The Driving Creek Railway is considered to be 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 was, 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.

The rest, one might say, has been history. The track was 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 were 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. The railway's creator eventually warmed to the whole idea, greeting visitors when he was around. On our visit he wasn't, having gone off to Wellington with a vanload of pottery. Brickell died in 2016, at the age of 80.

Conservation was another passion of Mr. Brickell, and he planted kauri forest plants on the property, starting in the 1970's. The wood he used for the kilns came from faster-growing California pine trees, planted in the 19th 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 was also underway during our visit, with a vermin-proof fence (to keep out predators as small as mice) having been installed around the planned area. It was hoped (among other things) that essentially defenseless kiwi birds could eventually be reintroduced to something resembling a natural environment.

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

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 by the weather.


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


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

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.

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


The train driver gave us a talk pointing out some things and discussing the history of the railway, as we gawked at the scenery.


We reboarded the train and returned back down the hill to where we started. 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.


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, heading for the town of Whitianga.