Spirit of the Antipodes Day 6

 Today was steam train day - a taster for what is to come over the next few days. 

We had a leisurely breakfast and loaded our luggage onto the coach at 10 before travelling south of Auckland to Glenbrook. 

Here there was a steam train waiting for us to jump on board and feast on a delicious high tea. 





While we ate and sipped our teas and coffees (not an easy feat on a moving steam train!) we travelled some 7.5 kms to the end of the line at Waiuku, where some of us chose to stay on board in our warm, sunny seats in the Parlour Car, and enjoy a second cup of coffee,  while the train was stationary. Others hopped off and listened to a talk about the heritage railway from one of our tour leaders, Sean.  

On the way back to the station we all disembarked and stood near the line as the train backed up and then flew past us at full speed for a photo/video opportunity. Very impressive. 




A little further on we again stopped and disembarked, this time for a brief tour of the railway workshops, to hear about their restoration projects and meet some of the engineering team. 

Back on board and mercifully out of the wind, we settled in for the remainder of the trip back to Glenbrook Station where we said our goodbyes and thank yous and re-boarded our coach. 

Through very lush, green  countryside with rolling hills and steep terraced paddocks we travelled towards the Manukau Heads Lighthouse. The road only reopened last year following a massive landslip during Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 which took a big chunk of the road with it, so we were privileged to be able to travel all the way to the lighthouse today. 

A number of  hardy travellers took the short but steep walk up to the lighthouse and braved the winds to go out on the walkway at the top of the beacon to snap some photos. The winds made it a challenge to keep the camera still. Due to the haze we weren’t able to see the Auckland airport from our vantage point, which is visible on a clear day apparently. Even so, the views made the lengthy drive worthwhile. 







Back on the road we made our way down to Karaka and the Double Tree Hotel, where we are spending the night before the commencement of the tour proper tomorrow. 

We have all enjoyed a delicious dinner in the hotel restaurant and are readying ourselves for an earlier start in the morning and the next leg of the adventure. 

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