Arrival into Auckland

I flew into Auckland Airport on the North Island.

And immediately made my way to the Glenbrook Vintage Railway, where steam locomotive WW 644 was running for the day.

I also headed over to the nearby New Zealand Steel mill at Glenbrook, but unfortunately no trains were running there.

Luckily the Te Huia train was runing, complete with ex-Auckland driving carriage.

And closer to Auckland, there were freight trains aplenty at Westfield Yard.

I headed out to the Museum of Transport and Technology Auckland, and look at what I found on their line – a bloody Melbourne tram!

Driving down the North Island

I then started the drive south towards Wellington, finding the first of many of KiwiRail’s dinky little remote controlled shunting locomotives.

I continued south along the electrified North Island Main Trunk, but all I found were diesel locomotive hauled freight trains.

And the thrice-weekly ‘Northern Explorer‘ passenger train.

The 25 kV electrical substations sitting there doing little.

On the way I found a memorial to the 1923 Ongarue railway disaster.

An obelisk marking the driving of the last spike of the North Island Main Trunk railway in 1908

And a memorial for the 1953 Tangiwai railway disaster.

I also found a yard full of ex-Auckland suburban carriages at Taumarunui, abandoned since 2014.

But scrapping of them had started.

And an abandoned double deck bridge over the Ongarue River

Some much taller bridges included the historic steel Makohine Viaduct further south.

And the modern South Rangitikei Viaduct built of prestressed concrete.

A quick stop in Wellington

On arrival into Wellington what was I greeted by – but a rail replacement bus!

My first electric train sighting not being until the next morning.

Across the Cook Strait

Time to take my campervan onto the ferry.

We bid Wellington Harbour behind.

And arrived into Picton.

South Island adventures

I hoped to follow a freight train south from Picton, but fading light put paid to that idea.

But I did find another remote control shunter at work.

And a freight train headed into the opposite direction to me!

Meaning my trip towards Christchurch being scenic, but with no trains along the tracks.

Around Christchurch

I headed out of Christchurch for a day on the TranzAlpine train.

And spent the rest of my time on the hunt for freight trains.

Unfortunately my visit to the Ferrymead Railway didn’t coincide with a running day.

But the Weka Pass Railway an hour north had a diesel locomotive running trains for the public.

There I spotted a two-wire high voltage transmission line that screamed ‘HVDC’ to me – and it was.

Also in Christchurch I rode the gondola to the top of Mount Cavendish, despite the summit being covered in fog.

But I passed on paying $40 to ride the Christchurch tramway – another bloody Melbourne tram!

But one thing they had that I’ve never seen before is their indoor bus station – incoming services get allocated to a random stop, and passengers have to quickly run to the relevant doors to board their bus.

And heading back north

Turns out a Jetstar flight from Christchurch to Wellington was half the price of a combined bus and ferry journey, so onto a plane I went.

The trip into the city went via the single lane Hataitai bus tunnel.

In Wellington I checked out obvious tourist sights, like the Wellington Cable Car.

And gunzel things like the diesel hauled Wairarapa Line service.

The next day I spent on the Northern Explorer train towards Auckland, retracing the route I’d taken a week earlier.

And finished my journey in Auckland.

Catching the ferry over the harbour to Devonport, and catching a bus back.

And ending my trip with a bus ride to Auckland Airport for my flight home.

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How I got there

I left out of a snow covered Moscow bound for Australia with Qatar Airways.

My connection at their Doha hub was tight, but with one flight a day to Melbourne, I didn’t have much choice.

After a few hours, we descended for our final approach to Doha.

The city skyline coming into view.

And then onto the ground.

Transferring at Doha’s old international airport was a pain – no jetbridges, only buses.

But I eventually made it into the terminal.

But rather stupidly I confused my gate number and flight number – so I ended up at the wrong end of the airport!

By the time I reached the correct gate, my onward flight to Melbourne has already closed – so I was sent to the transfer counter. There I was given a booking on the next day’s flight to Melbourne, a 1 day visa to enter Qatar, a hotel voucher, and directions to the shuttle bus.

An hour later, I eventually emerged from immigration with just my camera and the clothes on my back.

After a trip on the shuttle bus, I checked into my hotel, had a 2AM supper, then off to bed.

Trying to beat the desert heat

Given I was only in Qatar for 24 hours, I wanted to make the most of my time there – so I set an alarm for 9AM to see the sights before the desert heat hit.

Outside my hotel, construction work was happening everywhere.

Guest workers doing all of the dirty jobs.

My first stop – the Souq Waqif marketplace.

Then down to the Dhow Harbour.

I went for a walk along the waterfront.

Watched the boats on the water.

And looked over to the tall skyline behind.

Past the Museum of Islamic Art.

Planes on final approach to the nearby airport.

Then back via the Qatar Ministry of Finance and the Islamic Cultural Centre.

On the roads

A decade ago the Doha Metro didn’t exist yes, so buses were the only form of public transport.

Along with taxis, like this Toyota Camry.

I also saw quite a few Australian-built cars on the road, like this Holden Commodore, exported to the Middle East as a Chevrolet.

And a slightly older Holden Statesman, also branded as a Chevrolet.

Along with this beat up looking Australian-built Mitsubishi Magna.

Time to retreat

It was now getting hot and the shops were starting to close.

So I headed back to my hotel to take a nap.

Satellite dishes covered the rooftops all around.

But the workers were still stuck out in the heat.

Pouring concrete in the burning sun.

A final tour

After the sun went down, I went out for another walk.

Traders at the Souq having opened again.

Then I followed the back streets back to my hotel.

Where I found shops selling cheap clothes.

Hardware and electrical equipment.

Power tools.

Building supplies.

And light fittings.

And time to leave

This time I didn’t want to miss my connection, so I headed back to airport leaving plenty of time to spare.

I skipped the duty free store.

And found the correct gate.

Headed through security.

Then down to the gate lounge to wait for the bus out to my plane.

The tarmac was busy as ever.

But I made it onto my plane.

Ready for the 13 hour flight back to Australia.

Quite the adventure, given the alternative mightn’t been to spend 24 hours trying to sleep at an airport.

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