The most expensive railway line built in New Zealand runs from Stratford to Okahukura and took over 30 years to complete, connecting towns supported by coal mining, forestry and farming. Passenger railcars stopped running in 1983 and Kiwirail mothballed the line completely in 2010.
But the tracks had another life to live – inspired by the Otago Central Rail Trail, the founder Forgotten World Adventures had the idea of modifying golf carts to create self-driving rail carts and created an unforgettable journey through the remote landscape.
When Forgotten World Adventures opened for business with a 30 year lease on the line in 2012 it was with fewer than five carts and staff. Television journalist John Campbell took an interest in the venture and when he heard business was quiet two weeks after launch, took a camera crew down to share their experience. This led to Forgotten World Adventures suddenly gaining a lot of popularity.
I recall much later news articles when Forgotten World Adventures struggled to find a new Operations Manager despite offering an Auckland-sized salary in Taumaranui!
The Ultimate – Okahukura to Stratford
My two-day rail cart adventure from Okahukura to Stratford (“The Ultimate”) began at 7am on a Saturday morning at the Forgotten World Motel in Taumaranui.
Our large group of 28 (surprisingly all kiwis and doing various journeys) hopped on a mini bus to be driven the short distance to the starting point at Okahukura where our carts were lined up and waiting for us.
We were told that for safety we should stay at least 50 metres from the cart in front (100 metres if it is wet). Seatbelts have to be worn at all times and drivers need to hold a current drivers licence. The same rules apply as when driving on the road – there is to be no consumption of alcohol or illicit drugs or use of cell phones or cameras while driving.
Each group booked on the tour gets their own cart which can be driven at a top speed of around 22kmph but we slowed down to walking pace on all bridges, road/ farm crossings and when there were sheep or baby goats on the track.
Our 142 kilometre, two day adventure would take us through 24 tunnels, over more than 90 bridges and through vast scenery. In mid-November being out in the fresh air was glorious and there were foxgloves and baby farm animals.
Day 1: Okahukura to Whangamomona
The 24 tunnels were hand-made and the terrain was cut the hard way using pick axes, shovels, horses and carts. We stopped with our lights out in the middle of the dark and cold Tunnel 24 – a 1.525km long tunnel which is the longest on the line.
We had our first homemade morning tea at Matiere which still has an operating school, Cosmopolitan Club and homes supported by local sheep and cattle farms. The old town hall was open for bathroom use and lovely old pictures are on display. Matiere’s neighbouring towns have sadly not survived the exodus from the country to the cities in the same way.
At Ōhura we learnt about a large building near the tracks which was a miner’s hostel, before being converted to a prison and then accommodation. Our guide told us stories of his previous career delivering mail to the remote towns we were travelling through. We stopped for lunch where we made our own sandwiches with everything set out in a very functional and orderly way.
Later on we saw Heao where the last rail line spike was driven in by the Prime Minister in 1932, and the 120 metre long Trestle Viaduct, where it took three years to build a timber trestle to bridge gaps in the landscape and fill it in with soil.
At the end of our first day we arrived in the Whangamōmona. Our accommodation overnight was at the Whangamōmona Hotel – your typical old, small town kiwi pub, It had shared bathrooms (to the disappointment of many of group which skews older in age). Whangamomona Republic passports are sold at the pub or you can get your own passport stamped (but don’t do that as you risk not being allowed to travel internationally).
As well as accommodation being included in our package we received a two course meal – Vegetarian lasagna and salad with sticky date pudding for me. The pub downstairs was lively and had karaoke running into the night. A continental breakfast was also included before we headed back to our rail carts for our second day.
Day 2: Whangamomona to Stratford
Some parts of the railway line look more forgotten and abandoned than others and the tracks on the second day of our journey felt more overgrown than the first.
We travelled through Pohokura – the site of a major tent-camp township, Te Wera – an early Māori settlement and more recently a forest base, and many more former station sites, now decorated by rusting old cars.
Douglas was our lunch spot on our second day and the only refuelling stop of the journey for our rail carts, before the final section of our Forgotten World Adventure where Mount Taranaki played hide and seek with us.
Our Forgotten World Adventures rail cart tour seemed to end a bit abruptly in a paddock in Stratford, but apparently they can’t go any further as Kiwirail has blocked the line. Travellers have the option of paying $160 for their vehicle to be relocated and waiting for them, or $50 for a shuttle back along what has been dubbed the Forgotten World Highway to Taumaranui which we did. It definitely wasn’t a comfortable ride but it was interesting to see the places we’d travelled through from a different perspective and to go through a very narrow tunnel.
The Stratford to Okahukura railway line cuts through parts of New Zealand I’d otherwise never have seen and at every stop the informative signage tells stories of the tough conditions and difficult lives lived by the men and families who built the line. I wonder what they’d think of its current usage.
