Making tracks on main street
For a small town, Kawakawa has a couple of very big surprises for visitors. The unique and colourful public toilets is one, but the other is literally showstopping: a train that runs right down the centre of the busy main street, effortlessly halting traffic, vehicular and pedestrian. It is the only working train in the country to do this.
The railway itself was the first to be opened in the North Island, in 1877, to haul coal, and it was also the first passenger service.
The Bay of Islands Vintage Railway train now runs from the heritage-listed town station as far as Tauma¯rere’s Long Bridge, which is the longest curved wooden viaduct in the southern hemisphere.
Out of action for some years, the bridge is being restored for railway use, and is part of the Twin Coast cycle trail. The aim is for the train to run, as it used to, 14 kilometres to O¯ pua, over many bridges and through a tunnel.
Why go?
Because it’s your only chance to chug down the middle of a state highway, with people waving and photographing from both sides.
On the hour-long trip, you can sit in a vintage carriage or out in the open, while you travel through pretty countryside for 41⁄2km, listening to the enthusiastic volunteer guards telling you the history of this former horse-drawn tram route, and stories from the railway’s past. Look out for the lava tree along the way. There’s a 10-minute stop at Tauma¯rere, while the engine swaps ends, before the return to Kawakawa.
Insider tip
The classic 1927 steam engine, Gabriel, is in need of a new boiler and so is out of use, but Timmy the substitute vintage diesel engine is quite quaint too, and your fares will contribute to the $350,000 needed for the volunteers to get Gabriel back into action. Train buffs will want to join the Gabriel Club.
On the way/nearby
Of course, you will visit those famous public toilets, designed by artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser, which are as much a spectacle as a convenience. Take a walk around town too, to see how that colourfully decorative theme has been continued on shopfronts, murals and more.
Explore the newly opened Te Hononga community hub, where there is as much to discover and appreciate outside the building as there is inside. You can learn about the idiosyncratic artist in the foyer, then pay $5 for the gallery upstairs.
How much?
A same-day return ticket costs $20 an adult, $5 a child (under-5s free), $18 a senior, and $45 for a family.
Best time to go
Until February 8, the train will run four times daily, at 10.45am, noon, 1.15pm, and 2.30pm. After that, it will run at the same times on Fridays and weekends only. Consider a morning departure, so you can have a picnic or barbecue by the Long Bridge before returning.