Back to Coromandel Peninsula     Continue to Whitianga

The Driving Creek Railway is considered the top tourist attraction on the Coromandel peninsula, and is certainly a unique New Zealand experience.  It wasn’t originally built with tourists in mind, though.  A professional potter named Barry Brickell bought the 60-acre property in 1973, which at the time was mainly a scrubby hillside.  In many places on the hillside, though, natural clay deposits could be found which were perfect for use in terracotta pottery.  It so happened that Brickell also had an engineering background and conceived the idea of building a private railway that could be used to move clay and wood (for use in firing his kilns) from sources on the steep hillside to his workshop.  This turned out to be a very complicated project, involving surveying, earth moving, bridge and tunnel building, and the laying of a great deal of narrow gauge (15-inch) track.  Two small diesel locomotives were also custom built in the workshop.  As might be expected, all of this was expensive, and loans were taken out to pay for it.  But while a living can be made creating and selling pottery, it apparently isn’t a good enough living to be able to pay for and maintain a private railway, so eventually the lenders, with an eye toward possibly being repaid someday, strongly suggested that the railway be opened up for tours to a paying public.  Being the artist he is, one can imagine reluctance and skepticism on the part of Brickell, but a passenger-carrying car was built that could be attached to an existing locomotive, and the railway was opened for business in 1990.

 
Railway Map

The rest, one might say, has been history.  The track has been extended to its current 2.6 km, with additional tunnels and bridges (including a double-decker viaduct) being built.  An observation tower (called the “Eyefull Tower”) was constructed at the upper end of the line.  Three new trains have been added for the sole purpose of carrying passengers.  The trains are all named for animals – the newer ones are called “Snake”, “Possum” and “Linx”; the original ones are called “Dieselmouse” and “Elephant”.  Tens of thousands of visitors ride the trains each year.  If you wish to ride, it’s best to make a reservation (by phone or e-mail) in advance.  And the railway’s creator has apparently warmed to the whole idea, greeting visitors when he’s around.  On our visit he wasn’t, having gone off to Wellington with a vanload of pottery.

Conservation is another passion of Mr. Brickell, and he’s been planting kauri forest plants on the property since the 1970’s.  The wood he’s used for the kilns has been from faster-growing California pine trees, planted in the 19^th Century by visiting gold miners or descended from such trees (the first gold discovery in New Zealand was in the Driving Creek area in 1852).  Many native plants can be seen along the railway, with signs identifying them.  Development of a wildlife sanctuary is also underway, with a vermin-proof fence (to keep out predators as small as mice) having been installed around the planned area.  It is hoped (among other things) that essentially defenseless kiwi birds can eventually be reintroduced to something resembling a natural environment.

Welcomed by a Chicken?

… and Sheep?

Our visit began with paying for our train tickets and boarding the “Linx” train at the appointed time.

Connie and Nella with "Possum" and "Linx"

Nella and Bob Aboard "Linx"

The train moved past a workshop area and immediately entered forest.  It also immediately started to rain.  There was a running commentary by the train’s driver over a P.A. system, but it was difficult to make out a lot of it because of noise made by the train and the weather.

Heading Out of the Station (WMV Video, 14.8 MB)

Rainforest

Occasionally there were gaps in the forest through which some outstanding scenery was visible.

Coromandel Bay Through Bushes

Coromandel Bay from Train (WMV Video, 7.5 MB)

There were also areas alongside the track with pottery displays or unique retaining walls.

Pottery

Bottle Wall

There were also several “reversing points” at locations where the train needed to switch back more sharply than its turning radius would allow.  At such points the driver would stop the train, get out and walk to the other end of the train, and drive the train from that end back the way it had come, except taking a fork in the track that went upward instead of downward.

Reversing Point and No. 3 Tunnel (WMV Video, 10.4MB)

Track

Eventually we reached the Eyefull Tower, where the view of Coromandel Town and the Hauraki Gulf was magnificent (and it had even stopped raining).

Eyefull Tower

Eyefull Tower Station (WMV Video, 9.5 MB)

The train driver gave us a talk pointing out some things and discussing the history of the railway, and then we got back in the train and returned back down the hill to where we started.

Valley and Bay

Nella and Connie with Coromandel Bay

At the bottom there was a shop with pottery and glassware and a small sculpture garden, displaying some of the larger pottery that had been created in the workshop.

Sculpture Garden

More Sculpture Garden

While we were in the sculpture garden, the rain began again, so we returned to the car and set out to cross the peninsula to the east coast.

Landscape from Train	Tunnel and Bridge (WMV Video, 12.0 MB)
Eyefull Tower Station	"Linx" from Tower
Hillside from Tower	Signpost at Station

Continue to Whitianga     Back to Coromandel Peninsula