Taieri Gorge Train, Otago Rail Trail

This morning we took the spectacular Taieri Gorge train to Middlemarch. The 58kms of rail travel from Dunedin is rated as one of the world’s great rail trips. The 2-hour route traverses the Taieri Gorge travelling across high iron viaducts and tunnels. All trains feature heritage carriages and we enjoyed a viewing carriage on our trip, which provided even better panoramas.

The afternoon saw us start our three day journey on the Central Otago Rail Trail as we cycled back in time to New Zealand’s rural past along a trail that has been specifically converted for walkers, mountain bikers and horse riders.

The Trail follows the old Central Otago branch railway line from Middlemarch to
Clyde. This trip is not just about the cycling but also exploring the many small towns and abandoned gold diggings as well as meeting the locals.

Some of the towns we visited along the way made us feel like we had been transported back to the 1950s.Read more