Spirit of the Antipodes Day 13

Wallsy and I got out of bed early and went for a brisk walk before breakfast today. One of the problems of a trip such as this is the sedentary nature of it. Pity they don’t offer some more active sightseeing options at the stops - a nice bike ride or a short hike would appeal to some of the participants, I’m sure. 

Our train departed Palmerston North on time at 9am and we were positioned throughout the carriages on the right hand side in the direction of travel for the best views of the Manawatu Gorge. 

Coming out of Palmerston North, we first crossed the Pohangina River before running down to the Manawatu River gorge, where the rails hugged the side  and we marvelled at the views of the old, now closed road, which ran along the opposite side, often suspended off the rocky edges above the river. 

Once we had left the gorge, we stopped at the historic Woodville Railway Station where we had time to explore the station museum displays. 

Back on the rails we were served our morning tea, before stopping again at Ormondville, where we were given an informative talk by one of their key volunteers, and explored the quirky and somewhat rudimentary accommodation in the station building. Some people then formed an orderly photo line to shoot our train as it travelled through the station and then backed up for us all to clamber aboard. 

We again travelled through some rugged countryside crossing a total of 6 viaducts before reaching our lunch stop at Takapau. Here, we parked the train up and were met by our coaches to convey us the short distance to Oruawharo Homestead. We were ushered into the historic weatherboard St Vincents Church which had been moved onto the property and is now used as a function venue and a means of income to help the current owners in their restoration of the late 19th century homestead. Just as we entered, the thunderstorm that had been threatening, hit with a vengeance, and the rain bucketed down. 

Following a lovely two-course lunch our host, Rob, took us on a tour of the 12-bedroom homestead, which also boasts a ballroom, library, and beautiful, shiny, new kitchen. There is still much to be achieved, but the current owners have brought it back from an ivy-covered derelict building to a liveable home over the past five years. 

We rambled around the gardens, the rain having ceased, before boarding the coaches and rejoining the train. 

Once on board we had to wait approximately 30 minutes for a  goods train to cross with us. As soon as we had the all clear, we took off at top speed for Napier. It was obvious that since the rain, the heat restrictions on the rails had been lifted. We certainly weren’t travelling at 40 kph any longer; on the contrary (according to Wallsy’s App) we were cruising at 65 kph. Which, I have to say feels quite fast when travelling in a vintage wooden carriage which is rocking and rolling all over the place!  

Passing through Hastings we entered the ‘fruit bowl’ of New Zealand and soon arrived in Napier, where we have the luxury of a three night stay. 

Our room is in an Art Deco style hotel on the Napier Foreshore, which is a bit scary when you read the emergency information on the back of our door, the focus of which is on earthquake and tsunami. 

We ate at the Rose Irish Bar in the corner of our Masonic Art Deco Hotel complex, but only after we had rushed to the guest laundry and subsequently decorated our room with washing!  After dinner we took a brief walk through night time Napier.