The little train in wonderland

This blog is for Jake, my nephew, who has probably never read a blog before, but is a train fanatic. I have ridden trains in New Zealand, both large and small. Today, I'll tell you about this little train in wonderland, as I would call it. The Driving Creek Railway was built by potter Barry Brickell who wanted to collect clay from high up in the mountains. He realized that he could fund his project by bringing tourists up on the train, and Driving Creek was born. It's a great combination of art, train engineering and conservation. I have ridden this train twice now, the last time for Robin's birthday in Coromandel. It winds up the mountain through native trees and random sculptures and passes thousands of wine bottles, which are used to make attractive retaining walls.










The train ride zigs and zags up the mountain, using lots of switchbacks, which I imagine they use this doohickey for.





The final destination is the Eyefull Tower, with a view of the Coromandel.