The Overlander is a 12-hour journey between Auckland and Wellington. Time passes quickly with full buffet service and a rear observation carriage where you can watch the rails and scenery through panoramic wrap-around windows. Trains leave Auckland and Wellington daily at 7:25 a.m. Watch for the world-renowned Raurimu Spiral--a section of curves, tunnels and viaducts that overcomes a steep rise to National Park and the Central North Island volcanic mountains.
After a Cook Strait ferry crossing from Wellington, the InterCoastal will take you from Picton to Christchurch. A centrally-placed open-air observation carriage allows passengers a unique look at the passing coast. The train leaves Christchurch daily at 7 a.m. and reaches Picton at 12:13 p.m., starting back again at 1 p.m. New Zealand Rail has a number of two- and three-day package tours that incorporate the whale watching center, Kaikoura.
The 150-mile journey from Christchurch across the South Island takes 4 1/2hours. It links Christchurch and Greymouth on the West Coast. The popular observation car closes for the journey through the longest of 16 tunnels, the 5.3-mile Otira Tunnel that pierces the Southern Alps. Five spectacular viaducts and 10,000-foot peaks make the TranzAlpine the most popular rail journey in New Zealand. Many make the return journey in the same day. New Zealand Rail offers several two- and three-day tours for travel on from Greymouth, especially to the Punakaiki Blowhole, a Westland highlight.
Mainline Steam runs two or three excursions a year for steam enthusiasts. Based in Auckland and Wellington, the tours are mostly in the North Island. Some, to the North Island's east and west coasts, use railways that closed to regular passengers years ago.
Dunedin-based Taieri Gorge Limited runs two 40-mile day trips. The Taieri Gorge Journey, through canyons, tunnels and old cuttings, is inland to Middlemarch--an ideal start to the Central Otago Rail Trail. The Seasider is north along the coast to Palmerston and return. The company offers rides with the locomotive driver on request.
From Auckland, make a one-day visit to Otorohanga, gateway to the famous glow-worm grotto in the Waitomo Caves. Leave Auckland on the southbound Overlander at 7:30 a.m. and arrive at 10:25 a.m. The northbound trains come through at 4:30 p.m. and you have plenty of time for a day excursion, by taxi or shuttle-bus, to the caves.
