Riding the rails. My trip on the rail carts is amongst the best things I’ve ever done. Our experience, called ‘The Taster’ being, I think, the shortest on offer. It did however take most of the day, if you factor in travel time at each end. My memory goes back to steam train days and despite a small twinge of nostalgia, I wasn’t really looking forward to an unseasonably cold day on the rails, thinking, ‘I’ve done this’. But I hadn’t. The Forgotten World Tour was wonderful, from our first friendly and entertaining driver (Ken, I think) to the end. Starting with Lauren’s Lavender Farm then Tokarima where we assembled our lunches and boarded rail carts for the rest of our day. The Rail Carts are open to the weather but are covered by roll down transparent sides and a folding windscreen in front. We’d been warned to dress for cold. The open rail carts afford an ‘up close and personal’ experience of this 100 year old rail construction, hand hewed, traversing very rugged countryside and through many tunnels, up to 1 and half kilometres long, lined with bricks made on the spot or concrete made with nearby sourced lime stone. All this and more I learned from Jo, our amazing tour guide. She was a fund of information entertainingly and unstintingly offered. I wonder how would one interview to discover such a gifted communicator. She was a highlight of our day. I hope Jo is your tour guide. (16 Mar 2025)
