we'd be off with the wind flying through our hair. At least it would be while on the open sided observation car.
And besides, the train was coloured rather like a sheep. I'm thinking of suggesting that they mount some big horns on the front.

(I hope that Paul doesn't mind my choice. I did plug his book after all.)

Here is the engine and the observation platform. 

Looking toward the end of the train. There were two passenger cars and the cafe car. It looks from this photo, that only old folks were on the train. Not so. Quite a few families were aboard. In fact, we ran into two families we recognized from the train while walking around Wellington. 

Here, Allie is busy getting morning tea ready for us all. We sampled quite a few of the cafe's offerings, but had also brought along lots of goodies

The view toward the back of the train from our seats. 

The observation platform. It was fun up here. Jeanne especially spent quite a bit of time standing in the breeze. Before too long, we all acquired 'rail legs' (like sea legs only with faster reaction time) 

Going through tunnels wasn't quite as pleasant. No view, for one thing, and the diesel's blast of heat and fumes had folks pulling back from the open windows.

Here is a sign I don't recall having seen before. No description necessary I guess.
We were very fortunate. Our seats and dining table were just one row back from the toilet (not called restrooms here) and the observation car. Very convenient.

Lots of beautiful scenery.

Mount Ruapehu in the distance and sadly, partially in the clouds so the top is obscured. 

The Raumiru Spiral
Here, the train makes a horse shoe curve and then sprials up through more curves and two tunnels.  The  height difference between the northern and southern portions of the north island is 456 feet.  The diagram above the window shows the design.

After several hours 'abored' the train, even seasoned verterans of travel can suffer from ennui. (boredom) Here our two brave lads are making the best of it. 

So far in the journey, the skies have been low and threatening. As we moved further south however, we started getting a mix of sun and shadows. 

Outside Paraparaumu I caught sight in the distance of what I thought might be a statue of Mary. It is clear on  this shot taken at 25 power zoom, but by eye I wasn't sure of what I was looking at. I learned that this was built back in 1958, to commemorate the 100th year anniversary of Mary's appearence at Lourdes. It's 14 meters or about 46 feet tall. 

We have made it to the western coast, just north of Wellington. The sky is finally clear and we can see Kapiti Island about 3 miles off the coast. The island is almost 5 miles long. During the height of the whaling era, 2000 people worked on it.
Today, it is a bird sanctuary and only 50 tourists are allowed on it at a time.  
I was surprised that the surf on this western beach is so gentle. That has not been our experience in the past. 

Looking at Raroa Bay. From this point we head inland again and will reach Wellington in under a half an hour. 

We are minutes away from our destination here as we pass this Marina. The train station is located right on the Bay. 

We made it! Here we are on the seventh floor of the Rydges Hotel on Featherston Street. We walked here from the train station, only about 300 yards.  We're rather tired and hungry and will shortly go down to the restaurant to have dinner.
I'll continue with this adventure when we visit Te Papa, the National Museum. Stay tuned...    -djf